At a Samsung even In February 2023 Samsung, Google and Qualcomm representatives announced a new Extended Reality (XR) ecosystem alliance. Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Electronics' Mobile eXperience Business stated at the time: "We will transform the future of the mobile industry by building the XR ecosystem together with Qualcomm and Google." Rumors suggested that Qualcomm will make the chips, Google will introduce an Android-based operating system for eyewear and Samsung will initially focus on the hardware side of things. 

After Apple introduced their Spatial Computer in the form of Apple Vision Pro in June 2023, it's no wonder that Qualcomm is now introducing and marketing their new XR Headset chip aimed at "Spatial Computing."

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Today, Qualcomm Technologies formally announced the Snapdragon® XR2+ Gen 2 Platform, a single chip architecture that unlocks 4.3K spatial computing at 90 frames per second for breathtaking visual clarity across work and play.

Building upon the capabilities of the recently announced Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2, the new '+' version helps to unleash a new tier of more realistic, detailed experiences in MR and VR with higher GPU frequency by 15% and CPU frequency by 20%1. Supporting 12 or more concurrent cameras with powerful on-device AI, Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2-powered devices can effortlessly track the user, their movements, and the world around them for effortless navigation and unparalleled experiences that merge physical and digital spaces.

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“Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 unlocks 4.3K resolution which will take XR productivity and entertainment to the next level by bringing spectacularly clear visuals to use cases such as room-scale screens, life-size overlays and virtual desktops,” said Hugo Swart, vice president and general manager of XR, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are advancing our commitment to power the best XR devices and experiences that will supercharge our immersive future.”

“Samsung is thrilled to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies and Google in revolutionizing the mobile industry once more." Inkang Song, vice president and head of technology strategy team at Samsung Electronics, expressed his excitement, "With Samsung's mobile expertise and our joint commitment, we aim to create the best-in-class XR experience for Galaxy users.”

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and Samsung on the future of immersive and spatial XR,” said Shahram Izadi, vice president of AR at Google. “We’re excited for the Android ecosystem to take advantage of Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2’s capabilities and enable new experiences.” 

For more information about the platform visit our website: Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2.

Separately, to help accelerate time to market for OEMs, Qualcomm Technologies also unveiled a new MR & VR reference design developed by Goertek and features eye tracking technology from Tobii. This reference design supports both 3K per eye (Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2) and 4K per eye (Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2) configurations.

After years of Samsung failing to deliver a successful VR headset, the new alliance is now going full tilt in copying Apple's Vision Pro. Additionally. mow that Microsoft dumped their HoloLens headset, it wouldn't surprise me if they'll be joining this alliance in an effort to compete with Vision Pro in 2024-25.

The good thing about competition is that pricing for these advanced headsets are likely to start below Apple's US $3500 price point. Lower prices will be good for all of us.

The new alliance wants to quickly get ahead of Apple and stop them from delivering another iPhone phenomena that took the market by storm and to this day still dominates the premium sector and industry profits.