Samsung has unveiled its Galaxy XR headset, once known as “Project Moohan,” and it’s a proper team effort with Google and Qualcomm behind it. This new device runs on Android XR, which is essentially an open platform that works with all your existing Android apps straight away. For developers, that means they can get stuck in with tools like OpenXR, WebXR, and Unity to build experiences not just for this headset, but for the whole new wave of XR kit to come.
Under the hood, the Galaxy XR is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip. Compared to the standard version found on the Meta Quest 3 VR headset, this one boasts a 20% faster CPU and a 15% faster GPU, and it’s clever enough to handle full-colour video passthrough in just 12 milliseconds. It’s paired with a healthy 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, so it should have plenty of grunt for whatever you throw at it.
The view through the lenses is seriously sharp, thanks to micro-OLED displays with a combined resolution of 27MP – that’s not far off 8K. You can run it at a default 72Hz, or drop to 60Hz or push up to 90Hz depending on what you’re doing. The virtual screen itself gives you a nice wide field of view, covering 109 degrees horizontally and 100 degrees vertically.
When it comes to blending the real and virtual worlds, the headset is well-equipped. There are two main cameras dedicated to video passthrough, so you can see your surroundings for those mixed reality moments. They also double as a way to capture your own 3D photos and videos, using 18mm f/2.0 wide-angle lenses. For figuring out where you are in a room, there are six more world-facing cameras that handle ‘inside-out tracking’, meaning you don’t need any external sensors – just pop the headset on. These same cameras track your hands as the main way to control things, and they’re joined by a depth sensor, five IMUs, and even a flicker sensor to help out under artificial lights.
On the inside, it has four eye-tracking cameras that let the headset know exactly where you’re looking, and they also support iris recognition for unlocking the device and logging into secure apps.
Comfort-wise, the headset has an adjustable interpupillary distance to suit different users, and there’s support for optical inserts if you wear glasses. The light shield, which blocks out light for full VR immersion, is removable for when you want a bit more airiness. All in, the headset comes in at 545 grams with its forehead cushion, and there’s a separate battery that adds another 302 grams. Samsung reckons you’ll get about two and a half hours of battery if you’re just watching flat YouTube videos, but for general mucking about, expect closer to two hours.
A huge part of the experience is Google’s Gemini AI, which is baked right into the platform. While you’re wearing the headset, it sees what you see and hears what you hear, letting you have a natural chat with it about your surroundings. Fancy planning a trip? Pull up Google Maps and ask Gemini to find some interesting spots. You can get it to dig up YouTube videos or even ask questions about what you’re watching. And in passthrough mode, you can simply circle something with your finger to trigger an instant search.
Naturally, entertainment is a big focus. You can stream your favourite show on a massive virtual screen, or keep an eye on several sports matches at once. There are specialised XR games to dive into, and Gemini can even give you tips as you play. Adobe is getting in on the action with something called Project Pulsar, an XR video editor. And with all the AI power on tap, you can even transform your old 2D photos and videos into 3D.
The XR headset supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 for low-latency connections and Bluetooth 5.4. There are six microphones to pick up your voice and ambient sound, and the audio is handled by a two-way speaker setup with a woofer and a tweeter.
The Samsung Galaxy XR is available starting today in the US and Korea, priced at USD1,800 (~RM7,612). It seems Samsung is only planning to release the headset in those two countries, for now.