Samsung and Google Challenge Apple with Revolutionary AI Headsets

SadaNews - Samsung has released the Galaxy XR augmented reality headset, leveraging AI features from Google to push into a market dominated by Meta and Apple.

The cost of Samsung's new headset, which resembles those made by other companies like Meta, will be $1,799, about half the price of Apple’s Vision Pro, according to a report published by Reuters and reviewed by Al Arabiya Business.

This is the first in a family of new devices running on the Android XR operating system and artificial intelligence, in a long-term partnership with Google's parent company Alphabet and Qualcomm.

Shahram Izadi, Vice President of Google for augmented and virtual reality, said yesterday, "We have a whole journey ahead of us regarding other devices and form factors."

Executives stated that the next step will be the release of lighter glasses.

Samsung has announced partnerships with Warby Parker and South Korean luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster.

Fierce Competition

The race to find new forms of entertainment and computing, powered by artificial intelligence, has ignited a battle among major technology companies.

Meta, the owner of the Instagram app, dominates the virtual reality glasses market with nearly 80% market share, while Apple lags behind.

OpenAI, the maker of the famous ChatGPT application, has also entered the race.

OpenAI spent approximately $6.5 billion to acquire the startup AI Products, co-founded by Jonny Ive, the designer of the iPhone, in May to innovate devices in the age of artificial intelligence.

Jay Kim, Executive Vice President of Mobile Phones at Samsung, noted that the South Korean company has been studying the augmented reality sector for the past ten years and only reached out to Google about four years ago to develop the joint project codenamed "Mohan," which means "infinity" in Korean.

He added at a press conference held in Seoul today, "We were deeply thinking about the timing of the product’s launch, and considering various factors such as technological evolution and market conditions, we believe now is the ideal time."

The much-anticipated Galaxy XR, which was first showcased last year, combines features of virtual and mixed reality.

It allows users to watch videos, like those on Alphabet’s YouTube platform, play games, and view images while enabling interaction with their surroundings.

Leveraging Google’s AI Power

This last feature takes advantage of Google’s Gemini service, which can analyze what users are seeing and provide directions or information about objects in the real world by looking at and moving around them with their fingers.

Samsung and Google stated that customers who purchase the headset this year will receive a package of free services including access to Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, and Google Play Pass for 12 months.

Like many first-generation technologies, this headset attempts to perform numerous tasks that can have applications for both consumers and enterprises.

Qualcomm provides the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip to power the headset.

The Galaxy XR is the first device to run on Android XR, but Samsung introduced face-mounted computing devices a decade ago, which included putting a smartphone in glasses, called Gear VR, in partnership with Oculus, the VR headset maker, that was acquired by Meta in 2014.