Samsung had planned to launch the XR headset by the end of 2024, but has already confirmed that it will be delayed to 2025. The device reportedly sees many pivots from what Samsung first announced a year ago.

91Mobiles staff recently discovered a patent application for the headset design in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) database. Interestingly, the drawing depicts a device that looks much flatter than the bulbous Vision Pro and Quest 3. Whether Samsung can actually manufacture a slimmer headset remains to be seen.

The drawing shows two circular areas for the eyes, and the front portion of the headset appears to contain an SSD, RAM, and processor. Unlike the self-contained Vision Pro, the Samsung device appears to have a controller. There is a device similar to the Quest Touch controller, only without the joystick, but there is mention of gesture input based on head, eye, and hand movements, and possibly voice control.

On the visual side, according to the patent, the device uses “reference points” in virtual space relative to “real space for navigation and manipulation.” The headset accomplishes this by mapping your field of vision as you wear the device.

The Samsung patent does not seem to specify the type of display the headset might utilize, so it could be an LCD screen or OLED. It apparently has an interface similar to Apple's headset that allows users to interact with virtual elements such as menus and icons. The patent discusses mapping virtual elements so that they do not overlap with the real world when viewed through a lens.

It seems that Samsung's device may have some AI identification capabilities, as the patent (machine translated) states that the camera can help provide “visual object” identification information.

The device will reportedly support 5G, 6G, Bluetooth, and NFC.

The XR headset is not the only device mentioned in Samsung's filing. A set of smart glasses is included, although the patent does not go into much depth on this topic. The smart glasses are placed both alone and next to the headset. The patent lists the glasses as “a wearable device for displaying visual objects.”

91mobiles reports that Samsung includes a line in its application describing the device as “AR glasses and/or head-mounted device.”

While the patent leans toward the headset nature of the device, Samsung is working with Google and Qualcomm to make this device. Therefore, we would not be surprised if Samsung is working on more than one version of the anticipated XR platform.