Samsung Galaxy XR is here to take on Vision Pro – and it's a darn sight cheaper

Samsung has finally launched its long awaited Android XR headset and perhaps the most surprising news is that it's a lot more affordable than its main rival – the Apple Vision Pro.

That doesn't mean the Samsung Galaxy XR is cheap, but its $1,799 price ticket is roughly the same as a premium smartphone or tablet, so more within reach to developers and eager consumers.

Announced during a dedicated event in New York on Tuesday evening, the headset that was codenamed Project Moohan on the build up to launch is the first to run on Google's Android XR platform. It has also been created in collaboration with Qualcomm, which has provided the dedicated chipset.

With Google behind the software, it stands to reason that the Galaxy XR has Gemini at the core of the experience. It not only senses gestures and tracks your eyes, but features full voice recognition and AI feedback.

And, as part of a developing ecosystem, it will work with all Android XR apps now and going forward.

Samsung Galaxy XR: key specs and details

The headset itself weighs just 545g, although it also comes with a separate battery unit (much like the Vision Pro) that is 302g on its own.

It features Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 SoC – which has been designed specifically for XR headsets – and sports 16GB of RAM to keep operations running smoothly. There's 256GB of storage on board.

The display is a 3552 x 3840 Micro-OLED with up a 90Hz refresh rate. There's a field of view of 109-degrees horizontal, 100-degrees vertical.

An external camera can shoot 3D photos and video at up to 6.5-megapixels, while additional passthrough cameras enable the user to see the world in full colour and high-resolution.

There are four eye-tracking cameras inside the visor, which also supports iris recognition.

Dual speakers are on board, which feature both a woofer and tweeter each, with six microphones also present with a beamforming feature.

Thanks to the super high resolution display, the headset is capable of 8K video playback, while battery life in general use will last up to two hours. You get two-and-a-half when just watching videos.

It's important to note that the headset can also be used when the battery is plugged in and being charged.

The Samsung Galaxy XR is available now in the US and Korea. The $1,799 price doesn't include a Galaxy XR controller as you can use the headset using gestures. However, if you do want to add one, it'll set you back an additional $249.99.

One thing that might help with the cost is that those who buy the Galaxy XR in 2025 will also receive an "Explorer Pack" worth $1,000. It includes a year's subscription to Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, a Google Play Pass, a 12-month NBA League Pass, NFL PRO ERA, Project Pulsar from Adobe, Asteroid, and Calm.

US customers can also get three months of YouTube TV for just $3.

There's no word yet on pricing and release details for the UK, Europe of the rest of the world.