When could Samsung’s Android XR headset launch?

Samsung wrapped up the Fold 6 and Galaxy Watch Ultra launches this week by announcing that its new XR platform will “release this year.” A new report provides more details on when Samsung’s Android XR headset will launch.

According to Business InsiderThe current internal timeline for the Samsung-made, Qualcomm-powered Android XR headset — codenamed “Moohan” — calls for a developer version to be released in October, followed by a consumer launch in March 2025.

There are no further details today on the upcoming availability, including how it will be announced and what exactly will be shown. For example, will there be a consumer keynote while October serves as a public announcement? Or will the hardware be shrouded in secrecy and announced by Samsung at a later date, with the fall being dedicated to Android XR to encourage developers to optimize their apps?

The headset was originally scheduled to launch in the first quarter of this year, with the Apple Vision Pro due out in February, but it has been pushed back several times as company executives “feared that the device was not yet capable enough to wow users.”

Looking forward:

Internal rumors suggest Samsung will be the first to make glasses with Google’s AR software, according to two employees familiar with the matter.

Google has no plans to make consumer XR hardware. An employee quoted in today’s report said, “Google is out of the game in the first-party glasses space for the foreseeable future.” In January, Google laid off its first-party augmented reality hardware team, which was presumably working on Iris. That project was the result of the North acquisition in 2020 and was canceled in June 2023.

The move could help convince partners that Google won’t compete with its own hardware anytime soon.

Google is building display prototypes with the microLED company (Raxium) it bought in 2022 to showcase its software to partners. (The demo of Project Astra glasses at I/O could be seen as an example of this rather than a true direction for the project.) Last month, as part of a broader shakeup, it folded that display team into the Android XR division.

With Samsung setting the date this week, things are now on track and will not be delayed any further.