Samsung has announced plans to develop new extended reality products in collaboration with Qualcomm and Google. XR is a term that encompasses virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality technologies.
I switched from Apple to Samsung in 2015, specifically for Samsung’s Gear VR headset. But when Samsung canceled the project, I switched to the Google Pixel to get closer to Google’s VR platform. And now both Gear VR and the Google platform are gone.
I’m considering switching back to Samsung when the new XR headset comes out. I am also thinking of waiting for the Google version. But if Apple beats them I will switch back to Apple. As difficult as it may be after 7+ years on Android, I want to be on the platform that best supports the metaverse.
What we know so far about the Samsung XR headset
Specific details about Samsung’s XR product have not been revealed, but the company’s president and head of mobile experiences, TM Roh, confirmed in an interview with The Washington Post that Qualcomm will be responsible for the chipset, Samsung will manufacture the hardware, and Google will provide it. . software.
“For chipsets, it will be a strategic collaboration with Qualcomm. “The hardware will be ours,” he said. “In terms of the ecosystem, we were trying to decide which platform to partner with and ultimately decided it would be Google.”
Google and Qualcomm have separately confirmed their partnership on XR. “We’re excited to work with our partners to build a new generation of immersive computing experiences that will further enhance what users can do with Google,” said Google spokesperson Kaori Miyake. “Our partners’ shared expertise lays the foundation to make these opportunities a reality and drive the future of the spatial Internet,” added Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.
President Roh also mentioned that Samsung’s XR venture will include service partnerships with Meta and Microsoft, but declined to give specific details.
Samsung’s XR announcement comes at a critical time for the company, with global smartphone shipments down 12% in 2022 and the company posting its lowest quarterly profit in years. Roh acknowledged that market demand for smartphones may remain weak during the first half of 2023, but believes consumers will continue to invest in premium products to offer additional benefits.
The XR market is expected to be crowded, with Apple widely rumored to unveil its first XR device in the near future and several companies including Meta and Microsoft already offering mixed reality headsets.
But other headsets didn’t work as well. Microsoft recently announced that it would lay off 10,000 employees. According to media reports, the layoffs include the entire Mixed Reality Toolkit group and the AltspaceVR team, effectively halting Microsoft’s own Hololens project.
And Facebook is sitting on a virtual reality project and losing money.
Meanwhile, Samsung has a rich history in the XR space. It was one of the first companies to develop VR hardware, starting with the Samsung Gear VR platform paired with the Galaxy Note 4 phone in 2014. Samsung Gear VR was the first high-quality 3DOF mobile VR experience available to consumers. The company later launched the Odyssey PC VR headset in 2017 and a revised model the following year. However, Samsung has not released a VR product since the launch of Odyssey+.
Google is also involved in VR ventures, including its standalone Daydream platform, which was discontinued in 2019.
The next big event for Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google where more information about their XR hardware partnership may be shared is Mobile World Congress 2023, which starts on February 27 in Barcelona, Spain.