Google, Qualcomm, Samsung making extended reality headset jointly

Google, Qualcomm and Samsung are jointly working on an extended reality (XR) headset, the companies collaboratively announced at Samsung’s global event on Wednesday, February 1. There are no details regarding how the headset would look or work, but it is confirmed to be powered by a Qualcomm chip, and run on software made by Google. There is no launch date or timeline either, but Roh hinted at the headset in question being in line with fellow tech firm Apple’s efforts in this regard.

At the sidelines of Samsung’s ‘Unpacked’ event that was headlined by the Galaxy S23 flagship smartphone lineup, TM Roh, president of Samsung was joined by Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice-president of platforms and ecosystems at Google, and Cristiano Amon, chief executive of Qualcomm. The executives spoke about their efforts to create the next generation of immersive experiences.

“These technologies (XR, augmented reality and virtual reality) are integral to the new phase of computing as it can change the way we interact with people and information to get things done in the real world,” Google’s Lockheimer said.

To be sure, the announcement was a very early stage one, as Roh said on stage at the event. It could also be among the first cross-industry collaborations that would look to take on rival platforms and solutions built by the likes of Meta and Apple.

Meta, for instance, has already made a head start in the AR, VR, MR and XR spaces, with its Quest lineup of headsets. The company’s latest generation headset, Meta Quest Pro, supports a full-colour augmented reality view of objects around it, along with real-time room scaling. The device runs on Qualcomm’s already available XR platform, the Snapdragon XR2 chip. However, it remains unclear if Qualcomm will custom-design a chip for its Samsung-Google collaboration, or rely on its existing chip lineup.

Apple is also tipped to be working on a mixed reality headset that could launch by as early as next year. Not much else is known about the headset, or its capabilities, as of now.