[HN Gopher] Galaxy XR, the first Android XR headset
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Galaxy XR, the first Android XR headset
Author : xnx
Score : 11 points
Date : 2025-10-22 02:51 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (blog.google)
(TXT) w3m dump (blog.google)
| xnx wrote:
| From https://www.samsung.com/us/xr/galaxy-xr/galaxy-xr/ :
|
| "4K Micro-OLED display with 4,032 PPI and 109deg(H) and 100deg(V)
| Fields of View"
|
| Wow. Did not expect higher ppi that Apple Vision Pro.
| someNameIG wrote:
| Lower refresh though, 90Hz at max. Though the device is about
| hale the price of an Apple Vision Pro.
| thepryz wrote:
| Vision Pro has been out for almost 2 years now, so I'm not
| surprised. It's also worth noting that the lenses and
| engineering decisions around the optics can have way more
| influence on perceived image quality than just the specs would
| imply. Here's just one discussion around the challenges and
| decisions made around optics:
| https://kguttag.com/2024/03/01/apple-vision-pros-optics-blur...
|
| I'm actually more surprised that Apple's update to Vision Pro
| was just a CPU bump that failed to address the criticisms
| people had - namely weight, price, and content/lack of a killer
| app. The Vision Pro's M5 is roughly 4-7 times faster in Geek
| Bench than the Galaxy XR's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 so it'll be
| interesting to see whether the Galaxy XR will be hindered in
| any way.
| noir_lord wrote:
| Yeah I had a Quest 2 and now have a Quest 3 for gaming -
| while the Q3 got a very modest resolution bump, the optics
| changes where night and _day_ better - pancake lenses where
| worth upgrading alone over fresnels, reduction in glare and
| the sweetspot been massive by comparison.
| Topfi wrote:
| As a former AVP owner, this seems much more suitable for what I
| personally tend to use these devices for, with the headstrap
| appearing far closer to my personal comfort preference (halo
| straps) and a lower weight due to reduced power and no
| superfluous outer display along lighter materials. I get that
| Apple included these as apparently they have/had the vision of
| establishing the AVP as a device which users may keep on when
| talking with others, but like with the Watch, I'd hope having
| seen how people use the device makes them change direction.
|
| As there is still no support for MacOS apps like XCode on the AVP
| M5 and gaming is hardly viable currently without controllers, the
| performance advantage of the M5/M2 over the XR2 Gen2 isn't really
| a factor for me. Doesn't matter what the face computer can
| theoretically do if for many tasks I need to connect to my MBP
| anyways. As a display replacement, the Galaxy looks far more
| appealing because of this, though I'll wait for independent
| reviews on wireless latency, eye tracking, stability of AR
| "widgets" in space, etc. Also am interested, will Meta port their
| games (Beatsaber, mainly) to Android XR or will they continue
| trying to establish themselves as the platform owners. Remember a
| lot of talk about Meta Horizon being used by partners like Lenovo
| and Asus, has yet to materialize and have a hard time seeing
| these going for Meta over Google now that XR has arrived.
|
| Also wish Samsung had distributed at least part of the battery
| into the back of their head strap. Prefer the Meta Pro style over
| external batteries any day, though get the size limitations. A
| small backup battery for hot swapping and added weight
| distribution would have been a decent compromise though in my
| eyes.
| gpm wrote:
| The focus on maps and gemini is hilarious. The first is literally
| the anti-use case, it's used when you're on the move, not when
| you're sitting still with a headset strapped to your face. The
| latter is one of the few computer use cases that doesn't benefit
| at all from having a headset strapped to your face.
|
| I want to see things that benefit from the headset. Sell me
| photogrammetry to build a 3d model of my home that I can
| redecorate. Sell me "work" tasks where I'm multitasking between
| multiple windows. Sell the entertainment value. Sell the remote
| 3d collaboration angle. Sell the games involving exercise angle.
| Sell the isolated environment on a flight. Sell using a computer
| comfortably lying down. Sell reclaiming office space. Literally
| anything but the two apps that are better suited for a phone.
| ninkendo wrote:
| [delayed]
| aleksejs wrote:
| > The focus on maps and gemini is hilarious. The first is
| literally the anti-use case,
|
| It reminded me of the Wii U Street View app and the interview
| with its developers (at
| https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wiiu/wii-
| street-u/...). They were going for the same sort of a vibe,
| though it's unclear to me how many people actually ended up
| having that much fun with it.
| jerrythegerbil wrote:
| Buried in the article is the primary relevant bit that gives the
| product hope of success beyond other comparable products in my
| mind: WebXR.
|
| Many incredible things are developed with a product once it hits
| market saturation, but it has to make it that far. The VCR saw
| its initial success for a reason, and these companies have danced
| around the elephant in the room under the guise of intentional
| vendor lock-in to apps stores for best functionality.
|
| Good to see.
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