Yesterday, the partnership between Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm finally broke its silence, revealing the fruits of its labor: a brand-new mixed reality headset from Samsung (referred to as Project Moohan), powered by an as-of-yet unidentified chipset from Qualcomm, and running on Google's debut Android XR platform.
Talk about a trifecta.
Individually, all three of these parts make for an impressive grab of the headlines, but combined? Samsung's hardware, Qualcomm's silicon, and Google's software expertise are the Big Tech equivalent of a musical supergroup — the technological embodiment of the wall of sound produced by Them Crooked Vultures, Velvet Revolver, or Cream.
Perhaps even more impressive is that, unlike Meta's recently unveiled Orion glasses, we won't have to wait until the end of the decade to see this tech placed in consumer's hands. While some of the more technical details surrounding Project Moohan are still under wraps, Samsung's headset is expected to arrive in 2025, locked and loaded and ready to challenge the... Apple Vision Pro?
Moohan should take the market, not the benchmark crown
If Samsung's goal with Project Moohan is to make a big splash in mixed reality, then it's a little puzzling that the company would choose to lock horns with Apple's Vision Pro — a headset whose $3,499 price tag sees it placed in the ultra-premium (and scarcely populated) corner of the market.
That's how it appears to be positioning itself, anyway. The headset by no means looks inexpensive, let's agree to that much at least.
There's no arguing that the Vision Pro is a top-tier contender in the space. Its on-paper specs alone prove as much. However, it's hardly what you'd call a market leader, let alone anything approaching a mass-market must-buy. With its towering asking price, Apple's Vision Pro feels more like a public-facing dev kit than a ready-for-consumer product. A concept alluding to a much more accessible and affordable headset released a few years down the line.
Instead of facing off against the Vision Pro, Samsung should have taken the fight to the headsets that actually dominate the mixed reality space, the Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
Moohan's Quest for glory
Sure, there's an argument to be made that Meta's Quest headsets are primarily game consoles, while Apple and Samsung might be catering their headsets toward spatial computing. But, in all honesty, I'm beginning to wonder if that excuse isn't just marketing speak for "We don't have any games."
Yes, gaming on Quest headsets is probably the major selling point, and taking a look at the Steam Hardware Survey for November shows that of all active users enjoying PCVR content through that platform, over 55% are Quest headset owners.
Meta's platform is also beginning to blossom with exclusive titles like Batman: Arkham Shadow that flex the hardware's potential as a major console competitor. However, there's far more to the third generation of Quest headsets than gaming.
With every update that arrives on the Quest's Horizon OS platform, spatial computing on Quest headsets gets stronger and stronger. The most recent v72 update added Remote Desktop access to Windows 11 computers just by looking at them. The link is fast and smooth, and the experience can be spread across three sizable virtual displays in augmented reality.
This only adds to the Quest headset's current offerings, which include Meta AI integration and a suite of productivity and light entertainment-focused apps.
There's no doubt that Samsung coming out of the gates and gunning for the market's high-spec status symbol will make a statement, but targeting the affordable, expanding, and versatile line of Quest headsets may have resulted in more of an impact.
Outlook
Still, a lot of this is still up in the air. While Samsung's Project Moohan does look like a high-end headset ready to take on Apple's Vision Pro, it may do so by being more affordable. Whether it could be as affordable as the $299 Meta Quest 3S is perhaps a stretch, but thanks to the Android XR platform that Moohan runs on, there's no ruling out another piece of hardware adding some competition to the more affordable end of mixed reality headsets.
Google's Android platform has been powering some of the best budget smartphones on the market for over a decade, and you have to wonder if the release of Android XR might do the same within the mixed reality space.
Hardware is just one part of the issue when developers enter this world. Software is a major hurdle that sees many a company stumble and fall to its doom. If we look at the AR glasses market, only now are the companies responsible for incredible pieces of hardware like the XREAL Air 2 or Viture Pro XR glasses truly making the most of their products after painstakingly developing better software integration.
If a platform such as Google's Android XR were available to these companies on day one, who knows the heights their hardware may have already risen to?
Android XR perhaps stands as the real competitor to Meta from yesterday's reveals. Horizon OS has long been the best VR/AR platform to use by a long shot, and Google's presence may shake things up to a large degree, especially if it can power devices that are equally as affordable.
