Samsung and Google attempt to one-up Apple with AI-powered headset

It’s been more than 17 years since the modern smartphone era began with the launch of the iPhone, and tech companies have been obsessed with trying to disrupt it ever since.

The most common approach is mixed reality XR headsets: computerized glasses that put all your apps and other digital content directly in front of your face.

Samsung is the latest name to enter the category with the Galaxy XR. Samsung will start selling it Tuesday night for $1,800, or about half the price. AppleVision Pro.

Early adopters will also benefit from a range of digital gifts, such as free access to the paid version of the app. GoogleGemini AI assistant and on YouTube Premium for a year.

The headset was produced in partnership with Google for software and QualcommThis allows the chip to power the Galaxy XR.

Samsung Galaxy XR lets you dive into an immersive, virtual computing experience where your apps and other content appear to float in your field of vision. External cameras project the real world onto small 4K screens on the headset; This means you can move around a room without bumping into anything while wearing the Galaxy XR.

You control everything with your hand gestures, your voice, or a mix of both.

As for the headset itself, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were looking at an Apple Vision Pro.

From the curved glass on the front of the Galaxy

And we’ve learned a lot in these two years about these computers for your face.

These are niche, expensive products that most people don’t want to use, and there’s still no great app or enough immersive content to keep you consistently entertained and justify the $2,000 or more you spend.

The promise of metadata has evaporated as ChatGPT arrives on the scene in late 2022 and the tech industry shifts its focus to artificial intelligence. Even Mark Zuckerberg, who changed his company’s name to “Meta“ In 2022 he barely talks about the metaverse anymore.

However, Samsung has a different approach for the Galaxy XR.

It may have all the drawbacks of Apple or Meta’s headphones, but Samsung and Google say the Galaxy XR is a real stepping stone to the AI ​​glasses currently being developed with eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.

These devices will rely on Google’s artificial intelligence assistant Gemini, which is also at the center of the Galaxy XR experience.

Google showed off an early demo of these glasses at its annual I/O event in May, but there are no details on when such a device will be released. Google also has a long history of announcing products at I/O that were never available for sale to the public.

Do you remember Google Glass? How about Nexus Q?

But Google and Samsung are acting like things are different this time, and that’s why Gemini is such a big part of the Galaxy XR.

You can control everything on the headset using hand gestures, and Samsung even emulated the same gestures that Apple developed for the Vision Pro.

But the Gemini controls were the most impressive part of Samsung’s Galaxy XR demo in New York last week.

I can use Gemini to arrange floating app windows in my virtual workspace, ask it questions about landmarks I’m looking at on Google Maps, or have it create a silly video using Google’s AI video creator Veo, which is similar to OpenAI’s Sora.

Overall the Gemini demo was flawless. Even in a noisy conference room, he understood everything I said and quickly followed my commands.

While it wasn’t exactly revolutionary, it was a step beyond the capabilities of the Vision Pro, which didn’t have productive AI features at all.

I could see how the Gemini would evolve to fit a more comfortable and stylish form factor, much like Meta did with its Ray-Ban AI glasses. Now I can understand why Apple did this reportedly changed plans From the development of a new version of Vision Pro in favor of AI glasses, which are expected to be released in 2026.

Now let’s get to the biggest drawback.

Gemini runs in the cloud, which means you’ll need to let it “see” everything you do on your headset by transmitting it over the internet to Google’s servers. Google doesn’t have the private cloud technology that Apple has for its AI systems; Therefore, you run the risk of sharing a lot of personal information about what you do on your device with the company. This won’t be a starting point for many people.

While you can see the promise of AI-powered glasses, they’re a much more niche product than immersive headphones; They are much smaller than smartphones, laptops or tablets.

Meta, the market leader in the category, sold only 2 million pairs of Ray-Ban glasses in the first two years. By comparison, Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones a year. We’re a long way from glasses becoming a must-have accessory for your phone, like wireless headphones or a smartwatch.

And as impressive as Gemini has been so far, a future in which the smartphone will be replaced by an AI device like glasses has never seemed so distant.