Samsung’s long-rumoured answer to the Apple Vision Pro has finally made an appearance – sort of. Behind a rope at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, the company showcased its upcoming extended reality (XR) headset, codenamed Project Moohan, which means ‘infinity’ in Korean.
Much like last year’s reveal of the Galaxy ring, Samsung displayed the device without allowing anyone to touch it, let alone try it on, and the company remained tight-lipped about its specs and features.
Samsung first announced its XR ambitions last year in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, at an event where Google first unveiled a new platform to power XR headsets and smart glasses called Android XR.
While details remain scarce, the Moohan headset is set to launch later this year and will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. Code named “Project Moohan”, last year, Samsung said that the headset would be kitted out with “state-of-the-art displays, passthrough capabilities and natural multi-modal input”.
At first glance, the XR headset looks a lot like the Apple Vision Pro in terms of design. The prototype on display at MWC features a mask-like front – it looks sleek and futuristic. From what I could see, it appears to have four cameras positioned on the front, possibly for tracking and passthrough capabilities, while the sides of the headset seem to house capacitive control strips.
Previous rumours suggest it boasts full-colour passthrough, and will feature a new kind of Google Gemini that’s built for XR. Samsung’s previously confirmed that Project Moohan will act as a spatial canvas to explore the world through Google Maps, and users will also be able to watch content on YouTube and plan trips with Gemini, with the XR-based Gemini able to see what the user is looking at and offer up information in response to it.
Project Moohan doesn’t currently have a release date, nor a price tag, but it could be an expensive piece of kit if the rumoured specs are to be believed. Though given the Apple Vision Pro’s lacklustre sales, that might not be the case.
Want more recommendations? Check out our review of the Apple Vision Pro