Samsung And Google Combine Forces In New Mixed Reality Partnership
This story is part of Samsung Events , CNET's collection of news, tips and tricks on Samsung's most popular products.
Samsung made some impressive announcements at the launch of the Galaxy S23 last week. But naive partnerships with Qualcomm and Google on a future mixed reality platform have certainly surprised fans. New Technology "XR" is a generic term for the intersection of AR, VR and Mixed Reality or MR.
How will this Samsung product (or products) change the game a year from now with the new PlayStation VR headset, the new HTC Vive VR viewer, the new Meta VR viewer and possibly the first Apple VR headset ? happen?
Samsung's stage statement was incredibly vague: Google's Hiroshi Lockheimer, head of Android, and Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon promised new hardware and software that would bring new experiences. But Samsung and Google's history in VR (and AR) and Qualcomm's significant presence in the space could point to some answers. Likewise, the last major partnership between Google and Samsung in terms of smartwatches was two years ago.
In 2021, Google's partnership with Samsung ushered in an overhaul of the smartwatch lineup that led to the launch of the Pixel Watch last fall. Perhaps this new partnership between Samsung, Google and Qualcomm could extend to augmented and virtual reality. In this case, however, Google and Samsung will make a long-awaited return to the VR/AR space, which both have avoided for several years.
Therefore, the entry of Samsung and Google into the field is logical and even necessary.
VR and AR should work with phones again
Virtual reality glasses worked with phones half a century ago . In the days of Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream View , you could slip your phone into cheap glasses that would use the device as a virtual reality display. At the time, it was a fun novelty that greatly increased accessibility, but it also had its limitations. Oddly enough, in 2023, VR headsets will barely work with phones.
It's annoying because most of us live off our phones. On the other hand, virtual reality tends to be closed. Meta Quest 2 was slow to integrate phone connections through its matchmaking app, but lacked cross-device intelligence.
Qualcomm is already trying to implement this concept on its own . With the first wave of AR glasses and some Android phones , the company is building tools to connect apps and experiences, and the glasses connect directly to the phones.
This is much easier with official Android support. Google will make it possible, and this partnership between Samsung, Qualcomm and Google seems to hold the key to how it will work with the new virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses or both.
Today, virtual reality is the future. then RA
No one has yet created the perfect augmented reality headset, although the hardware is slowly being assembled. Meanwhile, standalone VR headsets use built-in cameras to display real-world videos overlaid on the virtual reality experience, which is the fastest growing AR solution. This is also called “Mixed Reality” and is adopted by MetaQuest Pro in some applications. Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset is said to do the same . Will HTC Vive XR Elite arrive in February? The same
My hope is that Samsung and Google will first develop a similarly lightweight VR headset with mixed reality functionality that uses the same Qualcomm chip as other hardware (or next-gen chipset). Next, augmented reality glasses.
Qualcomm has already promised a new generation of low-power wireless AR headsets that will work with next -gen phones for the next three years using the new AR2 Gen 1 chipset announced last fall. Samsung's partnership with Google could mean learning how to make phones and glasses that work together for years to come.
Google has already done research on AR-enabled glasses and has a decade of experience with AR and VR. Samsung has the entire Gear VR and Oculus experience. There seems to be a lot of team spirit between the two, with Qualcomm.
New operating system (e.g. smartwatch)
Turning Android into the new VR and AR software is the biggest challenge and opportunity, and it would make sense for Samsung to turn to Google on this one. For the past five years, attempts have been made to sell VR headsets on specialized app stores like MetaQuest. But the whole spirit of the “ Metaverse ” concept is device compatibility. And, in theory, easier application support.
Samsung has changed its watch strategy by introducing Google WearOS as part of a partnership announced two years ago that aims to bring Samsung watches closer to Google's Android operating system. But Samsung has helped Google consider high-end hardware features to support its older smartwatch lineup. What us to...
Path to Pixel hardware?
Do you think Google will try to develop their own AR/VR hardware again at some point? Google's Daydream team, led by Clay Bavor , is focused on Google Labs and working on more experimental projects like Project Starline (and research-based augmented reality headsets).
The path to Google's future XR hardware will most likely follow the same path as smartwatches via Samsung to the Pixel Watch. The Galaxy Watch 4 was the first experience with Wear OS 3 and then, more than a year later, Google entered the market with the Fitbit-enabled Pixel Watch.
AR and VR headsets are significantly more complex. Google may have been waiting for the Pixel device a bit. Perhaps Google's Lockheimer and Qualcomm's Amon seem to suggest there will be many forms and possibilities, including some that aren't headphones at all. Remember: Google's concept of “ ambient computing ” includes immersive technology from all angles, including idle objects.
What year is it released?
Here's a tough question. Google will likely continue this partnership at its I/O developer conference, which usually takes place in May, which will likely happen right before testing Apple's VR headset at WWDC. We haven't seen any hint of actual hardware yet. A standalone Meta Quest-style VR headset might be coming sooner rather than later, but it'll be a big surprise when something comes out in 2023.
When Samsung and Google announced their partnership with Wear OS 3 in 2021, they shared a teaser photo of the watch and a year-end hardware promise. Such a claim has yet to be made or shown, and 2024 appears to be the earliest possible release date.
And in any case, 2023 promises to be a tumultuous year for the XR world at large. While a lot of VR gear is being released, it's unclear who can afford it. Perhaps the best thing for Samsung and Google to do is wait out this busy year and figure out how to make better and potentially more affordable hardware in 2024.
