Samsung Electronics said on Friday it will launch an “extended reality” (XR) headset jointly developed with Alphabet’s Google and Qualcomm in global markets next year.
The extended reality headset is part of wearable devices to be powered by the new version of Google’s Android software — called Android XR — developed in tandem with Samsung.
“The XR headset product will arrive in global markets sometime next year. No further details are available about the product for now,” a company spokesperson said over the phone, reports Yonhap news agency.
Extended Reality is a blanket term that refers to various virtual-, augmented- and mixed-reality technologies.
The new headset, code-named Project Moohan, taken from the Korean word for “infinity,” will have Google’s Gemini chatbot built into its core. It will allow users to control their apps with conversational commands and physical gestures.
The Samsung headset is equipped with Qualcomm’s XR2 Gen 2 chip for mixed-reality devices.
Shahram Izadi, Google’s vice president of XR, said Android XR has been developed as an open and integrated platform for headsets and smart glasses with screens embedded in their lenses.
Google’s smart glasses, built on Android XR, are also set to be launched, though the exact timeframe has yet to be decided.
Google’s new operating system and the Samsung-built headset are expected to challenge Apple’s Vision Pro headset and Meta Platforms’ smart glasses and virtual reality headsets.
Meanwhile, Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong expressed his commitment to joining the international community’s efforts for safe, innovative and inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) technology at a global summit, the company said.
“Beyond impacting industrial innovation and economic growth, AI is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and interact with the world,” Lee said in a video conference during the leaders’ session of the AI Seoul Summit the previous day, according to Samsung.
