Samsung announced an XR project last year during the launch of the Galaxy S23 series, in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm. Since then, not much has been shared or leaked about the XR device.
Many expected Samsung"s XR device to be an Extended Reality (XR) headset that could go head-to-head with the Apple Vision Pro. In fact, a prototype of the XR headset was also leaked suggesting that it could be what Samsung was developing. However, it now seems that the upcoming XR device from Samsung isn"t a headset, but glasses.
In an interview with CNBC, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon revealed that Samsung"s XR device is mixed reality smart glasses. CEO Cristiano further added that Samsung"s smart glasses can be linked to a phone and it will be a "new product." He further added:
What I really expect to come out of this partnership, I want everyone that has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it. I think we need to get to the point that the glasses are going to be no different than wearing regular glasses or sunglasses. And then with that, we can get scale.
The upcoming Samsung XR smart glasses will most likely feature a Qualcomm chipset and a new version of Android designed for XR/VR/AR since Google is also partnering with Samsung on this project.
Additionally, the smart glasses will be equipped with AI running on the cloud. Amon said, "AI is going to run on the device. It’s going to run on the cloud." He emphasized that he envisions these smart glasses as companions for users" phones.
For now, the question remains: What do these smart glasses look like, and what will their specifications be? Recently, a Samsung VR headset was spotted on Geekbench, powered by the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset and paired with 16GB of RAM. However, there is no clarity if this is the same device Qualcomm"s CEO was talking about or if this is a different project, Samsung is working on.