Galaxy XR launched with minimal fanfare last night, with Samsung skipping the pre-order process entirely and placing the new Android XR-powered headset up for immediate order starting at $1,799. Unsurprisingly, people had reactions, not just to the price and the overall concept of wearing a headset, but also to the omission of any controllers being shipped inside the box.
Instead of providing controllers with the headset, Samsung is selling them as an accessory, priced at a hefty $249. To Samsung’s credit, they designed the headset to use your own hands, head, and eyeballs for tracking things. While that’s awesome, many of the VR gamers on the internet are immediately turned off by this idea. They want physical controllers, which is perfectly reasonable. For those who want Galaxy XR bundled with the controllers, Samsung is selling the package at a discounted rate of $1,975. But just to reiterate, you do not need the controllers to control the device, but it will open up the number of experiences you can have in terms of gaming.
Whenever a device like this launches, we love to read initial reactions. There are always some great hot takes, but the one we’re seeing most is the Apple Vision Pro angle. Sure, while Apple’s starts at a massive $3500, the idea is, if Apple couldn’t make Vision Pro a huge success, how does Samsung and Google intend to change that? Cost of entry is a big one, but it really seems that most people are more interested in the eyeglasses version of Android XR which has been already teased by Google and its partners like Warby Parker. Galaxy XR seems more like a proof on concept that could see limited support from 3rd-party developers and Samsung itself, but only time will tell if that’s the case.
In the meantime, here are some reactions gathered from the internet. Enjoy.
chaosfire235 – Well it’s cheaper than the VisionPro and actually seems to embrace gaming support, so that’s something. That controller pricing is absurd though.
WearyMatter – I ordered one. Will be picking it up tomorrow. I was looking for a mixed productivity/entertainment/gaming device that has 4k and oled. This scratched that itch for me.
cocacoladdict – No controllers in the box is a mistake, that’s gonna cause app segregation. Devs are gonna develop apps for hands input instead of controllers because they are optional extras and not something every user has by default.
TaytoOrNotTayto – At $1,799, what difference does it make to make the price $1,899 and include controllers? Like is $1,799 really a much more appealing price point to people?
WateredDown – Looking forward to getting it for 500 in a few years.
zeddyzed – On the other hand, now we have a currently produced eye tracking + face tracking headset for VRChat users.
SgtRphl – Having such low refresh rate is a dealbreaker for me. It’s a shame that it cannot go up to 100hz but I suppose that’s the limitation of the chipset.
High-Key123 – Ngl when I heard the naysayers say that Google’s projects are just a graveyard, I didn’t think it would apply to this. But, with the lack of fanfare and marketing on this thing, it seems like they just wiped their hands off this project and are moving on. I don’t get the vibe that this is a long term commitment to XR. Seems that they developed this just in case VR/XR hype pans out, but it clearly didn’t. They have enough resources to take this gamble and move on if it doesn’t pan out.
lilfishi – Bit of an anti-climax. I know it’s better than the Quest 3 in many respects but for $1,800 without controllers and or even 120Hz, it’s a tough sell.
What’s your immediate takeaway from Galaxy XR? Personally, I won’t be buying one, but I would accept one from Samsung if they asked me to review it. Full transparency, they have not.
Did you pick one up? If so, what are you most looking forward to doing with it?
If you live in the US this thing is D.O.A.unless you are a VR Chat player, as Meta currently serves the bulk of the VR gaming populace over here. Frankly Im just gonna wait on the Steam Frame, Im sick of my Quest 3 being locked down to benefit Meta.
Edit: also, at that price you have 120Hz refresh rate or I'm not buying it.
I thought there were jailbroken quest 3's out there?
LOL
I foresee a resurgence of the Poke-zombies wearing ski goggles in the near future.
If I didnt have 367 affirms already I would get one…
6-7!!!
6-7!!!
not having that 120Hz bothers me a lot for that price. I'd like to also test out the product cause i noticed lag/jitters on the videos I saw and if it can't compete with the first version of Vision pro then I rather get the 1st version in the second hand market at the same price since it also gets better controller support with their latest software. it's a cool product i'd like to improve my productivity with, already have a pair of XR glasses I use.