Even for Apple, it seems difficult to make the Apple Vision Pro product a reality, despite the fact that it displays an excellent notion for the future of mixed reality. Samsung’s competing mixed reality headset appears to be being delayed by a few months. Meanwhile, Apple’s Vision Pro is experiencing production cuts.
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According to a report from the Korean magazine SBS Biz, Samsung has put off releasing its Apple Vision Pro rival by “up to six months.” The delayed headset was supposed to start production as early as 2024, but it has since been “postponed.”
In other words, Samsung is reconsidering its headset after learning about the high-end features of the Apple Vision Pro. Although Samsung has previously procured BOE and its own Samsung Display for the display panels inside the headset, it is unclear what that signifies for the product’s future. For the OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) screens in the Vision Pro, Apple instead uses Sony.
When Samsung’s headgear eventually makes its debut, Android and a Qualcomm chipset will be running on top of it. The company reportedly announced a collaboration with Google and Qualcomm earlier this year that includes an “unannounced version of Android” for “wearable displays.” Notably, Google is reportedly working on a strategy for XR devices that prioritises OEM hardware above creating its own devices.
Back in February, it was reported that Samsung was working on a roadmap for its mixed reality products. This was told to CNBC by a senior executive for the company.
In 2015, the company unveiled the Gear VR, its first virtual reality headset. It was created at the time by Facebook-owned Oculus. Samsung ended production of the Gear VR in 2020 as it failed to gain significant traction. The product at the time needed a smartphone to be placed inside the headset. However, manufacturers of gadgets are turning away from this design and towards wireless headphones.
Patrick Chomet, an executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, asserted that the partnership between Qualcomm, Google, and Samsung is not just about the three companies but also about the growth of the mixed reality market.
Patrick Chomet told CNBC, “The reason why we announced is, is beyond Qualcomm, Google and Samsung alone, we want to prepare the whole ecosystem. There will be many, many developers, content companies and app companies that will prepare innovation and experiences for that ecosystem.”
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Chomet further added, “Yes, we can do devices. Yes, Qualcomm can do chipsets, yep. Yes, Google can do OS [operating system]. But then in the end, we need more than that, to make a vibrant ecosystem.”
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