Samsung to unveil extended reality platform by year-end

By Candice Kim Posted : November 19, 2024, 14:00 Updated : November 19, 2024, 14:18
A customer experiences Apple's recently launched Vision Pro headset. Courtesy of Apple

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics plans to unveil its Extended Reality (XR) platform by the end of this year, with a potential device launch in the third quarter of 2024, industry sources said on Tuesday.

TM Roh, head of Samsung's Mobile Experience (MX) division, announced at the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6 Unpacked event in Paris last July that the company would "create the ecosystem first before launching the device," suggesting the platform will focus on software development for XR devices.

The project, developed in partnership with Google and Qualcomm, is expected to result in smart glasses weighing about 50 grams, significantly lighter than Apple's recently launched Mixed Reality (MR) headset Vision Pro, which weighs over 600 grams.

Industry experts anticipate the new XR device will feature Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered payment systems, gesture recognition, and facial recognition capabilities, with its success likely depending on wearability, utility, and pricing in comparison to Apple's Vision Pro, which sells for 4.99 million won.

The announcement comes as global tech companies race to develop XR devices as potential smartphone successors, with Meta recently unveiling its Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses prototype "Orion" at Connect 2024 in September, and Snapchat introducing its fifth-generation Spectacles.

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