What you need to know
- A couple of Galaxy Glasses leaks reveal the companion app, touch controls, and deep integration with the wider Galaxy ecosystem.
- You’ll presumably be able to pair the glasses, install updates, tweak settings, check battery life, and automatically sync captured photos and videos to your Galaxy phone.
- Dual LED recording indicators are said to alert both the wearer and people nearby whenever the camera is in use.
Samsung has already confirmed it’s joining the smart glasses race, but until now we haven’t really had an idea of what it’d be like to use its forthcoming wearable. Now, a couple of fresh leaks have not only revealed the companion app for the Galaxy Glasses but also how Samsung plans to integrate the device into the rest of its Galaxy ecosystem.
Thanks to SammyGuru, the newly leaked Galaxy Glasses Manager app offers us the clearest look yet at the software on which users will rely once the glasses arrive later this year. During setup, the app guides users through the process of granting permissions and putting the glasses into pairing mode before connecting the glasses to a phone. The onboarding screens also show Samsung’s Warby Parker-branded model, one of the two eyewear partnerships Samsung announced in conjunction with Gentle Monster.
Once paired, the app is the hub of control for the glasses. You will be able to install firmware updates, change the settings, and switch different features on or off. The main page also seems to show battery status and has a setting to automatically send photos and videos taken with the glasses directly to your Galaxy phone.
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The software also hints at a number of native features, including camera controls, AI assistants, notification readouts, accessibility options, advanced features, and a Find my glasses tool to find lost frames. SammyGuru couldn’t see every menu, as it didn’t have a working pair of glasses connected, so there’s still more under the surface.
Android Central’s Take
Smart glasses won’t go mainstream just because they’re smart; they have to fit in naturally with the devices people are already using every day. It just makes more sense to be able to control them with a Galaxy Watch or even a Galaxy Ring, rather than shouting voice commands in public. That said, Samsung has to make sure all of this works seamlessly rather than being another ecosystem perk that’s only useful if you’ve gone all-in on Galaxy hardware.
The leak also confirms what Samsung had teased about its software platform. The Galaxy Glasses run One UI XR, Samsung’s interface, which is based on Google’s Android XR platform and is the same software that will be found on Samsung’s upcoming XR headset.
In addition to the companion app, another report from the same source gives us some insight into how you’ll actually control the glasses. Samsung appears to be combining physical buttons with touch gestures instead of going fully on voice commands. A touch-sensitive panel is said to be located in the right temple. To move to the next song, swipe forward with one finger, or swipe backward to go to the previous track. Use two fingers to adjust the volume and tap to pause/resume playback. The same tap gesture can also be used to answer incoming calls.
There’s also a dedicated camera button near the hinge. A single press captures a photo, while pressing and holding starts video recording. Pressing again terminates the recording session. Also rumored to be included are two LED indicators to make recording more obvious, one facing outward to let people around you know the camera is active, and another facing the wearer to serve as a personal recording indicator.
Samsung’s software experience could also be a good place to stash captured media. The leak says that newly captured photos and videos may show up in the Now Bar on supported Galaxy phones so that users can preview or reframe their shots. A connected Galaxy Watch may also show previews of similar things. But perhaps the most interesting discovery is how much Samsung wants these glasses to integrate with its other wearables.
The companion app’s code also makes references to a standalone Galaxy Glasses Controller app that could be pre-installed on Galaxy Watches. Other code strings reference gesture actions tied to the Galaxy Ring, suggesting that users could eventually control certain Glasses functions with hand or finger gestures detected by the ring. Samsung has not said how these gestures would work, but the references suggest that the company is actively developing tighter cross-device controls.
Of course, none of these features are official until Samsung introduces the product. Even if the Galaxy Glasses’ full release does come later this fall, the tech giant is expected to tease more of its Android XR plans in the coming weeks.