“Where are the glasses?” I couldn't help but ask Drew Blackard: SamsungVP of Mobile Product Management when we met shortly after the unveiling of Samsung's stunning new Galaxy XR spatial computing model, the AI-focused Gemini headset.
Blackard couldn't share details, but admitted, “It's coming soon… And I'll use those words intentionally in the sense that it's not that far off a concept.”
While glasses were nowhere in sight at the Galaxy XR launch, Samsung announced partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on lens frames, and Blackard told me they're “getting closer to fruition.”
“I thought you could call today to tease.” While he promised we wouldn't have to wait too long, he added that we wouldn't see the glasses “this year.”
I did press him a little, though, asking if the release of the Galaxy XR headset and then the glasses was somehow inappropriate, especially given the rapidly growing interest in smart glasses that either bring information to your eyes or combine your real world with an augmented one. Is this just the first step?
“I think so,” Blackard said. “I don’t think it’s out of order.” I mean, they're very connected, and I think today's announcement helped paint the picture.”
Artificial heart research
With that minor disappointment settled, I turned the conversation back to the new headset, talking about the design choices and how they differ in some fundamental ways from what's already on the market (yes, looking at you). Vision Pro).
The new Samsung Galaxy XR is a gaze, voice and gesture control headset that goes on sale today (October 21) for $1,799 in the US and Korea.
While there are similarities with the Vision Pro, such as the controls and even the power bank, it is also quite different. First is the price, which is about half the price of the Vision Pro. Then there's the weight, which is at least 65 grams lighter and possibly thanks to a more balanced frame.
The big difference, however, is Gemini's artificial intelligence. It's kind of Apple The Siri Vision Pro smart control I dreamed of but never came to fruition.
“It’s an artificial intelligence device,” Blackard said.
I wondered if Samsung and its partners would have brought the Galaxy XR to market two years ago when, for example, Gemini AI did not exist in its current form.
Blackard tried to put this into context for me and, perhaps without naming them, contrast Samsung. Googleand Qualcomm's approach with that of Apple and its Vision Pro platform.
Starting with the Galaxy S24, it's been two years since Samsung has been developing AI phones. Recently, it has even become the centerpiece of their wearable devices such as the Galaxy Watch. “It became something that we all believed in, including Google and Qualcomm, and became an important part of the experience,” Blackard told me.
Realizing that you need a layer like Gemini inside, in a sense, goes back to Galaxy Gear VR days (that's right, this is not the first VR headset from Samsung). “User interfaces have been complex, at least historically,” he said.
Seeing immersive content in front of you doesn't guarantee, Blackard told me, that you'll know how to navigate the interface, which “can be very complex and overwhelming.”
If Gemini is connected on a deeper level, you may not need to learn how to use the Galaxy XR interface. “You can move around with your voice, speaking naturally, and it becomes a multimodal interface,” Blackard noted.
The ability to interact with the platform in this way is part of what makes Gemini essential to this experience. As is the fact that AI is a real layer in the system, which Blackard told me means developers don't necessarily have to introduce it at the application level because “then you're at the mercy of each app developer putting it into the app, and therefore the ability to scale the experience has been difficult.”
Three friends
He went on to describe some of the demos I saw that day that showed how Gemini helps you navigate Google Maps or offers tips on how to play the game using Google Circle to search. “It may be a very specific game, and we at Samsung had no idea that a consumer would download this game and start playing it.”
This is the organic nature of Gemini, integrated throughout the world. operating system this completes the picture. “It becomes a seamless experience with almost any app you open,” Blackard added.
If it can be argued that Apple's Vision Pro is the product of one strategic and corporate mindset, then the Samsung Galaxy XR is the product of three partners (and sometimes competitors): Samsung, Google and Qualcomm. Reconciling the interests and demands of three technology titans is not easy. I asked Blackard whether the company alone naturally took the lead or was seen as the tip of the spear. Was it Samsung?
Of course, from a design standpoint…Samsung, of course, leads the way in industrial design and all the research and development that goes into making a product like this.
Drew Blackard, Samsung
“It's an interesting question and I would say this is probably one of the most collaborative projects during my time at Samsung. If you just take Samsung smartphones as an example, then of course we use Qualcomm chips and they are a very important partner in this. We use the Android operating system; they are an important partner in this, but ultimately the end result is determined by Samsung.”
However, he adds that due to technical requirements, the end result we see in the Galaxy XR could not have been realized without the partnership. “Certainly from a design standpoint…Samsung, of course, leads the way in industrial design and all the research and development that goes into making a product like this.”
And yet, because artificial intelligence is central to Gemini's vision, the Galaxy XR would not have come to market, Blackard added, “without Google's leadership in bringing software technology to the table… and, of course, Qualcomm providing the platform for further development.”
In other words, Samsung is the leader with enormous and irreplaceable support and contributions from Google and Qualcomm.
One thing I noticed missing from the Galaxy XR is Galaxy AI. Blackard confirmed that the new headset is probably not the place for Samsung's own brand of generative AI.
“Galaxy AI capabilities, many of which are deeply integrated into apps,” Blackard said, describing some of the photo editing and summarizing features we're now familiar with on our Galaxy devices.
“This is somewhat different from the use cases we see with XR and back to the multimodal aspects of Gemini AI. It brings to life everything you look at, you can react to, it can naturally understand your voice and it can react. So it's kind of outside the box… I think it's more like the best solution to the problem was Gemini AI.”
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