After nearly two years of waiting for Samsung and Google to reveal more of their plans for the extended reality market, the finish line looks pretty close. Earlier this month, Google demonstrated the Android XR platform running on Samsung's upcoming headset, and things seem very promising — if not a little Apple-esque.
The Samsung XR headset will compete directly with the Apple Vision Pro, and Android XR looks very similar to Apple's visionOS. The headset has video pass-through and can run apps in floating windows that can be pinned to the real environment.
The fact that these similarities exist is not inherently a bad thing, especially given Samsung's apparent ambitions to find a sweet spot in terms of pricing. Samsung's XR headset could match or even outdo the Apple Vision Pro, all the while costing less.
I, for one, hope that one of the things Samsung XR will do that Apple doesn't is deliver a unique desktop experience through DeX.
Galaxy phones need DeX compatibility with Samsung XR
As an observer rather than a user, one of my favorite things about the Apple Vision Pro is that it can act as an extended reality monitor for MacBooks. More importantly, I think Samsung could do even better than that.
Samsung is in a unique position with its DeX platform. Samsung DeX can turn any high-end Galaxy phone into a portable desktop machine, and Apple doesn't have anything like it for iPhones.
Needless to say, I hope Samsung has thought about leveraging this potential to give its XR headset a better fighting chance against the competition. In other words, I hope Galaxy phones that support DeX will be able to run DeX on the XR headset wirelessly.
The wireless DeX function already exists. It allows Galaxy phone and tablet users to cast the DeX desktop environment on an external smart monitor or a TV. With that in mind, enabling the same for the XR headset seems only one step away.
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I've been a fan of DeX for a long time. Granted, I no longer use it as much as I once did since I got a laptop, but I would still love to see full compatibility between DeX and Samsung's XR headset happen.
A few months ago, there was a rumor that the Galaxy S25 series and Samsung's XR headset would share some design elements and features. It's still unclear what those common traits might be, but I hope DeX is one of the things that will bring Galaxy flagship phones and the XR headset closer together.
Samsung is expected to reveal more about the next-gen XR headset at Galaxy Unpacked in January and release the device later in 2025.
