Samsung will unveil more than half a dozen new products at its next Galaxy Unpacked event on Monday. However, it won't unveil one device many are interested in seeing. And that is Samsung's first XR headset.
The company hinted about it over a year ago, but there are no signs of it yet.
Samsung XR headset will likely not be announced at the next Galaxy Unpacked
It is likely that Samsung won't announce its first XR headset at the next Galaxy Unpacked event on July 10. The South Korean firm said it is “building the next XR experience” in partnership with Google and Qualcomm. Although the company hinted at its first XR headset early last year, Samsung hasn't uttered a word about it later. And this has us worried.
Multiple reports have suggested that Samsung went back to the drawing board after seeing the extremely high-end Apple Vision Pro, which might have delayed things a lot. It is rumored that Samsung's original design and specs were comparatively lower-end, and the company then decided to improve those things. Its display panel and processor were reported, but not much else.
A new report from Android Central claims that the issue is not limited to Samsung and its hardware. Google is in charge of developing the XR headset's operating system, which is currently called Android XR. The prototype version of the device, which has reportedly been sent out to some developers, is said to be buggy and unreliable. These early development kits are reportedly proving harder to work with. This shows Google still has a lot of work to do on the operating system.
To know what Samsung is planning to announce at its next event on Monday, watch our video below.
Despite launching the Daydream VR platform in 2016, Google discarded all its progress when it discontinued the platform in 2019. Since then, Google has undergone several restructures. Now, Google and Samsung stand unprepared in front of Apple, which has been developing Vision Pro and its operating system for years.
While Google reminded everyone in May 2023 that it is working on an XR platform in partnership with Samsung, it has stayed mum about it later. Neither Google nor Samsung have mentioned anything else about the XR headset in the past few months.
We expected to see glimpses of the device at the next Galaxy Unpacked, but there has been no information about it yet. All other devices that Samsung will announce at the event have leaked in detail. Now, we are worried about the companies abandoning the project completely, which isn't unheard of for both Google and Samsung (remember Galaxy Home?). Or, they might be too late to launch the XR headset, giving Apple all the headroom.
Despite being so high-end, Apple Vision Pro sales have been disappointing so far, so it might be better for Samsung to launch its XR headset late than to launch an unfinished product with no killer apps, capabilities, or features. It might also do well to launch a device that has a bearable price tag so enough people can actually buy it.
The gist of the story is that we probably won't see Samsung's XR headset at the next Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris next week. The company might only launch the Galaxy Buds 3, Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 6, and Galaxy Z Fold 6. If you were hoping to see the XR headset, prepare yourself to be disappointed.
