Samsung debuted its Galaxy XR headset with news that it is on sale now in the U.S. and Korea for $1,799. Developed by Samsung, Google and Qualcomm, the headset runs on the new Android XR operating system, which Samsung EVP of Customer Experience Jay Kim said at Tuesday’s virtual launch event will steer “a new category of devices” powered by Google’s Gemini AI that “uses visual data, voice input and sensors in real time,” making it truly multimodal. Kim said Samsung’s vision for this new “spectrum of XR devices” includes four form factors: headsets, wired and wireless XR glasses, and AI glasses.

Kim, who hosted the virtual launch event, available for replay, positioned the Galaxy XR in a broader context of new gear Samsung expects to be “transforming how people work, discover and play, whether you’re fully immersed or on the go.”

Android Central calls it “the ‘laptop for your face’ you’ve been waiting for,” and suggests “Samsung has the hardware absolutely nailed: Galaxy XR is wonderfully comfortable, surprisingly light and well-balanced, and features the best resolution (3,552 x 3,840) that I’ve ever seen on a VR headset.”

A prerelease demo allowed Android Central to use the Galaxy XR headset to experience “a spatial 3D tour of NYC in Google Maps with Gemini as my guide” and view 2D YouTube videos converted into 3D in real time using AI. To unlock AI’s full potential the public needs “a device that understands the user and their context in richer ways,” Kim said.

Tom’s Guide took a pragmatic approach, stating that “while the newly unveiled Galaxy XR headset shares a lot of features in common with Apple’s Vision Pro, there’s one big difference: the Samsung version costs a fraction of the $3,499 Apple charges for its headset.”

Tom’s highlights that the Galaxy XR:

• Is powered by a Snapdragon X2 Plus Gen 2 chipset
• Runs on Android XR and features an on-device Gemini Assistant
• Promises 2 hours of general use battery life, or 2.5 hours of video playback
• Can access many Android XR-optimized Google apps
• For early adopters, comes with an Explorer Pack that includes year-long subscriptions to Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium and Google Play Pass, among other perks

ZDNet calls the Explorer Pack “$1,000 worth of freebies.”

ExtremeTech notes that “hours before Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset reveal,” Google went live with “a new Play Store section titled ‘immersive experiences made for your XR headset’ showing several apps and games prepared for the platform.”

Tom’s Guide, in beat-by-beat live event coverage, notes that while the in-development Galaxy XR code name Project Moohan is now officially retired, Project Haean is said to be the name used for the in-development smart glasses.