This week at Unpacked 2024, Samsung announced more details on its elusive yet intriguing XR headset, which the firm first showed off at MWC earlier this year.
During the Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris, France, on July 10, the firm’s leading representatives announced that the XR device will be released later this year-despite MWC news suggesting a 2025 release.
The timing allows Samsung to quickly get its horse in the race, following the Vision Pro international deployment hype and potential product releases at Meta Connect 2024.
Suppose Samsung drops a device in late 2024 and offers a cheaper, more accessible XR product. In that case, the firm may position itself in a valuable position by jumping on major vendor hype with an alluring hardware alternative.
Moreover, with its XR device, Samsung can offer a headset with an extensive OS and accompanying hardware ecosystem via the Glaxey product portfolio.
Similar to how Apple can provide a trusted framework around its Vision Pro headset, the Glaxay ecosystem could provide the familiarity and confidence to boost XR device visibility.
At the event, TM Roh, the President of Samsung’s Mobile Division, and Google’s Senior Vice President of Platforms and Devices, Rick Osterloh, confirmed that the XR device is under rigorous development and aims for a late 2024 release.
He also added:
Looking forward, we’re collaborating to bring next-generation experiences across Galaxy products from smartphones and wearables to even future technologies like the upcoming XR platform we’ve been working closely to develop in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm.
Roh also confirmed that the device is coming “later this year,” despite Samsung not revealing a release window; the pair appeared confident about the potential XR device’s 2024 debut.
More on Samsung’s XR Device
Samsung first revealed its XR headset at MWC 2024 earlier this year. The firm revealed the product alongside new emerging technology efforts, including a mobility device and ring-based digital input product.
Details about Samsung’s new device are limited. Still, reports indicate that the device will feature a microOLED display, eight tracking cameras, a ToF sensor, voice commands, eye tracking, and hand tracking.
Additionally, due to Samsung’s partnership with Qualcomm, it is reasonable to expect that the device will be equipped with Qualcomm’s recently released XR2+ Gen 2 Platform, developed in collaboration with Samsung and Google. Furthermore, given Google’s involvement, it is likely that genAI integrations may also be included in the Samsung headset, thanks in part to the XR2+ Gen 2 Platform’s support for AI-ready wearables.
Inkang Song, the Vice President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ Technology Strategy Team, explained that Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm are collaborating to create high-quality XR experiences for Galaxy users.
Shahram Izadi, the Vice President of Augmented Reality at Google, highlighted the advantages of Android ecosystem support, which will enable developers to utilize the capabilities of Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 and collaborate with Samsung and Qualcomm to develop innovative, immersive, and spatial XR experiences.
The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset is renowned for delivering 4.3K resolution. Hugo Swart, the Vice President and General Manager of XR at Qualcomm Technologies, mentioned that the new hardware provides exceptionally clear visuals, catering to demanding user display requirements such as room-scale screens, life-size overlays, and virtual desktops.
Qualcomm’s upgraded GPU considerations allow for the powering of AR/MR devices with over 12 concurrent cameras for accurate user, movement, and environment tracking. Additionally, these GPU upgrades enhance AI assistant features on smart glasses or headsets.
Apart from the 4.3K resolution and GPU improvements, the chipset boasts 8x better AI performance, 12ms full-colour video see-through, support for the 4.3K x 4.3K resolution, “Game Super Resolution,” “Space Warp,” Foveated rendering, support for depth sensors, eye tracking, hand tracking, face tracking, and controller tracking, Wi-Fi 7, and Wi-Fi 6/6E support.
Although the Qualcomm chipset does not reveal every detail about the Samsung device, the features of the XR2+ Gen 2 Platform provide insights into the upcoming product’s usability and performance.
Maria Malik is your guide to the immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR). With a passion for VR technology, she explores the latest VR headsets, applications, and experiences, providing readers with in-depth reviews, industry insights, and a glimpse into the future of virtual experiences.
