Constructed on an open, scalable platform with multimodal AI at its core, Galaxy XR marks the start of the Android XR ecosystem, unleashing a way forward for discovery, play, and work. However controllers will value you $250 extra…
Samsung revealed its Galaxy XR, then nonetheless underneath the title Mission Moohan, on the Cellular World Congress (MWC) 2025, in Barcelona, final March, and has now formally introduced the VR headset, which is out there for $1,799.99 in Korea and US, a value that’s – loads – lower than Apple asks for its Imaginative and prescient Professional, whereas the specs are related, and the Galaxy XR even has extra decision, at 3552×3840 pixels towards 3660×320 on Apple’s headset.
Samsung’s Galaxy XR is, the corporate says, step one in Samsung’s long-term XR journey, with improvements to return throughout the complete spectrum of XR kind components, together with AI glasses. As the primary product constructed on the brand new Android XR platform developed collectively by Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm Applied sciences, Galaxy XR showcases the way forward for discovery, play, and work, enabling customers to take pleasure in pure, deeply immersive experiences — from each day duties to daring new frontiers, the Galaxy XR is, Samsung provides, “unlocking new prospects with multimodal AI, reworking how folks join with the world by expertise of their each day lives.”
In keeping with Samsung, Galaxy XR advantages from the power of Android XR, which is a robust platform that places AI on the middle of the expertise, and is designed to scale throughout a wide range of kind components, from headsets to AI glasses and past. All apps constructed on the Android platform work proper out of the field on Galaxy XR, guaranteeing customers can benefit from the acquainted cellular experiences they already love and making the machine as helpful day-to-day as it’s groundbreaking. Because the platform is constructed on OpenXR requirements, it’s simple for builders utilizing OpenXR, WebXR, or Unity to carry their experiences to Galaxy XR — providing them extra methods to scale and giving customers extra decisions.
We’ve shared details about the headset earlier than and it’s most likely a good suggestion to go and skim it. Right here we share the information and the way Samsung needs the Galaxy XR to be perceived.
“With Galaxy XR, Samsung is introducing a brand-new ecosystem of cellular units,” mentioned Gained-Joon Choi, Chief Working Officer of Cellular eXperience (MX) Enterprise at Samsung Electronics. “Constructed on Android XR, Galaxy XR expands the imaginative and prescient for cellular AI into a brand new frontier of immersive and significant prospects, permitting XR to maneuver from idea to on a regular basis actuality, for each the business and customers.”
“Galaxy XR embodies our imaginative and prescient for the longer term, the place the synergy of AI and XR transforms the chances of private computing,” mentioned Alex Katouzian, Group GM of Cellular, Compute & XR at Qualcomm Applied sciences, Inc. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating on this initiative, as Galaxy XR will assist to carry new use circumstances throughout varied industries and pave the best way for thrilling multi-device experiences, all enabled by our work with Samsung and Google.
Though the headset is designed to supply new ranges of immersion in leisure, Samsung says that additionally it is dedicated to assembly a variety of use circumstances for enterprise wants corresponding to digital coaching in heavy business and development, together with a partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries to make the most of Galaxy XR for digital shipbuilding coaching for work productiveness and security. Samsung additionally partnered with Qualcomm Applied sciences to make the most of their efforts with Snapdragon Areas expertise to faucet into an Enterprise ISV ecosystem, giving builders the instruments to carry their purposes to Galaxy XR and create new alternatives for the enterprise world to undertake enterprise options optimized for Android XR. Collectively, these collaborations carry enterprise-ready XR capabilities that allow superior coaching, co-design of options, and safe distant collaboration.
When it comes to leisure Galaxy XR opens, Samsung says, totally new dimensions of discovery, offering a wide selection of experiences optimized for XR corresponding to Google Maps, YouTube, Circle to Search, and Google Photographs. Listed here are some examples:
- Journey and search with Google Maps: Customers can use Gemini as a information to navigate to anywhere on Google Maps and ask for personalised solutions about close by locations whereas exploring the world in immersive 3D maps.
- Deep-dive into content material with AI: Customers can naturally ask Gemini to seek out the content material they need to see on YouTube and get extra details about the video they’re watching — unlocking richer studying and leisure experiences.
- See extra with video go by and Circle to Search: In go by mode, customers can see the bodily world round them and draw a circle with their hand to immediately seek for details about something in entrance of them.
- Auto-spatialize movies and pictures into 3D: View your 2D pictures or movies with added depth and dimension. Google Photographs with Media Auto Spatialization turns reminiscences into immersive experiences.
Samsung introduced throughout the presentation that those that buy Galaxy XR by the top of 2025 can even benefit from the unique advantages of The Explorer Pack, which is value greater than $1,000. This profit bundle consists of 12 months of entry to Google AI Professional, YouTube Premium, Google Play Go, and XR Pack of specialised XR content material.
Now, though the worth for the Galaxy XR is $1,799.99, in case you want/need controllers you’ll should pay $250 extra, this as a result of Samsung believes that controllers aren’t wanted for many apps the VR headset can run. The Web has already reacted to this choice, contemplating it a “unhealthy advertising and marketing possibility”, as controllers must be bundled with the headset. Not having controllers within the bundle means builders, when porting a title to the Galaxy XR, should contemplate that some customers may have controllers whereas others don’t. A few of these builders could not even hassle, as a result of regardless of the Galaxy XR being cheaper than Apple’s headset it’s nonetheless 3 times costlier than a Quest 3.
In keeping with UploadVR, solely two hours after the launch in US of the Galaxy XR, “non-obligatory tracked controllers are offered out already, that means new patrons should wait to get them” a transparent indication that patrons need the controllers. Actually, controllers are important for lots of the ports from Quest to Android XR, and most PC VR video games, that can be utilized with the Android XR platform by the Digital Desktop app, want controllers.
PC VR could, in actual fact, be the rationale why many will purchase the Galaxy XR, because the decision provided by the headset appeals to customers who prefer to expertise whole immersion in video games corresponding to DCS or Microsoft Flight Simulator or Elite: Harmful, the place the decision provided by the Galaxy XR is crucial. PC VR additionally consists of a number of the most enjoyable leisure apps, from the Museum of Different Realities to CAPCOM GO! Apollo VR Planetarium … for which you want a controller!
