Samsung just suggested its smart glasses are delayed, not dead

31 Oct 2024, 17:12 by Karandeep Singh Oberoi · Android Police

Key Takeaways

Samsung is working on an extended reality device alongside Google and Qualcomm.
The device, which was slated to be revealed in 2024, appears to have hit a roadblock. According to Samsung, it is still "scheduled to be launched in the future."
Samsung's latest earnings report hints at the device's potential release in 2025.

It's an open secret that Samsung and Google have something cooking in the extended reality (XR) department, with Qualcomm involved to an extent too.

Samsung president TM Roh, back in early 2023, confirmed that the South Korean tech giant was working on an XR device, saying that it was "getting there," signaling the device's arrival in the near future. 2023 passed, but we didn't hear much else about Samsung's extended reality device. Apple, on the other hand, showed off its Vision Pro and subsequently released it in 2024.

Google and Samsung team up for Android-based Extended Reality headsets

The “extended reality” product could debut later this year

Fast-forward to earlier this year, we heard that Samsung had initially planned to launch the XR headset in Q1 2024, likely to compete with the Apple Vision Pro. That didn't materialize either. Subsequently, it was reported that a developer version of its headset will be released in October 2024. Today is Halloween, October 31, and it doesn't look like an early version of the headset has made its way to developers.

At the time, insiders suggested that the consumer version of the headset would finally be launched sometime in Q1, 2025 — potentially in March. Qualcomm subsequently offered extra context, suggesting that the in-development device will offer a mixed-reality experience with the portable form factor of smart glasses.

The XR device will 'strengthen the connectivity' between Samsung's products

Source: Samsung

Although the chip giant didn't offer hints about the device's potential launch, the 2025 timeline now appears to offer the highest probability of a release — especially after what Samsung just noted in its latest earnings report.

For starters, the tech giant confirmed that the Galaxy S25 series will launch in the first half of 2025, which aligns with the flagship S series' previous release cycles. Samsung also confirmed plans to enhance its suite of Galaxy AI features "to drive innovation in everyday life," and to help drive the series' sales.

In the same section, Samsung highlighted that it plans to further enhance its Samsung Health ecosystem with the Galaxy Ring, but more importantly, it wants to "strengthen the connectivity experience between [its] products, such as the XR (extended Reality) device scheduled to be launched in the future." The statement was part of a section that wasn't explicitly titled '2025 outlook,' but it sure read that way.

Elsewhere, in a separate earnings conference call highlighted by @Jukanlosreve (via 9to5Google), Samsung indicated its desire to offer cheaper foldables in the future, going as far as saying that it is "considering ways to lower entry barriers so that more customers can actually experience foldable products." Its aim with the regular (expensive) foldables remains to make them slimmer and lighter, with a "differentiated, premium cover screen design" for the upcoming Z Flip models.

Leaked codename suggests Samsung has a new foldable in the pipeline

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