When I slipped the Samsung Galaxy XR visor over my head, familiar yet strange feelings accompanied my journey. Familiar because I'd tried an earlier version of this headset a year ago, and because it feels a lot like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets. Strange because for the first time, Gemini AI was along for the ride, looking through my eyes, seeing what I was seeing.
Google, Qualcomm and Samsung are working together to incorporate AI into AR/VR via Android XR, eventually building a line of smart glasses. That whole project begins with this Galaxy XR headset, now available for $1,799. It aims to extend Android and Gemini into new forms and feels as much like a stepping stone as an actual product.
"I think there will be a shift in how people interact with devices," Samsung's COO of Mobile Experiences, Won-Joon Choi, told me in a conversation in New York. "Agentic AI coupled with multimodal AI will really change the industry. We're not saying glasses will replace the smartphone, but will complement and provide experiences people wouldn't have gotten with smartphones."
In the few hands-on minutes I was able to spend with Galaxy XR at Samsung's demo in midtown New York, the headset felt like an open door to product ideas to come. The Galaxy XR is surprisingly lightweight and easy to use, with some exclusive apps that Meta and Apple would kill for. YouTube's immersive video support looks great, for instance. Google Maps, and its 3D globe modes and 3D-scanned location walkthroughs, are even better. But the most impressive part, and the part I have the most questions about, is the AI.
Watch this: I Tried the Samsung Galaxy XR: The Headset That Could Rival Apple's Vision Pro 03:29
Gemini is Galaxy XR's killer app
The headset's built-in Gemini, based on my demos, can recognize more things in both 2D apps and the world around me than any other mixed reality headset AI I've ever tried before. It's an all-seeing type of magic, but I'm already wondering about its limits. How smart will it seem once I'm in the real world beyond the demos? I'll find out when I can review it, sometime soon.
For now, it's hard to see who the Galaxy XR is meant for at its price. The possibilities for what can evolve with Gemini on a device like this are fascinating, however. Galaxy XR is a living testbed for live AI that can sit on your shoulder and see what you're seeing. Other headsets don't have anything like it yet. Google, Qualcomm and Samsung know that's an advantage right now.
The hardware is a lot like the Vision Pro. It runs multiple apps at once in windows, can play movies on vivid 4K displays and can handle immersive games. But the Gemini layer struck me right away as the wild new function here.
The head band tightens on the back, like the Meta Quest Pro did. It doesn't have detachable straps like the Vision Pro. Scott Stein/CNET
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