2 weeks ago
14 ARTICLE AD
Samsung has been toying with the idea of releasing its own XR (extended reality) headset for around a year. In a recently released earnings call, it said it aims to “improve connectivity among products, including upcoming XR devices.” This likely points towards us finally getting an Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 rival by the South Korean giant.
Just last month, Daily Korea reported (via Upload) that Samsung is now showing urgency to release its XR headset, given LG’s dropping its plan to launch a premium Meta Horizon OS headset in 2025 and Apple’s pausing work on an equally exorbitantly priced Vision Pro 2 to instead focus on a budget version first.
According to Tom’s Guide predictions, Samsung will partner with Qualcomm for the chip that will power its upcoming XR headset, and Google will likely handle the platform it will run on. This reiterates Google’s Rick Osterloh’s statement at the end of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 when he confirmed that “a new XR platform is coming later this year.”
Apparently, as per SBS Biz, Samsung restarted its design process for the XR headset from scratch when the Vision Pro was revealed and significantly exceeded its expectations. It also mentioned that Samsung felt underconfident about its concept and that it was not impressive enough to “dazzle users.”
However, the latest reports suggest that Samsung is finally working on its version of a headset similar to the Meta Quest. A recent Android Authority piece claimed that Google will soon start hosting apps specifically designed for XR headsets. This explicitly gives away Samsung’s plans since there aren’t any other major Android-based XR headsets in the market at the moment. The Information reports that Google has been pitching the Android XR platform to other hardware makers, but no one has shown much interest yet.
These little tidbits of information from various reports are all we know about the headset. It’s still unclear what features it will offer or how much it will cost. However, Tom’s Guide says that a June 2023 report pointed towards the company producing a headset that will retail between $1,000 and $1,500 while exceeding what Apple offers on its almost thrice-as-much-priced headset in terms of features. As big of a claim that is, looking at how rapidly the Apple Vision Pro’s sales have recently been declining, it might actually happen. Samsung and Google promised us that we’ll learn more about their collaboration before 2024 ends, so let’s we’ll keep an eye out for further announcements.
