Samsung Launches Galaxy XR Headset

Samsung Electronics will unveil its first XR (Extended Reality) device on the 22nd. Extended Reality is an overarching concept encompassing ...

Samsung Electronics will unveil its first XR (Extended Reality) device on the 22nd. Extended Reality is an overarching concept encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), representing immersive technology that bridges the real and virtual worlds. Samsung Electronics has collaborated with Google and Qualcomm on the XR device development project called “Moohan” and will launch the product on the 22nd, marking its full-scale entry into the XR market.

The tech industry anticipates that Samsung Electronics’ launch of its new XR product will invigorate a market that has been stagnant. While Meta and Apple previously released their Meta Quest and Vision Pro devices, respectively, they were perceived solely as the domain of “early adopters” due to a lack of content, high prices, and uncomfortable wearability. Samsung Electronics aims to address these shortcomings with its new product and dominate the XR market, which is considered the next generation of devices after smartphones.

The name Samsung Electronics has given to this new XR device launch event is ‘A New Era of Multimodal AI, A Wider World Opens.’ This declaration positions XR devices as dedicated tools for the AI era. Samsung Electronics’ product is a headset worn on the head. Detailed specifications of the product will be revealed during the online event held on that day. The product is reportedly named ‘Galaxy XR.’

The tech industry expects the Galaxy XR to be equipped with a host of advanced technologies. The core display features two 4K micro-OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays, one for each eye, totaling 29 million pixels combined. Each display achieves an ultra-high density of 4,032 PPI (pixels per inch). This resolution surpasses Apple’s Vision Pro, which has 23 million pixels.

The chip serving as the brain of the XR device is expected to be Qualcomm’s second-generation Snapdragon XR2+. The device is anticipated to support three modes of operation: eye, hand, and voice. To track hand movements, four sensors and cameras will be mounted on the front of the device and two on the bottom. Inside the device, four cameras and infrared LEDs will be installed to track eye movements. Four microphones at the bottom of the device are designed to capture the user’s voice commands. A button to directly invoke Google’s AI, ‘Gemini,’ will also be included.

The device is expected to weigh approximately 545 grams, lighter than Apple’s Vision Pro (approximately 600 grams) but slightly heavier than Meta Quest 3 (515 grams). The estimated starting price is around 1,800 dollars (approximately 2.56 million Korean won). It is expected to be cheaper than the Vision Pro (4.8 million Korean won) but more expensive than the Meta Quest 3.

Notably, Samsung Electronics has collaborated with Google and Naver to secure content, a long-standing weakness of XR devices, with the launch of the Galaxy XR. They have transformed Naver’s streaming platform ‘Chizik’ into an XR-specific application. Users can wear the XR device and watch live broadcasts through Naver.

Samsung Electronics’ entry into the XR device competition is expected to heat up the market. According to market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global XR market, valued at 37.94 billion dollars (approximately 54 trillion Korean won) this year, is projected to grow at an annual average rate of 28.3%, reaching 84.86 billion dollars by 2029.