Samsung Electronics Co. is preparing to enter the extended reality market, planning to showcase its first XR device at next year’s Galaxy S25 launch event in the US. The Korean tech giant aims to produce 50,000 units in the second half of 2024 under its “Infinite” project.
The company’s Mobile eXperience division is developing augmented reality glasses that will run on Qualcomm Inc.’s chips and Google’s operating system. Samsung is also working on its own XR-specific chip at its US research facility, following Apple Inc.’s strategy of custom semiconductor development.
The move comes as Samsung faces headwinds in its core smartphone business, with market growth expected to slow to less than 1% next year from 2.5% in 2023. The company is betting on the XR market, which research firm MarketsandMarkets projects will grow to $111.5 billion by 2028 from $31.3 billion in 2022.
Samsung’s entry follows recent XR launches by competitors. Apple unveiled its Vision Pro headset in February, while Meta Platforms Inc. demonstrated its Orion AR glasses in September. Industry observers note that the XR market’s success hinges more on content development than hardware specifications or pricing.
The device will debut at Samsung’s annual Galaxy Unpacked event, traditionally used to unveil flagship smartphones.
