Samsung Electronics has released its first Extended Reality (XR) headset, Galaxy XR. Extended Reality is an umbrella term for Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). It detects a user's voice, gaze, and movements in real time, enabling a device that moves between the real and virtual worlds.
Galaxy XR is priced at 2.69 million won, more expensive than Meta's Meta Quest 3 ($499, about 710,000 won), which holds 70% of the global XR market, but 50% cheaper than Apple Vision Pro ($3,499, about 5.01 million won). The strategy is to target the niche between premium and budget within the XR market to drive expansion.
On the 22nd, Samsung Electronics held an event titled "A new era of Multimodal AI, a wider world opens" and launched Galaxy XR in Korea and the United States. Multimodal AI is a technology that simultaneously recognizes and processes various types of data, including text, images, voice, and video. The aim is to enable natural communication between users and devices. Choi Won-joon, Samsung Electronics' Mobile eXperience (MX) division chief operating officer (president), said, "Galaxy XR is a model that maximizes the potential of AI."
Samsung Electronics' launch of an XR device is somewhat late. It is about 1 year and 8 months later than Apple's XR device, Vision Pro. In addition, competitors are moving beyond XR headsets to unveil a smart glasses form factor. Vice President Kim Jeong-hyun of the MX division said, "We started the XR device project four years ago, and after deliberating on technological evolution and market conditions to decide when to bring the product to market, we judged that now is good timing," adding, "We considered the ripple effect when AI and XR technologies meet and the timing of XR platform expansion." With the launch of Galaxy XR, Samsung Electronics presented a blueprint to expand its XR product lineup, including AR glasses, based on the Android XR platform going forward.
◇ XR platform developed with Google and Qualcomm… partnering with Naver and YouTube
Galaxy XR comes with Google Gemini and Gemini Live, which is specialized for conversation, allowing it to recognize what the user sees and hears at the same time. For example, after the user asks Gemini by voice to find a desired video on YouTube, the user can move their gaze to select a search result and execute it with a finger-touch gesture.
Galaxy XR is the first product to feature the Android XR platform that Samsung Electronics jointly developed with Google and Qualcomm under the "Infinite" project. The display uses two 4K micro OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes), one for each eye. Each display achieves an ultra-high density of 4,032 PPI (pixels per inch). It is designed to deliver sharper image quality than Apple Vision Pro (3,391 PPI).
The chip that serves as the brain of the XR device is Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2. Galaxy XR operates through three methods: eyes, hands, and voice. To track hand movements, the device has four sensors and cameras on the front and two on the bottom. Inside the device are four cameras to track eye movements. Six microphones are arranged to improve voice recognition accuracy. The battery lasts up to 2.5 hours, and the product can be used while charging.
In addition to Google's core services such as Google Maps, Photos, and YouTube XR, it implements features used on existing smartphones, striving to address the content shortage long seen as a limitation of XR devices. Users can enjoy XR-only games and Android-based games with real-time coaching from "Gemini," and they can also produce 3D videos using the Adobe Pulsar program. Naver's streaming platform Chzzik will also offer XR-exclusive content. It provides XR content linked to major global services such as Adobe, MLB, NBA, Calm, and AmazeVR. In "Pass Through," where the real-world scene in front of the user is visible as is, users can instantly search for information on objects in front of them using "Circle to Search."
Samsung Electronics is also moving into XR collaboration for corporations. As a representative case, it signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Samsung Heavy Industries to build a virtual shipbuilding training solution using Galaxy XR. Through this, new engineers can be trained to inspect ship engines in a virtual space before being deployed to the field.
◇ Sluggish XR market… "will lead mass adoption"
XR devices have so far failed to break free from the limitations of weight, price, and lack of content. Some assess that the XR headset market has entered a decline. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, as of the second quarter of this year, XR headset shipments fell 15% year over year. XR headset shipments also fell for the third consecutive year as of last year.
To expand the XR market, Samsung Electronics focused Galaxy XR on user convenience in addition to content. Galaxy XR weighs 545 grams, lighter than Apple's Vision Pro (600–650 grams) but heavier than Meta's Meta Quest 3 (515 grams). In particular, to improve the wearing comfort of XR devices, prescription insert lenses for low-vision users can be custom-made and attached to Galaxy XR like a magnet. Users can undergo a suitable prescription test and place an order at Davich Optical stores nationwide and receive lenses produced by Essilor, a global eyeglass lens corporation. The price is 140,000 won regardless of prescription strength.
It remains to be seen how much influence Galaxy XR will have in the global XR headset market. According to Counterpoint Research, as of the second quarter of this year, Meta holds 71% of the XR market. It is followed by Sony (6%), Rayneo (5%), and Apple (4%). Lim Seong-taek, executive vice president and head of Samsung Electronics Korea, said, "Galaxy XR is a product born from the meeting of the industry's top-tier hardware (Samsung) and software (Google) companies," adding that it "is meaningful as a starting point for building the XR market and in presenting a future direction." He added, "We will lead the mass adoption of the XR market so that the market will grow twice as big next year as it is this year."
Meanwhile, in Korea, Galaxy XR can be purchased on Samsung.com and picked up at Samsung Store locations, or purchased at The Hyundai Seoul, Shinsegae Daejeon, Shinsegae Daegu, and Shinsegae Centum City.