Samsung was supposed to launch an XR headset before the end of 2024, but Samsung has already confirmed that it's been delayed to 2025. It's a device that has reportedly seen a number of pivots from what Samsung initially announced a year ago.
The crew over at 91Mobiles recently spotted a patent filing for the design of the headset in the database of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). And that filing reveals a headset design similar to what you'd get from an Apple Vision Pro or the Meta Quest 3.
Interestingly, the drawings feature a device that looks much flatter than the bulbous Vision Pro and Quest 3. Whether or not Samsung can actually manufacture a slimmer headset remains to be seen.
In the drawings we can see two circular areas for your eyes with the front portion of the headset presumably holding the SSD, RAM and processor. Unlike the self-contained Vision Pro, Samsung's device seems to have a controller — at least if we go by the drawings. There's a device that looks similar to the Quest Touch controllers just without the joystick, though there is mention of gesture inputs based on head, eye and hand movements and maybe speech controls.
On the visual front, the patent says the device uses "reference points" in virtual space relative to "real-world space for navigation and operation." The headset would map your field of view to achieve this as you're wearing the device.
Samsung's patent does not appear to specify what type of display the headset might utilize, so it could be an LCD screen or OLED. Apparently, it would have an interface like the Apple headset where you can interact with virtual elements like menus and icons. The patent discusses mapping the virtual elements in such a way that it doesn't overlap over the real world when viewing through the lenses.
It sounds Samsung's the device might have some AI identification abilities as the patent (machine-translated) states that the cameras can help offer identifying information on a "visual object."
Allegedly, the device will have 5G, 6G, Bluetooth and NFC support.
Samsung Smart Glasses
An XR headset isn't the only device mentioned in Samsung's filing. While the patent doesn't dive too deeply into the topic, it does include a set of smart glasses. They are shown both alone and next to the headset. The patent lists the glasses as a "wearable device for displaying visual objects."
According to the 91mobiles report, Samsung includes a line in the filing describing the device as "AR glasses and/or a head-mounted device."
The patent leans into the headset nature of the device, but Samsung is teaming up with Google and Qualcomm to make this device; both companies have been spotted tinkering with AR glasses this year. So, it wouldn't surprise us if Samsung is working on two or more versions of its anticipated XR platform.
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