Samsung Teases Its Own Headset to Rival Apple Vision Pro in 2025

Samsung has been toying with the idea of ​​releasing its own XR (augmented reality) headset for about a year. In a recent earnings call, it said it aims to “enhance connectivity between products, including upcoming XR devices.” This may point to us finally getting a rival to the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 by the South Korean giant.

Last month, Daily Korea reported (via Download) that Samsung is now showing urgency to release its XR headset, if LG abandons its plan to launch a premium Meta Horizon OS headset in 2025 and stop work Apple’s take on the equally expensive Vision Pro 2. instead focus on budget reform first.

According to Tom’s Guide predictions, Samsung will partner with Qualcomm for the chip that will power its upcoming XR headset, and Google will likely host the platform it will run on. This repeats the statement of Google by Rick Osterloh at the end of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 when he confirmed that “a new XR platform is coming later this year.”

Apparently, according to SBS Biz, Samsung restarted its XR headset design process from scratch when the Vision Pro was unveiled and it far exceeded expectations. It also revealed that Samsung felt insecure about its concept and that it wasn’t impressive enough to “surprise users.”

However, recent reports suggest that Samsung is finally working on its own version of the Meta Quest-like headset. A recent piece by Android Authority claims that Google will soon start hosting apps designed specifically for the XR headset. This clearly gives away Samsung’s plans as there are no other major Android-based XR headsets on the market yet. Information reports that Google has been rolling out the Android XR platform to other hardware makers, but no one has shown much interest yet.

These little tidbits of information from various reports are all we know about the headset. It is not yet clear what features it will offer or how much it will cost. However, Tom’s Guide says that a June 2023 report has pointed to the company producing a headset that will sell for between $1,000 and $1,500 while surpassing Apple’s offering on headsets that are nearly three times the price in terms of features. As a big claim that is, looking at how quickly sales of the Apple Vision Pro are falling, it can actually happen. Samsung and Google have promised us that we will learn more about their collaboration before the end of 2024, so let’s stay tuned for more announcements.