Samsung Galaxy XR hands-on: raises the bar while lowering the price for premium spatial experiences

TechRadar

Samsung Galaxy XR headset, formerly known as Project Moohan, is the product of some deep collaboration. between Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm. In some ways, Samsung Galaxy XR represents the best of each company: it's a showcase for Samsung's design and R&D expertise, an illustration of Google's powerhouse generative AI efforts, and Qualcomm's ever-growing mobile SoC capabilities.

Transcript

00:00Remember Project MUHAMM, that big project that was Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm all

00:09together?

00:10Forget it.

00:11This is Samsung Galaxy XR, the product of that collaboration.

00:16And we're about to get an up-close look and try it out for ourselves.

00:20So here we have it, Samsung Galaxy XR.

00:22I'm getting, you know, I'm going to start with the price, $17.99.

00:25So that is a very exciting price point for a mixed reality spatial computer because that's

00:32what it is basically.

00:33So it's got both pass-through and fully immersive.

00:36At the center of all of this is Gemini, Google Gemini.

00:40So that's kind of the secret sauce.

00:42Yes, you'll be using gestures to move things around, to touch and move and grab, but you'll

00:47be talking to this device.

00:49And because it has Google Gemini AI inside of it, it'll understand.

00:53You'll be able to interact with different apps, of course, all of the Google apps, but also

00:57other third-party apps, even gaming.

01:00If you're playing a game, you'll be able to circle to search and ask questions.

01:04If you're confused about how to use an app, you can ask.

01:06It's all going to work here.

01:08The other thing is you might notice I'm just holding this with one hand like this, 536 grams,

01:12right?

01:13This is super light.

01:14It's a mixture of aluminum, glass, and a bunch of other plastic materials.

01:18One thing that I'm not showing right now that is missing from here is the battery pack.

01:22It looks up right there.

01:24Don't know how much battery life it has yet.

01:25We're going to try that out, but we do know that it's dual 4K AMOLED displays right here.

01:30It's a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip inside of it.

01:34So that is powering pretty much everything that goes on inside of it.

01:37Also, as I said, 536 grams and really easy to put on, really lightweight.

01:44It actually feels pretty good.

01:46You know, we're going to try things out like audio, but I'm going to be using gestures

01:51to control it, my voice to control it.

01:53The fact that this is starting at $1799.

01:57Now when you buy the $1799 and get the Explorer pack, you're actually going to get a bunch

02:02of things with it, like Gemini Pro for a year.

02:05You're going to get a bunch of things, which after the time expires, you'll have to pay for

02:09them.

02:10And then October 21st, it's called Samsung Galaxy XR.

02:12And now we're going to dive in and see what it's like to use this experience.

02:17So I just had my first full hands-on experience with the Samsung Galaxy XR.

02:22In some ways, it's instantly familiar because I spent so much time with Apple's Vision Pro.

02:26There's a bunch of little gestures, you're pinching, you're zooming, you turn your finger

02:30around the pinch and the whole menu comes up and the menu, yes, it again, feels similar.

02:35You've got your icons floating in space, it's full of icons that are familiar to you.

02:39And of course, all of the Google apps are already in there.

02:42We had a lot of different experiences.

02:45I looked at a map.

02:46I looked at a map because I was looking at photos, spatial photos, photos that started

02:50out as regular photos are now spatial photos, full 3D.

02:54And I asked questions.

02:55I interrogated Gemini, which is part of it.

02:57What is this?

02:58Where is it?

02:59What is the building behind them?

03:00They told me about the hotel.

03:01What are the mountains behind them?

03:02They told me it was Yosemite Park.

03:04I said, take me to the hotel.

03:06I instantly opened up Google Maps, located in space.

03:09Now I could look at Google Maps that way, or I could take a journey on a beautifully rendered

03:143D space, the whole map over the terrain.

03:17Again, I'm always using my hands.

03:19I'm doing this.

03:20I'm pinching.

03:21I'm zooming.

03:22One of the differences between this and Vision Pro is that we've oftentimes got this tether

03:25to things.

03:26So you've got this little line and you see it there.

03:29In some ways, super similar, you know, taking the window and moving it around.

03:33You grab it, move it here, take it, resize it.

03:36Mostly I was able to really capture it easily and move things around.

03:40On the pass through, it looks great, clear.

03:42I did notice when I turned my head side to side, it seemed to almost pixelate a little

03:46bit.

03:47I couldn't quite figure that out.

03:48Just the moment, but not a big deal.

03:50I also did a full immersion.

03:52Now this doesn't start with these little covers here.

03:56You put them on.

03:57Magnetic gives you a better seal.

03:59I had an experience with like a black hole.

04:01Basically, I learned all about a black hole beautifully rendered.

04:04The spatial audio is excellent.

04:07So it's really, you know, visually really high quality.

04:11As far as the fit and feel of it, it feels lighter than, for example, the Vision Pro, even

04:16the Quest 3S.

04:17It feels well balanced.

04:19The pressure is mainly here.

04:21I tightened it well enough that the lens would sit.

04:24It felt like it's that high, but that's how I lined this up to my eyes.

04:27Oh, and the ones that they had for me, yes.

04:29We did put in prescription lenses, which are about $99.

04:34You know, that's going to be an extra expense, but generally I liked the experience of it.

04:38It felt good.

04:39I could wear it if I wanted for two hours, two and a half hours if I'm just watching video,

04:45but two hours is generally going to be the thing.

04:47And then finally, this was the attachment for the battery pack, which sat, which tethered

04:52a line sat next to me.

04:54If the battery went on here, it would be much heavier.

04:57Glad it's not.

04:58Overall, good experience.

05:00That's what it's like to wear Samsung's new Samsung Galaxy XR headset.

05:06Stick with techradar.com for all the details about pricing, availability, and our experience.

05:10Stick with techradar.com for all the details about pricing, availability, and our experience.

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