Mario Bautista
Samsung teased its first extended reality (XR) headset earlier this year during the launch of the Galaxy S24. A few weeks ago, the South Korean firm claimed that its XR headset would be available this year. While we don’t know many details about the upcoming device, its processor is almost confirmed, and it is made by Qualcomm.
Samsung’s XR headset uses Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip
A new Samsung device with model number SM-I130 was recently spotted (via 91Mobiles) in Geekbench’s database. According to an earlier report, the model number of Samsung’s XR headset would be SM-I130, so it is confirmed that the device spotted in Geekbench is the South Korean firm’s upcoming extended reality/mixed-reality device. The device uses the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip announced earlier this year along with 16GB RAM and Android 14-based OS. It scored 1,076 points in the single-core test and 2,078 points in the multi-core test.
The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, which is designed in collaboration with Google and Samsung, is meant to be used in high-end Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. It offers 4.3K resolution per eye at 90 frames per second. It can render large screens, virtual desktops, and life-size overlays on live camera feeds.
It has a six-core CPU clocked at up to 2.4GHz and an Adreno GPU. It can decode 8K 60fps videos and encode 8K 30fps/4K 60fps videos. It will be paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.
It can simultaneously handle more than 12 cameras for live camera feed and body and hand tracking for UI interaction. Qualcomm claims it has just a 12ms delay for live camera feeds, and such ultra-short latency results in a better overall experience while using XR headsets. The chip also features embedded Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3.
Some reports claim that Samsung will unveil its first XR headset in October 2024 and send development kits to app and game developers at the same time. The headset could launch before the holiday season or in early 2025.
