Sitting on a couch in my living room, wearing a cutting-edge mixed-reality headset, I raise my hand to control what I'm seeing. In my vision is Junji Ito's new book, Moan. I pinch and hold it with my fingers, then circle the book in the air. A Google search result pops up about the book, ready to show me more.
Circle to Search is a thing on Android phones, and now it's a thing in everyday reality while I wear Samsung Galaxy XR. Maybe eventually the feature will come to smart glasses, but in the present, I have to wear a $1,799 headset to make it happen.
Galaxy XR is sort of like a half-price version of Apple's Vision Pro, or a more expensive Android and Google-enabled Meta Quest. It's both, really, but it's also a foot in the door to a wave of AI smart glasses and headsets coming soon, powered by the Android XR platform and designed to compete against Apple, Meta and other tech heavyweights.
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I've been wearing and using Samsung's headset around the house for a week or so. Is it any good? Sometimes. Is it something I'd suggest you buy today? Absolutely not. It's way too expensive, and its software and apps aren't fully baked yet. On the other hand, this foot in the door has already given me some eye-opening moments.
Watch this: My First Moments Living With the Samsung Galaxy XR: What's Different Here? 03:32
First surprise: It works with my glasses (sort of)
I wear prescription glasses normally, and when testing Quest and Vision Pro, I use prescription inserts. However, Samsung didn't set up prescription lenses for the headset it loaned me to test. The one lens provider doesn't seem to have my prescription, which is disappointing.
I was surprised to discover that the Galaxy XR will let me wedge my normal glasses inside, behind the headset's lenses. They fit, just barely, but enough to use it. But doing so blocks the eye-tracking cameras, so I have to just use hand gestures.
Still, I like the flexibility and open periphery of the headset. I can look at my phone and then look up into the headset, almost like reality bifocals.
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