Google is currently working with Samsung to create an XR headset that directly competes with upcoming Apple’s Vision Pro, leading to a “weird bureaucratic mess,” an employee told Insider.
Another employee commented:
At Google, there is a great fear that when Apple releases new products, it shifts the landscape.
According to those close to Google and Samsung, Apple’s Vision Pro showcase was a contributing factor behind the firms partnering to start R&D on Project: Moohan – a prototype Android-powered XR headset.
However, the firms faced hurdles in creating the potential product. The insiders noted how the partnership led to Samsung taking over product feature design decisions and creating a standstill in development.
An insider also added:
It’s easy to end up in a situation where nobody is driving.
Moreover, earlier in the month, Samsung delayed its upcoming headset. Initially, Samsung planned to start production of its forthcoming immersive device at the start of 2024. However, Samsung had to postpone its production plans by 3 – 6 months.
An official close to the situation noted at the time:
I understand that the decision was made considering the specifications of Apple’s mixed reality (MR) headset ‘Vision Pro’, a competitor.
Google also mentioned the Samsung partnership during its most recent I/O conference, whereby the firm reminded attendees that it is working on new chipsets and operating systems to support an impending Samsung XR product.
More on Samsung’s Upcoming Headset
Samsung is gearing up for an XR product. A recent leak from Samsung gave audiences great detail into the potential of the devices’ design features and a potential price range of roughly $1000-$2000.
According to the leak, Samsung is designing a device that leverages four tracking cameras, a pancake lens, two RGB outward-facing cameras, a depth sensor, eye-tracking, hand-tracking, OLED microdisplays, and Samsung’s Exynos 2200 chipset.
Moreover, details from the leak reveal that the upcoming headset will support MR applications with its integrated outward-facing cameras, tracking, and sensor devices – similar to the Apple Vision Pro.
Samsung’s XR roadmap is also moving forward. During the firm’s most recent earnings call, Samsung revealed plans to drive forward with an XR product for its Galaxy ecosystem.
The call also highlighted how Samsung wishes to become a leading microdisplay components provider by the end of the year and noted how the firm’s revenue dropped.
Samsung’s Q2 net profits fell by 84.5 percent from last year to $1.4 billion, total revenue fell by 22 percent to $47 billion, and operating income dropped to $527 million, a decrease of 95 percent. Samsung noted that some of its decreased profits are partly due to a decline in the number of smartphones the firm is shipping.
However, the firm is banking on becoming a leading XR hardware and microdisplay provider to regain profit. Ben Suh, the firm’s SVP of IR, calls the integrated technology the “key components” in an XR device.
Daniel Araujo, VP of Mobile eXperience at Samsung, also noted:
We see the XR market as a large new growth opportunity, and we’re working systematically to the groundwork for an ecosystem that includes core hardware software technology R&D and content.
Samsung is also setting up a dedicated organization for immersive product planning and R&D while collaborating “closely” with affiliate companies and partners – including “a mid-to-long-term collaboration with leading partners like Google and Qualcomm.”
According to Araujo, Samsung’s XR Galaxy product portfolio will:
Provide a new and differentiated form factor experience where consumers can spend more time communicating, working or enjoying their leisure time.
Samsung’s Microdisplay Ambitions
Following its 290 billion Won acquisition of Imagine – a microdisplay innovator – last year, Samsung is currently undergoing a follow-up process, which sees the firm waiting for merger approvals from various country authorities, and the firm should start to see a capital return in October this year.
A “key purpose” of Samsung’s acquisition of Imagine is to enhance “technology preparedness” for the firm’s entry into the XR marketplace.
Shuh also explained that Samsung is organizing a development team that looks “into the development of various microdisplay technology, such as OLEDOS or LEDOS.”
Additionally, Shuh said that the Imagine acquisition “enhance[s]” Samsung’s XR “business competitiveness and provide microdisplay solutions, innovative solutions to a wider range of customers.”
Samsung is continuing its research and outreach to find various technologies necessary to “secure our leadership in future [XR] technology,” said Shuh – who also noted how the XR device ecosystem is picking up in activity – “Some are saying that once the XR devices become widely penetrated, it would bring fundamental change to the way people live beyond what had happened by the smartphone.”
