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If you've been waiting to get your hands on Samsung Galaxy XR virtual reality headset, your moment has come: The device is already available for order on the Samsung website or Google on the website for $1,799, with orders slated to arrive November 4th. To offset the price, the Galaxy XR comes with a free year of Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, and Google Play Pass.
Created in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, the Galaxy XR features two 4K micro-OLED displays with a total resolution of 27 million pixels and a horizontal viewing angle of 100 degrees. All are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip and packaged in a lightweight (1.2 pounds) form factor.
The birth of Android XR
The headset will run on the new Android XR platform, which will allow users to run standard Android apps in a 2D window. The new ecosystem is designed around system-level integration of Gemini AI and is planned as the infrastructure for future AR and VR devices, including smart glasses. A couple of features of the operating system: the ability to trace objects in the real world and search for them on the Internet, and AI-powered transformation of 2D photos and videos into immersive 3D presentations.
Samsung's Galaxy XR is entering a fairly crowded market, given the relatively tepid public response to virtual reality. Its main competitors are the Meta Quest line of headsets and Apple's Vision Pro, although both Meta And Apple are putting most of their AR/VR resources into smart glasses rather than headsets.
The Galaxy XR's $1,799 price tag is almost exactly half the price of the Apple Vision Pro and more than three times more expensive than the Meta Quest 3. Samsung appears to be aiming for a technological compromise: not too expensive for anyone, but well above the “game console” price of the Quest. The target appears to be pro-level consumers interested in a headset with more advanced hardware than the Quest but balking at a $3,500 device. In other words: Samsung is chasing Apple's excellence and Meta's affordability, hoping to find a middle ground between the two.
In terms of specs, Apple's Vision Pro M5 chip and dedicated R1 spatial processor put it at the top in terms of processing power, although the Galaxy displays 27 million pixels compared to Apple's 24 million. The Quest 3 displays about 9 million pixels. The Galaxy also has a slower maximum refresh rate compared to Apple: 90Hz versus 12Hz. Ultimately, the more expensive headsets are roughly comparable, assuming everything works as it should; I haven't tried the Galaxy XR yet, so I can't say. As for the Quest 3, its very low price isn't the only advantage of a cheaper system: the Quest's software library is orders of magnitude larger than its competitors.
If Samsung can back up its impressive specs with software and comfort, the XR could give both Apple and Meta something to worry about. any Whether a VR headset can spark the enthusiasm the public has for smart glasses remains to be seen.
