At long last, Samsung has fully unveiled Project Moohan, its rebuttal to the Apple Vision Pro, which we can now officially call the Galaxy XR. The headset wasn’t exactly under wraps to this point, given the fact that it was initially shown off in January of this year, but we now have all of the details, including the one major thing we were dying to know: the price. Without further ado: Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset costs *drum roll* $1,800…
That is, as you may have noticed, quite a bit of money to spend on a headset. It is cheaper (about half the price) than the Vision Pro with M5, which still costs $3,500. It’s also $300 more expensive than the first “Pro” headset to make major splashes with its price, the Meta Quest Pro. As a refresher, that short-lived headset debuted at $1,500 in 2022, which caused a major uproar at the time. While that’s a lot of money to pay for a headset, Samsung is at least offering a Vision Pro-like experience on paper, so I guess (based on Apple’s absurd pricing) it’s technically a discount? Kind of?
The Galaxy XR’s display is, like the Vision Pro, micro-OLED and clocks in at a resolution of 3,552 x 3,840 pixels per eye. That’s comparable to the Vision Pro, which has a resolution of 3,660 x 3,200 pixels per eye. The Galaxy XR headset will top out at 90Hz with a 72Hz default, while Apple’s Vision Pro with M5 brings a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. For reference, the original Vision Pro (with M2 chip) topped out at 100Hz and had a 90Hz standard refresh rate.
In addition to the premium display, the Galaxy XR headset also has a similar UI to the Vision Pro that is centered on hand and eye tracking, allowing you to pinch and grab things in virtual space without a controller. To enable that Vision Pro-esque UI, which is built on Android XR in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, there are two hi-res cameras for passthrough, six outward-facing cameras devoted just to tracking, four inward-facing cameras for eye tracking, and a depth sensor. All of that should deliver an experience that feels similar to the Vision Pro, but if you do want a more traditional controller-based experience, you can go ahead and purchase controllers for an additional… $250. If you’re thinking, “Jeez, that brings the price to more than $2,000!” I’m here to tell you that your math is unfortunately correct.
In the battery department, you’ll also find near-parity. Samsung says the Galaxy XR headset is rated for 2 hours of general use and 2.5 hours for video playback, while the newest Vision Pro with M5 chip is rated for 2.5 hours of general use and 3 hours for video playback. Both headsets use an external battery pack to help alleviate the weight from your face. Samsung’s Galaxy XR is naturally powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, which is Qualcomm’s newest XR chip.
But enough about hardware for now. You’re probably wondering what it is you can even do with this headset, and on that front, there are even more Vision Pro similarities. Samsung says Android XR is built for all sorts of standard XR stuff, including gaming and immersive sports, and can also “spatialize” 2D videos so that they can be watched in 3D on the headset. Given the close collaboration with Google, there’s also a noticeable dose of Gemini here. Samsung says that the Galaxy XR headset will feature a Gemini gaming coach and Gemini-powered features like Circle to Search.
There will also be a few Google services that Samsung says are optimized for XR, including Google Photos, YouTube, and my personal favorite… Google Maps. I have no idea who is going to strap on a headset to use Google Maps, but Google has been building out Immersive View in Google Maps, which could be kind of cool to experience in XR, so I will suspend my disbelief until I try Google Maps in Android XR for myself.
One area that I’m very curious whether Samsung will pull away in is comfort. Probably my biggest complaint about the Vision Pro is that it’s very heavy, and after long periods of use, it can really start to feel uncomfortable on your head and nose. The latest Vision Pro with M5 chip tries to combat that with a new headstrap with better counterbalances, but the Galaxy XR headset still has the Vision Pro beat in the weight department. According to Samsung, the Galaxy XR weighs 545g, while the latest Vision Pro with M5 weighs between 750 to 800g. A lot of the comfort does come down to how weight is distributed, so no winner can be decided on numerics alone.
On paper, Samsung’s Galaxy XR sounds very similar to the Vision Pro, which could be a bad thing, but when you consider the huge difference in price, $1,800 looks a lot more palatable—especially when you consider headsets are still more of a toy than anything. If you’re eager to get your hands and your face on Samsung’s first headset, you can buy the Galaxy XR now on Samsung.com or in Samsung Experience Stores. Samsung is also offering 24-month financing, while Samsung Experience Stores are offering both 12- or 24-month financing options if the $1,800 price tag is too much in one sitting.
