Warby Parker will start taking pre-orders on Nov. 12 for the first Android XR smart glasses, a camera-equipped pair built by Samsung and styled by Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Co-CEO Dave Gilboa gave the date on the eyewear retailer’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 5, one week ahead of the opening. The company expects to deliver orders during the holiday season.
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No price has been published for the collection. Shoppers who want a look before committing can book an in-store demo through Warby Parker’s website.
Samsung hardware, Google software, two frame houses
The glasses are the product of a three-way arrangement. 9to5Google reports that Samsung manufactures the hardware, Qualcomm supplies the chips, and Warby Parker and Gentle Monster handle the frame designs, with Android XR as the software underneath. Droid Life puts it more simply in its own write-up: Samsung produces the glasses, Google made the software, and the two design houses shaped how they look.
Samsung showed the product in July at Galaxy Unpacked in London. In Samsung’s announcement of its Intelligent Eyewear, Google’s Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem, described the experience as “all-day, hands-free help,” and Samsung’s Won-Joon Choi, who runs the mobile business’s operations, said the eyewear creates a new point of interaction. Samsung showed a slim black Gentle Monster frame and a brown Warby Parker style with an upswept brow.
The retailer’s own words are the firmest record of the date. Warby Parker’s third-quarter results release quotes Gilboa saying that one week from Nov. 5, on Nov. 12, the company would begin accepting pre-orders for its first Intelligent Eyewear collection.
Camera, Gemini and a lens with nothing in it
Samsung says the eyewear is built around a Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 platform and a built-in camera that gives the AI visual context, so the wearer can have it read a whiteboard or share a live view during a call. Summarizing messages, reading information aloud, live translation and navigation are on the feature list, and controls run through voice or gesture. Gesture input requires a paired Galaxy Watch9, which narrows the audience.
Battery life is quoted at up to nine hours on one charge, with the charging case adding up to seven more full charges. Samsung notes that real-world endurance varies with use.
9to5Google adds a detail that shapes expectations: this first collection is audio-only, with no display in the lenses, driven by voice and a side touchpad. Anyone picturing floating maps in the lens should recalibrate. The pitch is an assistant that listens, sees through the camera and answers in the ear.
Samsung showed both audio and display models in July, according to Vision Monday, so the choice of an audio-only first collection looks deliberate rather than a technical limit. 9to5Google notes that two variants from each design partner have surfaced over the course of the year and that more designs seem likely to follow. It also draws a parallel with the Googlebook, which received a date a week before its full unveiling, suggesting Google prefers a short teaser window for new product categories.
Holiday delivery, store demos and the Google money
Warby Parker’s wording on delivery is the holiday season, which could mean before Thanksgiving week or well into December, as 9to5Google observed. Vision Monday’s account of the call says deliveries begin in mid-December, and that demos start at 65 stores before expanding to all 360, with a new SoHo pop-up in New York City as well.
Money is part of the story. Vision Monday reports that Google committed up to $75 million toward development and commercialization costs and holds an option to invest up to a further $75 million in Warby Parker, subject to milestones. Third-quarter free cash flow came in at negative $2.0 million, which the company attributed to launch investments, and its narrowed full-year revenue guidance of $966 million to $976 million now includes a modest contribution from the eyewear. Gilboa said he expects the line to become a significant driver of revenue growth and profitability.
Warby Parker’s chief financial officer, Adrian Mitchell, said the company delivered double-digit revenue growth in the third quarter, with adjusted EBITDA above guidance. Revenue was $244.7 million, up 10.4 percent, and active customers rose 3 percent to 2.74 million. Gilboa and fellow co-CEO Neil Blumenthal both framed the eyewear as a priority, and Gilboa said the company cannot wait for customers to experience the products firsthand. A retailer with a base of that size has a ready audience, which is why the pricing and shipping details will be watched closely.
The open question is the sticker price. Neither Warby Parker’s release nor Samsung’s announcement states one, and the retailer’s general glasses pricing, which starts at $95, says nothing about a camera-equipped, Gemini-connected pair. The number will arrive when pre-orders open on Nov. 12.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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