Samsung’s Galaxy XR mixed reality headset is here: price, release date and features

it has been Five years since Samsung and Google stopped supporting it Both of them mobile Virtual reality headsets. For a second attempt, the two companies partnered with a bolder vision Mixed reality spaceStarting with the new Galaxy XR. Announced last year as Mohan ProjectIt’s the first headset to run Android XR, a new platform for smart glasses and speakers Built on Android And Google Assistant Gemini from A to Z.

The Galaxy XR is available today in the United States and South Korea at a price of $1,800. (You can finance it for $149 per month for 12 months.) This is a leap compared to standard virtual reality headsets, such as Meta Quest 3but at a much lower price than $3,499 Vision Proany Apple is on the rebound this week With the new M5 processor.

Hungarian vision

Photo: Julian Chocato

I was able to demo the headset again last week at a closed-door media event in New York City held by Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm — the Galaxy XR is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Read more about here. The official name and price were big question marks, but that has been addressed now.

The Galaxy XR claims to do almost everything an Apple device does. Turn on the headset and you’ll be able to see the room you’re in through flat lenses and layer virtual content over it, or transport yourself to another world. Your hands are the inputs (controllers are available as a separate purchase), and it uses eye tracking to figure out what you want to select. You can access all your favorite apps from the Google Play Store; XR apps will be labeled “Made for XR.”

Samsung’s headset is more flexible and doesn’t feel as premium as Apple’s Vision Pro headset, and I did notice that the battery pack strapped into the demo unit looked well worn, with fingerprint smudges on the paint. But this overall construction makes it significantly lighter. I wasn’t able to try it for long, but it felt comfortable, the only issue was brow sweating after 25 minutes of wearing it. The headphone was warm on top, but the battery remained relatively cool. Speaking of which, the battery lasts for two or two and a half hours if you’re just watching video. This is on par with the original Vision Pro, although the M5 version extends to 2.5 with mixed use.