Samsung’s Android XR headset tipped to feature stunningly sharp OLEDoS displays

The world of virtual reality has blown up over the last decade. When the Oculus Rift first came out to consumers in 2016, it was a technical marvel and a sign of things to come in the VR industry. Over time, comers and goers appeared and fell away, such as Windows Mixed Reality devices like the HP Reverb series, but overall, there are some big names that have been in the industry since the beginning. Obviously, Oculus/Meta is the biggest name in the VR world, but Valve, HTC, Pimax, and others have created both hardware and software infrastructure to keep the hype, as minuscule as it has been over stretches, alive and going. When the Apple Vision Pro was released in 2024, it promised a revolutionary, built-from-the-ground-up experience in “spatial computing,” and its sales numbers have been much lower than Apple hoped for. It seems like the perfect time for Samsung to swoop in with its upcoming headset that promises better specs than the Vision Pro.

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Set to be released some time in 2025, Samsung’s headset, dubbed “Project Moohan,” may feature screen technology with a sharper display than the Apple Vision Pro. The Elec, a South Korean news source, reported that the upcoming headset will feature two 1.3-inch 4K OLEDoS (Micro-OLED) panels directly from Sony (via Android Authority). Given their small size and high resolution, these panels should have a pixel density of around 3,800ppi. The Apple Vision Pro’s panels have a pixel density of 3,391ppi.

Google’s dive back into VR

Images from news.samsung.com and blog.google.com

Information about Samsung’s Project Moohan XR headset has been scarce since Samsung announced in early 2023 that it would be developing a headset in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, but in December 2024, more information was officially unveiled. It will sport the Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 chip, which is currently Qualcomm’s most powerful VR SoC. Android XR, which will be a new VR operating system built for smart glasses and headsets, is perhaps Google’s first dive back into virtual reality since Google Cardboard and Daydream were things back in 2014 and 2016. In February, we found out that Android XR will allow third-party apps to access cameras on headsets.

With so many abbreviations for very similar types of technology, it can be difficult to understand exactly what the difference is between XR, VR, and AR. XR stands for mixed reality, VR stands for virtual reality, and AR stands for augmented reality. XR is a mix between both VR and AR, and VR is much more advanced than AR. Smart glasses borrow ideas from all three primary technologies, and it makes us giddy for the AR revolution. When you think of VR, think about devices like the Meta Quest line or the upcoming Meta Horizon OS line of third-party devices, but also ask yourself, “How many years do we need to be told VR is the future before it actually takes off?”