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Android Hardware Technology

Samsung Galaxy XR Is the First Android XR Headset (arstechnica.com) 21

Posted by BeauHD from the new-and-shiny dept.
Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy XR, the first Android headset powered by Google's new Android XR platform. Priced at $1,800 without controllers, the device features dual 4.3K Micro-OLED displays, a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip, extensive camera tracking, and deep Gemini AI integration. Ars Technica reports: Galaxy XR is a fully enclosed headset with passthrough video. It looks similar to the Apple Vision Pro, right down to the battery pack at the end of a cable. It packs solid hardware, including 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor. That's a slightly newer version of the chip powering Meta's Quest 3 headset, featuring six CPU cores and an Adreno GPU that supports up to dual 4.3K displays. The new headset has a pair of 3,552 x 3,840 Micro-OLED displays with a 109-degree field of view. That's marginally more pixels than the Vision Pro and almost three times as many as the Quest 3. The displays can refresh at up to 90Hz, but the default is 72Hz to save power.

Like other XR (extended reality) devices, the Galaxy XR is covered with cameras. There are two 6.5 MP stereoscopic cameras that stream your surroundings to the high-quality screens, allowing the software to add virtual elements on top. There are six more outward-facing cameras for headset positioning and hand tracking. Four more cameras are on the inside for eye-tracking, and they can scan your iris for secure unlocking and password fill (in select apps). Samsung says the Galaxy XR has enough juice for two hours of general use or two and a half hours of video. That's not terribly long, but you may not want to wear the 545 grams (1.2 pounds) headset for even two hours. That's even a little heavier than the Quest 3, which has an integrated battery. However, both pale in comparison to the 800 g (1.7 pounds) second-generation Vision Pro.
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Samsung Galaxy XR Is the First Android XR Headset

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  • Been considering VR for gaming, it seems like an interesting toy. I saw the pawn shop had a Quest 3 for $200 this weekend. Left it on the shelf because I remember the "requires a Facebook account" thing, although apparently that requirement has been axed now.

    What would these other headsets give me above a Quest 3 for gaming? Not really interested in cameras, apps, or an integrated OS. I'd want something as lightweight as possible - physically and conceptually. If it's not strictly about i/o, I'd rather not

    • Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't want anything touching my head or face that's been touching someone else's, esp. something from a pawn shop.

      • So buy a replacement facial interface. Aftermarket ones can be had for $15. There's no reason any part of a VR headset that has touched someone else's face needs to touch yours.

      • Disinfect with alcohol, and iodine antiseptic solution.

    • If you want to play VR games but avoid Facebook, the main options are PC VR (Steam has a huge library of games) or PSVR2 (which can also be used with a PC with an optional adapter). Those are headsets that you hook up to a PC or console, not a self contained system like Quest. They can provide much better graphics than Quest, but the games are mostly the same.

      Comfort is an issue with most VR headsets. They're big and heavy enough, you don't want to wear them for hours at a time. The main exception is Bi

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      For gaming it might be better to look at head tracking. Okay you don't get the stereoscopic 3D effect, but it's much lighter on your GPU, and much more comfortable.

      Basically tracks the direction you are looking in and turns your in-game head by an exaggerated amount to match. Good for things like flight sims where you need to look around you. You get used to it pretty quickly.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )
      Oculus is a reasonable VR experience - lots of games, mobile, plus PC connectivity (although not as good as a wired headset). If you were really into PC gaming then the investment in a cable based headset might be worth it. But VR is always going to be something of a gimmick - fantastic for racing / flight sims, and some other titles make it work, but the majority of VR games are trash.
      • Nah, investing in a Quest 3 (with better headstrap)/Pico 4 Ultra is also great for PCVR, the cable is such an annoyance, and with a decent PC wireless is almost just as good as DP these days, especially during playing games when you are focused on the game and not looking for compression artifacts.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by DrXym ( 126579 )
          I have an Oculus 3. The PC gaming experience is okay but it's not great.
          • Then that's something with your setup, too old or not powerfull enough PC, too crappy wifi or something like that. As even with my Pico 4 (non ultra) and my still old core i7 4770 (2013)/RTX2060super and my old wifi 5 router I get decent, expected quality for the old hardware, PCVR.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by DrXym ( 126579 )
              No, it's the Oculus 3 and the way it supports PC - it compresses video and that degrades the image and introduces latency. It's not uncommon to see blanks around the periphery motion tracking from the way it does this. In addition to that, tethering is almost impossible because of the way the USB cable in the Oculus is designed with the cable sticking out the side. Fortunately it does wifi which works but only for people right next to their router. Not to mention the overall clunkiness of having to boot int

      • Primarily I'm thinking of simulator games, and exclusively on PC. I do not anticipate ever using it apart from my PC.

  • Regardless of whether it is Samsung's or Apple's device, the "VR 3D experience" novelty wears off fast, while wearing a headset remains way to uncomfortable to be endured for as many hours as people like to play video games.
  • Is there any chance this product provides the #GSOD features [youtube.com] ?
  • It's an expensive, clunky, fragile headset with some lame apps and a crappy interface. It doesn't even have the good grace to be good for gaming. Same goes for the Vision Pro only more so since it costs 2x as much again.

  • I number of products I have invested time and data in to... the amount of hardware I have invested dollars in to, just for them to end up in the Google Graveyard...

    0% chance I am going anywhere NEAR this. They screwed me on Cardboard (granted not much), Daydream (a little more), and Tango (a LOT) - fool me four times, shame on me!

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