Google and Samsung Partner to Expand Mixed-Reality Market Reach

Alphabet’s (GOOGL, Financials) Google and Samsung Electronics announced a joint initiative aimed at penetrating the mixed-reality market, a growing sector currently dominated by competitors such as Meta (META, Financials) and Apple (AAPL, Financials).

Under the codename “Project Moohan,” Samsung will introduce new smart glasses and virtual reality headsets driven by a customized version of Google’s Android operating system, suited for headsets and glasses.

Nearly a decade after stopping its Google Glass project, which drew criticism for privacy concerns and technological flaws, the cooperation signals Google’s comeback into the consumer mixed-reality field. Artificial intelligence integration on the new gadgets will help to enhance user interactions and increase access by means of integration. A customized Android platform, Google’s XR operating system will maximize performance for augmented reality and VR apps.

With retail price of $3,500, Samsung’s next headgear is projected to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro. Taking advantage of Samsung’s display technology knowledge, the products will include high-resolution displays and sophisticated sensors to improve user experiences. Additionally, a major collaborator in the initiative is Qualcomm (QCOM, Financials), which provides its Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 platform to run the devices. Crucially for flawless mixed-reality performance, the processor provides effective data processing from embedded cameras.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.