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According to recent reports from Upload VR and the Korean newspaper The JoonAng, the XR alliance consisting of Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm, aimed at developing a mixed reality headset, has decided to restart their project, resulting in a delay of the headset's launch. Samsung has reportedly commissioned higher-resolution screens from Samsung Display to match the 4K-in-each-eye (8K) displays used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset. The original announcement, expected in early 2024, has been pushed to mid-2024, with the product launch postponed to the end of the year.
This decision is seen as a response to the surprising specifications of Apple's Vision Pro, which was unveiled in June 2022. The joint venture's headset is designed by Samsung, while Google is working on a mixed reality version of Android, and Qualcomm is providing the chip technology, likely the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 Platform.
The reports also suggest that Samsung's headset production target for 2024 is a modest 30,000 units. In comparison, Apple has reportedly scaled back its production targets for the Vision Pro from 1 million to 400,000 units for 2024. The expected price for Samsung's headset is around $2,000, competing with Apple's Vision Pro at $3,500 and the Meta Quest 3 at $500.
This decision to go back to the drawing board is reminiscent of Google's approach with Android, which initially had a design similar to BlackBerry until the unveiling of the iPhone prompted a redesign. The reboot may result in a more compelling hardware product when Samsung eventually unveils its next-generation headset in mid-2024, potentially at the summer Unpacked event.
