Samsung has been working on its own mixed reality (XR) headset for over a year now. The company’s recently released quarterly financial report states its intention to “improve connectivity between products, including future XR devices.” This likely indicates that the Korean giant is preparing its Apple Vision Pro and Meta✴ Quest 3 competitor.
Samsung has accelerated development of the XR headset, while LG has canceled its project to release a similar high-end device running Meta✴ Horizon OS in 2025, and Apple has suspended work on the expensive Vision Pro 2 in favor of focusing on a budget model. The processor for the Samsung headset will be released by Qualcomm, and the software platform will be prepared by Google – a representative of the search giant, Rick Osterloh, promised at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event that the platform will be released in 2024.
When Apple introduced Vision Pro, the Korean company had to start work on the project from scratch – the competitor’s expensive headset exceeded expectations, and Samsung’s project was not impressive enough to “amaze the consumer.” At the same time, Google is already preparing to begin publishing applications for XR headsets – the company has begun offering Android XR OS to partners. However, the majority of partners have taken a wait-and-see approach, and Samsung appears to be the most likely candidate for the role of the first and only manufacturer of a headset with Android XR.
All this information has an unofficial status, but bit by bit it was possible to collect it in a fairly large volume, writes Gizmodo. Even the range of retail prices for the device is known – it will cost from $1000 to $1500 and will surpass the Apple Vision Pro in capabilities. Official details from Google and Samsung may appear before the end of the year.