Samsung has officially thrown its hat in the extended reality (XR) ring after it unveiled at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event last week it had partnered with tech giants Qualcomm and Google to release its new headset.

With a release date potentially in October this year for a developer model, and a fully-functional consumer headset in March next year, Samsung is likely to compete with heavy hitters like the Apple Vision Pro.

Initial whispers of the release dates were revealed in a Business Insider report cited by 9to5Google.

Quoting internal sources, the report read,

“Google and Samsung are still building a joint device—a mixed-reality headset more akin to Apple’s Vision Pro, internally codenamed Moohan. The device, announced in February 2023, was initially planned to launch in Q1 of this year but has been pushed back. According to a person familiar with the internal timeline, a consumer version is now set for next March, with a developer version planned for release this October.”

Google’s Osterloh Comments on Samsung Collaboration

Speaking at the event, Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President, Platforms and Devices, Google, said at the time that the upcoming partnership hoped to deliver next-generational experiences across Samsung’s family of products and solutions.

During his speech, he made passing mention of the XR “platform,” stating,

“Looking forward, we’re collaborating to bring next-generation experiences across Galaxy products, from smartphones and wearables to even future technologies, like the upcoming XR platform we’ve been working to develop in close partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm for next-generation devices.”

Similarly to the Vision Pro, the Galaxy headset faced delays ahead of its launch, with South Korean media stating that the tech giant aimed to integrate higher-resolution displays. This would allow Korea’s flagship headset to compete with Apple’s entry into spatial computing.

Additional specs for the Samsung XR device include the following:

• Bespoke Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset
• Micro-OLED display
• Eight tracking cameras and Time-of-Flight sensor for depth perception
• Hand and eye tracking support
• Samsung and Google-based AI

Techradar also notes that the release date may coincide with the Samsung Developer Conference set for 3 October this year.

With the event underway, Samsung could position the Developer version of its XR headset ahead of the consumer release to build an ecosystem of apps and solutions ahead of the March 2025 release, the report added.

Thoughts on the Samsung XR Headset

Hey everybody, just wanted to share a few thoughts on the upcoming Samsung headset.

Samsung has probably been watching the developments taking shape in the XR industry, especially those aimed at the consumer market.

With Apple deploying its Vision Pro headset across the UK, Canada, and beyond, this is going to become a massive litmus test for the Cupertino-based firm’s success at home and abroad.

Notwithstanding that, it can also compare reception for the Vision Pro with that of the Meta Quest 3, namely so that Samsung can position the final specifications of its device at a specific targeted demographic, with specific use cases in mind.

Due to keeping the project under wraps, similarly to that of Apple’s Vision Pro debut in at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June last year, final specs are set to change based on Samsung’s budget, level of research and development (R&D), and most importantly, potential to earn money based off of the number of headsets produced in the initial release next year.

This strategy of studying the competition and striking, based on the weaknesses of your opponent, is an age-old technique applied in warfare to the modern world of corporate competition.

I’m almost certain that South Korea’s premier chaebol will need to plan accordingly, as reports show that it contributes more than 20 percent of its revenues to the national economy.

A failure to launch could significantly impact its business and become a net loss, should it follow Meta and Apple in pouring massive levels of R&D funding into its XR headset venture.

I expect Samsung to remain conservative and incremental in its assessment, development, and implementation of XR technologies — even more so than Apple — starting with its popular family of smartphones and moving into the headset, with limited use cases.

XR and the Metaverse still have a 10-year trajectory to liftoff, with much of the market gestating slowly and with growing success.

Remember, in XR, we are scientists first, and businesspeople second. Profit and return on investment will come along with advancements in XR.