Samsung is playing it close to the chest with the specifics of its newest venture—a freshly announced Android XR headset—but they’ve revealed a couple of things that should definitely catch the attention of VR fans and developers alike.
Dubbed ‘Project Moohan,’ this headset is poised to become the pioneer device launching with Android XR next year. When I got some hands-on time with it, I was mainly navigating through hand-tracking and eye-tracking features. However, Samsung assures us that they are also developing first-party motion controllers designed to seamlessly integrate with Android XR.
This development is a big deal because it opens up the possibility for a plethora of existing VR apps, which traditionally rely on motion controllers, to make their transition to Android XR without upending their core design. In contrast, Apple’s Vision Pro doesn’t entertain motion controllers, making it challenging for much of today’s popular VR content to migrate easily to their XR platform.
While we’ve yet to get the nitty-gritty on what these Project Moohan controllers will bring to the table, Samsung assures us they’ll be ready for the headset’s launch in 2025. Whether they will be standard with each purchase or available as a separate accessory remains to be seen.
In another exciting piece of news for current VR aficionados, both Samsung and Google have declared that Android XR will enable some form of PC VR streaming on Project Moohan and future similar devices. This feature means users will have the option to stream VR content from their gaming PCs directly to their headsets, giving them access to SteamVR’s vast catalog—often boasting superior graphics and more expansive modding possibilities.
Although this feature is confirmed, we’re still in the dark on the finer points. It’s uncertain whether “support” implies an out-of-the-box PC VR streaming capability akin to what Quest offers, or simply that Google plans to welcome third-party PC VR streaming apps into the Android XR ecosystem.
Early indications suggest the latter might be the case. In fact, Virtual Desktop, one of the premier names in third-party PC VR streaming, is already being prepped for Android XR.
For those hungry for detailed insights on Android XR, be sure to dive into the announcement article and get a closer look at our hands-on experience with Samsung’s latest hardware.
