After much speculation, it’s official: Samsung’s Android XR headset is set to drop on October 21. What’s more, it might not be as exclusive as it first seemed – as a special $100 promotion suggests it will at least come to the US at launch rather than just South Korea, as some believed.
So, how will it stack up against the fantastic headsets we already have, like the Meta Quest 3?
Samsung won’t officially reveal specs until October 21, but plenty of leaks may have kindly filled us in on what its headset – which we currently know as Project Moohan – has in store.
Specs comparison
Remember to take all leaks with a pinch of salt, but here’s what we think we know about the upcoming Samsung XR headset.
Starting with the one component we are certain of: it’s powered by a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor. This comes from Qualcomm itself, which also says the chipset has a 20% faster CPU and 15% faster GPU than the XR2 Gen 2 you’ll find in the Quest 3 – it can also output 4.3K resolution visuals at 90Hz, up from the XR2 Gen 2’s 3.1K.
Now leaning into rumor territory, those credentials will be useful to take advantage of the Samsung Galaxy XR headset’s high-resolution micro-OLED displays (one for each eye) – this thing is meant to pack.
It’ll apparently feature one screen per eye, with a rumored pixel-per-inch of 4,032 (via Android Headlines). That’s up from a previous rumor of around 3,800 pixels-per-inch, and would make it even sharper than the 3,400 PPI offered by the Apple Vision Pro than we were expecting.
For comparison, the Meta Quest 3 has a resolution of just 1,218 PPI.
Adding to Moohan’s rumored potential as a top-level VR headset, a leaked benchmark teased that it’ll offer 16GB of RAM. That’s double what the Quest 3 relies on but on par with the Vision Pro.
Design comparison
You don’t just use headsets, you wear them, so design is an essential part of how usable (or not) an XR device is.
Based on our demos with Moohan, it has not been uncomfortable, which might be because it is said to weigh 545g, only around 30g more than the Meta Quest 3, and about 50g less than the Vision Pro.
This is impressive because Moohan packs a lot of sensors, including the usual depth sensors and cameras needed for mixed reality, as well as internal cameras for eye tracking. These usually make headsets much more weighty, but Samsung has mitigated this by moving the battery to an external puck – just like the Vision Pro – which you can carry in your pocket rather than on your head.
Samsung looks to have also outfitted Moohan with plenty of padded cushions, and interestingly light blockers like we saw from the Meta Quest Pro, so the headset can swap between VR and MR modes, which want a more enclosed and more open design, respectively.
According to leaks, Moohan will support both controllers and hand-tracking just like the Quest 3, and it’s also said to offer a similar battery life of around 2 hours of regular use.
So Moohan looks to be ticking a lot of the same boxes as the Meta Quest 3, and could be comfier than some of its rivals.
Value comparison
The price has yet to be confirmed, but you can imagine that if Samsung is willing to give folks $100 100-off just for registering to buy one, which costs nothing to do, then its XR headset likely won’t be cheap.
On that note, it’s rumored to cost between 2.5 and 4 million won, which is a starting price of around $1,800 / £1,350 / AU$2,760. That’s cheaper than a Vision Pro but much pricier than the $499.99 / £469.99 / AU$1,049.99 Meta Quest 3.
That’s not to say Moohan won’t justify its price. Hardware-wise, it certainly looks like it might, but the big unknown is software.
The Meta Quest 3’s software support is second to none in the standalone VR space, thanks to its solid suite of exclusive apps and generally useful tools that mean you’ll use it more than enough to get your money’s worth.
Android XR is more of an unknown, and it’s yet to be seen if Samsung’s XR headset will offer enough features to really push its specs and make it a device people will get their money’s worth out of.
Thankfully, we should know very soon, and we can’t wait to find out!
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
