13 hours ago
2
🥽 Samsung has unveiled its first mixed reality headset powered by Android XR
🤖 The Galaxy XR offers an immersive experience with advanced AI, a comfortable design, and entertainment features
💰 Compared to the Apple Vision Pro, it’s nearly half the price
🛍️ Here’s where you can order yours and take advantage of some sweet perks
Samsung and Google have partnered to release the first Android XR headset, and it’s drumming up a lot of buzz thanks to its price and promotions.
The Galaxy XR headset is the biggest threat the Apple Vision Pro has ever faced, and it’s no surprise to see Google and Samsung leaning into new and advanced features to help differentiate it. From powerful AI features to entertainment perks like YouTube and Netflix, as well as plenty of games and productivity features, there’s a lot to unpack with the Galaxy XR. We even had a chance to go hands-on with it, and were left very impressed, to say the least.
At $1,799, the headset is nearly half the price of the Vision Pro, which will appeal to those who want to try a mixed reality headset but don’t want to cough up over $3,000 for one. That being said, the plethora of perks associated with the Galaxy XR can help you save even more, assuming you buy it by the end of 2025.
Here’s a breakdown of where you can buy the Galaxy XR headset and all the perks that come along with it.
🛍️ Available at Samsung.com. Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset is launching on Samsung’s website and at Samsung Experience Stores around the world. So far, it doesn’t seem to be available from third-party retailers like Best Buy or Amazon, and it’s unclear whether Samsung plans to expand its availability outside of its own stores. We’ll have to wait to find out.
📅 Order today. Surprisingly enough, the Galaxy XR is available for purchase starting today, with orders going out almost immediately afterward. There’s no need to preorder or wait in an imaginary line, like what you do when preordering a Galaxy S device. Samsung decided to just put the headset up for sale, which means you can be among the first to experience Android XR much sooner than rumors indicated.
🍎 Half a Vision Pro. The Galaxy XR is priced at $1,799, which is $1,700 less than what the Apple Vision Pro costs. That’s a pretty stark difference, especially given their design similarities and the extensive use of advanced technology to blend digital content with the real world. Both of those price points get you 256GB of storage.
💵 Split up your payments. If you don’t want to fork over $1,799 plus tax right away, Samsung is offering a 24-month financing option at checkout for those who buy the Galaxy XR online. If you walk into a Samsung Experience Store, you can choose between a 12-month or 24-month plan. That shakes out to $75.01 per month for 24 months or $149 per month for 12 months. It’s still a lot of money, but in a much more manageable fashion.
📣 Early-adopter promos. Samsung sweetens the pot with a ton of promotions to help convince you to buy the Galaxy XR, valued at up to $1,000. Here’s a breakdown of some of the freebies and discounts you can get with your purchase. Notably, you need to buy your headset by the end of 2025 to access all of them.
Free 12-month subscription to Google AI Pro
Free 12-month subscription to YouTube Premium
Free 12-month subscription to Google Play Pass
XR Pack, which includes specialized XR content from the following perks:
Free 3-month trial of YouTube TV
Free 12-month subscription to NBA League Pass
NFL Pro Era
Project Pulsar from Adobe
Asteroid
Calm
🤔 Any trade-in deals? So far, we haven’t heard anything about potential trade-in offers for the Galaxy XR. After all, it’s unclear what you’d be able to trade in to begin with. We’ll update this article if we catch wind of anything like this.
🎨 One color choice. Samsung is only selling the Galaxy XR in a single color: Silver Shadow. It’s a very simple gray finish that’s customized in various tones around the body of the headset. Thus far, it doesn’t seem like Samsung will be offering any alternative colors for its first headset any time soon, so you’ll have to be okay with gray.
❌ Carrying case and controllers not included. It’s a good thing that the Galaxy XR is priced so well, since you’ll need to shell out an extra $249.99 if you want to buy the carrying case or Galaxy XR Controllers. It makes sense that Samsung would sell the controllers separately since not everyone might use them out of the box, but the Galaxy XR Travel Case should be bundled. It would make the headset an even more compelling buy than Apple’s, but alas, you’ll have to purchase it separately.
Our team of editors is ready to answer your questions about the Galaxy XR. Share them with us in our Substack chat.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
