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A new mixed-reality headset developed by Samsung and Google has hit the market for about half the price of Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro — the product it mostly closely resembles and will directly compete against.The $1,800 device, called the Galaxy XR, marks a bold attempt to draw interest around a product category that has so far failed to resonate with ordinary consumers. The companies first teased the gadget last December, referring to it by a codename: “Project Moohan.” On Tuesday, the companies revealed its final name, price and full capabilities.The Galaxy XR’s official launch comes less than a week after Apple upgraded the nearly two-year-old Vision Pro with a redesigned headband and the company’s M5 chip. But the iPhone maker has shelved a cheaper and lighter version of the device for 2027, Bloomberg has reported, in an effort to prioritize lighter, sleeker smart glasses that have garnered far more interest among consumers than bulky headsets.Samsung is entering a market dominated by Meta, which held 71% of the global mixed-reality market in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. The social media giant has also had recent success with smart glasses, made in partnership with brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley. It's been selling fully enclosed headsets for years but recently backed off Samsung's price range, having discontinued its-once $1,500 headset late last year. Its current headsets top out at $500.Samsung is mum on sales expectations for the Galaxy XR, but admitted that the category remains nascent. It’s “difficult to tell” how the device will sell, said Kihwan Kim, executive vice president of immersive solutions at Samsung Electronics. The new Galaxy-branded headset is the first in a wave of wearables running Android XR, a new operating system from Google optimized for mixed-reality devices. Samsung and Google are also working together on smart glasses that, like the Galaxy XR, will incorporate Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence assistant. Google is collaborating on similar glasses with other brands, too, including Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Glasses from the two companies are coming "pretty soon," said Kim in an interview, adding the firms are "really building and laying the foundation for our roadmap of Google and Samsung working together."Shahram Izadi, Google’s vice president and general manager of Android XR, likened the strategy to consumers using a mix of laptops, phones and wearables to meet their needs, saying he believes users will want both immersive headsets and glasses.“It’s not a conflict between these devices,” said Izadi. “They’re very complimentary and you’ll use different devices throughout your day depending on the task at hand. So if you want to watch a movie, you’ll do it on the headset. If you want to have an assistant with you all day, you'll use the glasses.”Galaxy XRLike the Vision Pro, the Galaxy XR is equipped with a high-resolution 4K Micro-OLED display for each eye and has passthrough cameras so users can see their surroundings. There’s also a fully immersive mode optimized for tasks like gaming or watching videos. Under the hood, the headset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip.Battery life is rated at 2.5 hours per charge. That run time is on par with the Vision Pro, but still isn’t enough to make it through longer movies like Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.Izadi said the companies set the price below rivals to make it “as accessible as possible.” Aside from cost, Samsung also sought to address another frequent criticism of the Vision Pro: weight. The Galaxy XR weighs just 545 grams (1.2 pounds), while Apple’s headset tops out at 800 grams (about 1.8 pounds) following the addition of its new, more ergonomic headband.To help boost what’s been a slow-going category, Google and Samsung are offering a free “Explorer Pack” to early adopters through this year. The bundle includes:12 months of Google AI Pro (normally $20 per month).A full year of YouTube Premium (normally $140).YouTube TV trial that drops the $82.99 service to $1 per month for the first three months.Access to the 2025-2026 season of NBA League Pass in the US, or 12 months of the Coupang Play Sports Pass in Korea.Access to Status Pro’s NFL PRO ERA, Project Pulsar from Adobe, Asteroid and Calm.Optional accessories for the Galaxy XR include a travel carrying case and handheld controllers, both of which cost $250. Apple's similar Vision Pro case costs $199. The Apple Store also sells the $130 Logitech Muse and, starting next month in the US, the $250 PlayStation VR2 Sense controller.The Galaxy XR will be available exclusively at Samsung stores and online — at least initially. Major retailers like Best Buy aren’t planning to offer the device at launch. Samsung is working to expand the headset’s retail presence in the coming months, the executives said, but logistical complications like accommodating prescription lenses could limit that effort. (Best Buy has thus...
