Again in 2014, a good friend at Google let me strive a prototype that was extra science-fair venture than trend accent.
It actually wasn’t probably the most snug set of frames I’ve ever worn. And the show lagged once I turned my head.
But, I used to be hooked on the thought of wearable computing. And I’ve been a believer ever since.
My optimism for wearables was partially justified this 12 months when Meta’s Ray-Ban Show Sensible Glasses offered out inside simply two days of launch. Since their debut in 2023, Meta has moved greater than 2 million models. And based on the corporate’s newest earnings name, its smart-glasses income has tripled year-over-year.
Plainly AR glasses are lastly breaking into the mainstream. And I’m a fan of my Meta good glasses, though I largely use them to seize movies of my children as they’re rising up.
However relating to cumbersome headsets, outdoors of gaming, the common particular person hasn’t had a cause to strap one on.
A latest announcement by Samsung would possibly change that.
Their new Galaxy XR would possibly simply seem like one other premium headset.
Picture: Samsung
Nevertheless it has Google’s fingerprints throughout it. And that makes it value listening to. As a result of to me it represents one thing a lot greater than this system’s precise {hardware}.
It’s about Google’s push to make Android the inspiration for no matter comes after the smartphone.
Android’s Secret Weapon
The XR market — XR stands for “prolonged actuality,” the catch-all time period for AR and VR — has struggled to seek out its footing.
Meta’s Quest line nonetheless dominates with round 75% of the market.
However Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional, which was launched in February of 2024 at a value of $3,499, did not make a huge impact. It’s believed to have shipped solely about 400,000 to 500,000 models in its first 12 months.
And international headset shipments fell roughly 10% final 12 months to about 6.9 million models. That tells me it’s an early-adopter area of interest at finest.
However Google isn’t betting on one piece of {hardware}, just like the Galaxy XR.
It’s betting on its working system.
Immediately, Android powers greater than 70% of the world’s telephones, and its open ecosystem has given rise to billions of gadgets and thousands and thousands of apps. Now, Google needs to increase that dominance into spatial computing by way of its new platform referred to as Android XR.
Android XR is designed to make present Android apps work in three-dimensional area, with minimal re-coding. It integrates Google’s Gemini AI assistant, and it’s constructed to run throughout headsets, AR glasses and even future “ambient” gadgets.
That provides it a large benefit.
With Android XR, builders don’t want to begin from scratch, and customers don’t want to go away the ecosystem they already know.
And Samsung, with its international attain and manufacturing muscle, is the right launch companion for this new working system (OS). In any case, the 2 corporations already collaborate on among the world’s hottest smartphones.
The Galaxy XR will promote for $1,799, which is round half the worth of Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional. It options twin 4K micro-OLED shows, eye-tracking, hand-gesture controls and tight integration with Galaxy telephones and PCs.
These are spectacular specs, however it’s too early to inform if this system might be a hit.
My intestine tells me it received’t transfer the needle a lot as a result of obstacles it wants to beat. The XR market remains to be tiny, and most shoppers don’t appear desperate to spend practically two grand for a headset. Even Meta’s extra inexpensive gadgets have plateaued in gross sales.
And there’s additionally a content material drawback. Proper now, most XR experiences nonetheless revolve round gaming, productiveness demos and 3D film playback. That’s not compelling sufficient for mainstream adoption.
For Google and Samsung to alter that, they’ll want a lot of builders to increase this system’s capabilities. And I doubt we’ll see that type of funding at this level in XR’s hype cycle.
However what stands out to me is the lengthy recreation that Google is enjoying.
Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy XR is simply step one in a two-track technique: one high-end headset for immersive computing and one other pair of light-weight glasses for each day use.
Each run on Android XR.
Which means Google is successfully seeding a brand new {hardware} class the place Android comes pre-installed.
This is identical technique it used with smartphones 15 years in the past.
If this technique works once more with XR gadgets, Android might evolve from a cell OS right into a spatial working system powering all the things from good glasses to AI-enhanced workstations.
And the chance going ahead is gigantic.
Supply: Omdia
Some forecasts present the XR market alone rising from slightly below seven million models right this moment to greater than 200 million gadgets a 12 months by 2045.
And that’s all a part of Google’s technique. As a result of as shows shrink and AI turns into extra succesful, the road between XR headsets, AR glasses and on a regular basis wearables will begin to blur.
That’s the world Google is getting ready for.
In different phrases, Android XR isn’t only a headset working system. It’s the scaffolding for a a lot bigger ecosystem. It might finally energy all the things from good glasses and well being trackers to ambient shows and related automobiles.
And the identical approach Android turned the spine of the smartphone period, Android XR might turn out to be the spine of the wearable period.
Which means, Google would personal the interface layer for a way billions of individuals see, hear and work together with digital data.
Right here’s My Take
I don’t assume the Galaxy XR must be a blockbuster for Google’s long-term technique to work.
In fact, I’m positive each corporations would love for it to keep away from the “curse of the headset.” However I see the Galaxy XR as a strategic foothold within the race to manage the working system of the long run.
Google is staking its declare earlier than Apple or Meta can lock down the ecosystem.
As a result of if Android XR succeeds, it might redefine how we work together with the digital world. The smartphone interface we’ve relied on for greater than a decade — that flat glass rectangle in our pocket — might lastly give strategy to one thing extra pure and immersive.
So once we look again, we would not bear in mind 2025 because the 12 months of the Galaxy XR.
However by turning Android from a cellphone OS right into a spatial OS, we might bear in mind this because the 12 months it stopped residing in our pockets and began redefining how we expertise the world round us.
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
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