Samsung’s First Smart Glasses Finally Have a Preorder Date

The time is (almost) nigh for Samsung’s first pair of smart glasses. According to its design partner, Warby Parker, you’ll be able to preorder Samsung’s smart glasse—er, “intelligent eyewear”—starting Nov. 12. On that same day. The brand said it will reveal all of the styles, including different lenses, colors, and more. Warby Parker Co-CEO Dave Gilboa also confirmed in an earnings report some news that bubbled up earlier this week, which is that Samsung’s smart glasses will go on sale officially in December. Confirmation of the preorder and launch window isn’t exactly the most groundbreaking news, but it is significant because of how long the wind-up period has been for Samsung’s smart glasses. For context, they were announced all the way back in May and officially unveiled in late July. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo As I’ve said before, Samsung and Google’s line of intelligent eyewear is entering the smart glasses game with interesting timing. While smart glasses are technically more popular than ever before, they’re also more loathed, and the results of that aversion are starting to become palpable. Social attitudes towards smart glasses have turned thanks to pushback from celebrities like Lorde and real-life stories of people misusing the devices, and in turn, regulators are starting to intervene. That pushback has been most stark in Europe, with a national ban currently on the table in Norway and a citywide ban in certain areas recently enacted in Hamburg, Germany. While U.S. regulations have been less sweeping, senators sent a formal letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week asking questions about the company’s privacy practices and safeguards, especially as it pertains to data collected for AI training. Maybe Samsung and Google will sidestep scrutiny just by virtue of the fact they’re not Meta, and they don’t have the baggage that comes with that name, but there’s also a chance that they too get swept up in the smart glasses backlash. Either way, it looks like we’ll find out sooner rather than later.