Samsung takes on the future of extended reality with Galaxy XR

• Galaxy XR is the first in a new family of gadgets powered by the Android XR operating system and next-generation AI.
• Customers buying the headset this year will get access to 12 months of Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, Google Play Pass, and a host of XR content—all bundled in.

When Samsung Electronics stepped onto the extended reality (XR) stage with the launch of its Galaxy XR headset. By backing its latest device with artificial intelligence features from Google, Samsung has made its ambitions clear: it’s gunning for a place at the top, aiming to disrupt the lineup currently dominated by Meta and Apple.

The Galaxy XR headset comes with a price tag of $1,799—strikingly, that’s about half what you’d pay for Apple’s Vision Pro. It blends the familiar looks of VR headsets already on the market but brings a bold software story: it’s the first in a new family of gadgets powered by the Android XR operating system and next-generation AI.

This marks the start of a long-term partnership between Samsung, Google (Alphabet), and Qualcomm, who are betting that intelligent software can help define the next big thing in personal computing.

Glimpses into the XR roadmap

Sharham Izadi, Google’s vice president of AR/XR, was candid before launch: “There’s a whole journey ahead of us in terms of other devices and form factors.” Samsung isn’t stopping at goggles—the company’s quietly plotting lighter, eyeglass-style wearables, with partnerships already inked with Warby Parker and South Korea’s luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster. So, we’re likely to see sleeker XR eyewear not too far down the road.

Right now, Meta’s grip on the headset market is ironclad—its Oculus products make up about 80% of sales, with Apple trailing.

Even OpenAI, the powerhouse behind ChatGPT, has entered the fray by scooping up Jony Ive’s hardware startup to build devices for the AI age. It’s a full-blown race, with all eyes on who will create the must-have device.

Samsung’s journey hasn’t been a quick one. According to Jay Kim, executive vice president at Samsung’s mobile division, this move comes after a decade of studying XR and four years in deep partnership with Google.

Codenamed “Moohan”—meaning “infinite” in Korean—it was only after careful timing and analysis that Samsung pressed go, feeling the technological moment was right.

Blending virtual and mixed reality

What sets the Galaxy XR apart isn’t just VR immersion, like gaming or watching YouTube in a virtual space. It’s also mixed reality—overlaying digital info on the real world via Google’s Gemini AI. Users can, quite literally, circle objects with their fingers and get instant analysis or directions.

This hands-on integration of multimodal AI—capable of handling text, photos, and videos—gives Samsung a technical edge, at least for now. Apple, notably, hasn’t unveiled equivalent software power in its Vision Pro line, despite a recent hardware refresh.

Samsung is hoping to sweeten the deal for early adopters. If you buy the headset this year, you snag 12 months of Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, Google Play Pass, and a host of XR content—all bundled in.

The hardware itself gets a robust foundation from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip, ensuring there’s plenty of muscle for resource-hungry applications.

A tough road ahead

As is common with any first-generation product, the Galaxy XR tries to do a lot. It’s designed for both consumers and businesses, offering tools for everything from hands-on learning to immersive entertainment.

Yet, despite all this potential, extended reality headsets remain a niche market. Gartner predicts the global head-mounted display segment will grow modestly—just 2.6 per cent to $7.27 billion next year. Eyeglass-type AI devices, like Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses, are expected to fuel much of this modest bump.

Industry hurdles

The global virtual reality market, including mixed reality headsets, has logged three years of declining shipments. In fact, research firm Counterpoint expects shipments to dip another 20 per cent in 2025.

But there’s a twist: with its friendlier price point, some analysts believe Project Moohan could be a hit, especially with enterprise buyers who balk at Apple’s high prices.

This isn’t Samsung’s first face computer—remember the Gear VR, which slot a phone into a headset back in the day? Meta’s acquisition of Oculus in 2014 shifted the landscape, but now, Samsung is back at the table with something smarter and far more ambitious.