[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] With the augmented reality (AR) glasses market projected to grow nearly fourfold over the next two years, Samsung Display and LG Display are focusing their efforts on securing next-generation technology. While U.S.-based Meta and Chinese companies currently dominate the finished product market, the Korean industry is continuing to develop technology in preparation for the market’s expansion and is weighing the optimal timing for a full-scale entry.

According to industry sources on the 19th, Samsung Display is accelerating its technology development with an eye toward the commercialization of the AR market. The company is making pilot investments with the goal of mass production within the next few years.

Samsung Display participated for the second consecutive year in “AWE USA 2026,” the world’s largest extended reality (XR) exhibition held in the U.S. last June, where it unveiled a 1.3-inch RGB OLEDoS with a maximum brightness of 40,000 nits. It also showcased a prototype of smart glasses equipped with a 0.62-inch OLEDoS. In 2023, the company acquired Imagine, a U.S.-based microdisplay manufacturer, and formed a dedicated team to develop next-generation microdisplays, including OLEDoS and LEDoS.

OLEDoS consists of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) formed on a silicon substrate, enabling pixels that are significantly smaller than those in smartphone OLEDs. LEDoS utilizes ultra-small light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on silicon semiconductors. With their high brightness, these technologies are highly useful for outdoor applications in AR glasses, such as navigation, real-time translation, and notifications.

LG Display is taking a cautious stance. The company believes it would be difficult to set up a separate production line dedicated solely to AR glasses until profitability is guaranteed. However, LG Display is also continuing to develop the necessary technologies. In 2024, the company unveiled an OLEDOS for virtual reality (VR) that achieved a maximum brightness of 10,000 nits using micro-lens array (MLA) technology.

The industry is paying close attention to the AR glasses market due to the synergy with generative AI. By incorporating on-device AI and computer vision technology, AR devices go beyond simply displaying a screen to enable real-time multilingual translation, recognition of surrounding objects, and vision-based search. Another key factor is the form factor innovation—devices are becoming increasingly similar to actual glasses in terms of design and weight.

According to market research firm TrendForce, global AR glasses shipments this year are estimated to reach 1.31 million units, an increase of 111.1% compared to last year. An additional growth of approximately 80% is expected next year. This represents more than a fourfold increase over two years. Global AR glasses shipments are projected to reach 32.11 million units by 2030—approximately 24.5 times this year’s forecast.

The display market for AR glasses currently on the market has been dominated by the United States, China, and Japan. Meta’s “Ray-Ban Display” product is equipped with LCoS technology from U.S.-based OmniVision, while the XReal “One Pro” from a Chinese OEM features micro-OLED technology from Japan’s Sony.

An industry official stated, “Since the market is still small, we must strike a balance between securing technology and managing the investment burden,” adding, “Given the potential for rapid growth in this market in the future, research and development into technologies such as RGB OLEDs and LEDOs is now in full swing.”