At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris, where it unveiled new gadgets including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Ring, Google was invited to talk all things Gemini AI. But in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, Google confirmed its XR platform plans (an umbrella term for VR, AR and MR). Samsung President and Head of the Mobile Experience (MX) business TM Roh said the fruits of Samsung and Google’s XR partnership would come “this year.”
Since we’re already halfway through 2024, Samsung and Google better hurry. Our best guess is when we hear more at the Samsung Developer’s Conference (SDC), scheduled for October 3, 2024. But what will we see?
Google and Samsung have previously hinted that we’d see a physical device focused on the XR , and that makes sense; what’s the point of a new XR platform if nothing can use it? That could be a Samsung XR headset, or maybe even a pair of glasses – standalones are possible, but we’re expecting something along the lines of Xreal Air 2 Ultras that require a smartphone to run.
If we’re going to use our conspiracy thinking, an October hardware launch makes a lot of sense when you also consider that Google has moved up its next Pixel phone launch event (which normally takes place around October) to August. Perhaps in an attempt to give the new Pixel 9 some breathing room before showing off some new XR tech – whatever it may be – later this year.
As for the XR platform itself, we imagine it will be Android’s answer to Meta’s VisionOS and HorizonOS. The latter could prove to be a particularly tough competitor; Meta has spent years working on what is easily the best XR OS from a software and usability perspective, and has announced that Horizon OS will be coming to non-Meta Quest headsets in the near future, including devices from Asus, Lenovo, and Xbox.
So Google and Samsung will have to be ready to show something special on both the hardware and software fronts. Otherwise, all the hype that has been building since the XR platform was first announced in February 2023 will be for nothing.