Samsung launching “Samsung Galaxy Glass” at IFA Berlin?
Samsung seemingly wants to be in every consumer electronics category they can be in, so to learn that they might be launching their own pair of smart glasses isn’t quite that surprising. The news was reported by Korea Times who suggests Samsung will make the announcement at IFA Berlin (which takes place around September each year).
The timing is interesting considering Samsung’s new 10-year cross-licensing deal with Google, a deal that will give both sides access to each other’s full range of technology patents spanning multiple areas of technology. Considering Google has key patents for devices like Google Glass, we’d say they’re already off to a good start in taking advantage of them.
An official at Samsung Electronics reportedly commented on the market potential of smart glasses:
The market potential for smart glass is huge. It will be used in trucks, cars and has a greater impact on related industries such as glass- and coatings-makers,
Samsung is certainly aiming to be everywhere there is huge potential for growth, such as the company’s bid for smart watch dominance with the Galaxy Gear. They’re said to be introducing the next generation of that device at an upcoming event, giving them a solid sequel to one of the biggest and fastest growing sub-sectors in wearable technology to date.
Samsung will have to take care and make sure they don’t rush whatever product they may be cooking up. It’s a tactic that hurt the aforementioned Galaxy Gear, which Samsung all but admitted was rushed to market before it was truly ready. Many believe Samsung was looking to beat Apple as the Cupertino company was also rumored to be introducing a smart watch, but that never came to pass.
Considering Samsung doesn’t have any other major competitors in the smart glass arena outside of Google, we’d imagine the pressure to make it to market won’t be nearly as big. Let’s hope they take their time and make a product worth paying attention at some point later this year.