I Spent a Week with the Samsung Galaxy XR and Apple's Vision Pro Has Nothing to Worry About – Yet

Why It Matters

The Galaxy XR signals the first serious price‑competitive challenger to Vision Pro, potentially expanding the mixed‑reality market and pressuring Apple to defend its premium positioning, while also highlighting the importance of a robust app ecosystem for mainstream adoption.

Summary

Samsung’s new Galaxy XR mixed‑reality headset retails for $1,799 – roughly half the price of Apple’s Vision Pro – and offers a lighter, more comfortable form factor built around a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset, 16 GB RAM and a 3552 × 3840 dual micro‑OLED display. While the device delivers solid media playback, Dolby audio and a decent field of view, reviewers note its retro plastic design, external battery pack, imprecise hand‑tracking and a nascent Android XR software ecosystem that lacks the “wow” apps found on visionOS. Gemini’s AI assistant is present but feels clunky, and the headset only pairs with Samsung Galaxy Books, limiting cross‑platform productivity. Overall, the XR is an affordable entry point to spatial computing but falls short of the premium experience and ecosystem depth of Apple’s offering.