Galaxy Glass Is Samsung’s Response To Google Glass
Samsung likes to launch new devices and new types of devices before its main competitors. It managed to launch its smartwatch, the Samsung galaxy Gear, before Apple’s iWatch (which still doesn’t have an official launch date), but truth be told the South Korean company was beaten by Pebble, a Kickstarted smartwatch. It appears that after the smartwatch, Samsung is in a hurry to release smart glasses. Of course, as all of you know, the South Korean company is not the first one to come with the concept, as Google Glass is the pioneer when it comes to smart glasses. Samsung also makes smartphones, smart TVs, smart washing machines – you name it, so it’s no wonder that they are manufacturing smart glasses next.
A recent report from Korea Times, cites sources from Samsung and suggests that the South Korean company is going to release a Google Glass inspired wearable computer named “Galaxy Glass“. The report mentions that the Galaxy Glass device is going to be unveiled this September at the IFA annual conference that is going to be held in Berlin. Last year, Samsung unveiled both the third Galaxy Note phablet and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch at IFA Berlin.
Smart glasses are wearable computers; as the term implies, wearable computers are miniature electronic devices that are worn by the user. We mentioned above that Google Glass is the pioneer when it comes to head mounted displays (which is basically what smart glasses are). However, Google Glass does not have an official release date yet, nor does it seem likely to get one soon. And that is exactly what Samsung is trying: to be the first company to officially release a smart glasses device, before Google and Apple, even though Google Glass precedes Samsung’s Galaxy Glass. Samsung intends to be the first to release smart glasses on the market, even though the South Korean company knows it won’t be very profitable. A Samsung official said that “wearable devices can’t generate profits immediately. Steady releases of devices are showing our firm commitment as a leader in new markets“, so the company tries to be the first and then improve on the original and then the profits will likely come.
Talking about Google Glass, we mentioned above that it does not have an official release date and nobody knows when Google will announce one. However, the wearable device is already available to Glass Explorers (the name Google gave to early Google Glass adopters). Initial rumors hinted at an official launch date for Google Glass in late 2013, but 2013 is already behind us and no such release date was announced by Google. New rumors speculate that we may see Google Glass available to the wide public later this year, though at this point nothing should be trusted unless it comes from Google. While Samsung’s desire to be the first to launch smart glasses on the market is likely to come true, it doesn’t mean it is an advantage. Thinking about last year’s Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and how badly it was received, makes us wonder if being the first on the market is such a good idea.
Speaking of which, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch was received negatively by critics and consumers. Samsung rushed the smartwatch to the market in order to be first and this likely had effects on development time. The main of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch are its unappealing design, its poorly designed user interface, the lack of apps and the dependence on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Hopefully, Samsung’s Galaxy Glass won’t repeat Galaxy Gear’s mistakes and it will be a better product.
You probably wonder how Samsung will implement its Galaxy Glass. According to rumors, the Galaxy Glass is going to be a head mounted display that will connect to your smartphone (like the Samsung Galaxy Gear, it will probably only work with Samsung smartphones and tablets) and let you make calls, play music etc. Besides controlling some functions of your smartphone or tablet (like selecting what music to play or when to make a phone call) you will also receive push notifications on the Galaxy Glass display. Sounds familiar? That’s because the Samsung Galaxy Glass seems to come with the same feature set as the Samsung Galaxy Gear.
Samsung’s recent strategy is to be the first on the market with any new type of device, be it a smartwatch or smart glasses. Such an attitude helps a lot, though not necessarily financially, but the South Korean company will be seen as a company that focuses on innovation and that is probably Samsung’s goal, at least in the short term. One of the long term effects of such a strategy is going to be financial gains, even though as the first smartwatch from Samsung (the Galaxy Gear) demonstrated, first generations of these innovative devices are going to be sacrifice generations.
While consumers didn’t seem very eager to buy a smartwatch, they are interested in smart glasses if we are to judge by the demand for Google’s Glass project. The wearable computers market is still in its infancy and it will evolve a lot over the next couple of years when more companies are going to release werable computer devices. Apple is expected to launch its long rumored smartwatch, the iWatch this year, and everyone is still waiting for Google to announce an official release date for the Google Glass. We will have to wait until September to see if the rumor is true and Samsung will release its Galaxy Glass device at the IFA 2014 in Berlin. What do you think about the Samsung Galaxy Glass project? Would you buy it?
