Galaxy XR Review: One Feature Steals the Show

We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.

80%

80%

The Samsung Galaxy XR is a well-built, visually stunning headset with a genuinely unique Google Maps immersive mode - but at $1,799.99, it's a tough sell when the use case for most people remains unclear.

The Good

1. Dual 4K 90FPS micro-OLED displays are exceptional
2. Google Maps immersive mode is a standout exclusive feature
3. Lightweight design with an intuitive setup process

The Not So Good

1. Very expensive with a hard-to-define audience
2. Nose pressure and heat build-up after extended use
3. Fiddly pinch controls that need refinement

• 8
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0

I still need to be convinced about AR/VR/mixed reality.

I’m old-fashioned like that.

Back in February 2024, I imported the Apple Vision Pro from the United States. It was extremely expensive, and the content didn’t really land well with my YouTube audience. They were more interested in the USB-C update to the AirPods Max that year. No, really.

This is a shame (not just because of the impact it had on my bank balance). Vision Pro is a stunning technical achievement, and it’s impossible not to be bowled over by what it’s capable of.

The problem is that Vision Pro joins a list of headsets that I don’t really know how to put to use.

And now we have one from Samsung.

It’s called the Galaxy XR; it’s also expensive (although less so than Apple’s device), and I need your help. Again.

Specs and pricing

The Galaxy XR is powered by the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor and has just one storage tier – 256GB.

There are two 4K micro-OLED displays that are capable of 90FPS. Per eye. For a kid of the 80s, this kind of tech still absolutely blows my mind. The same goes for the input method, which combines hand- and eye-tracking (you can choose between the two or have both switched on, if you wish).

The tracking is undertaken via four internal cameras for watching eye movements and six external cameras that keep an eye on your hand gestures. There are six mics, too, and built-in speakers for audio playback.

Alongside the Galaxy XR headset, in the box you’ll find the separate battery pack (which fast-charges and delivers up to 2.5 hours of video playback), the associated cables, a forehead cushion with an additional size adjuster, magnetic light blockers, a protective cover for the front of the unit and, of course, a cleaning cloth.

The price? £1,699/$1,799.99.

If you fancy boosting your Galaxy XR setup, you can add a pair of controllers and a travel case (both costing £249/$249.99). Oh, and if you have a prescription, you can purchase lens adaptors separately, too.

The hardware

This is still a very expensive piece of kit. At £1,699/$1,799.99, you need to purchase the Galaxy XR with intention. I’ll get to that later, but the good news is that if you do buy one, you’ll be happy with the quality of the unit itself.

Vision Pro is a step above in terms of materials and overall look and feel, but that’s because it’s more expensive. Samsung has done a superb job in balancing build quality with lightness and the RRP.

There’s no such thing as multiple strap choices with the Galaxy XR headset – you simply get the built-in head mount, which essentially grips the rear of your head and screws tight via a dial at the back. At the front, your forehead is looked after via a small cushion (with an extender, if you need it). It’s refreshingly easy to get a decent fit early on.

I like the battery design, too. Just like Vision Pro, it’s external but has a detachable cable, which makes it a little tidier to charge via the included USB cable.

I don’t quite understand the inclusion of light shields (I left them on permanently). Surely for this kind of experience, you always want zero light or ‘real world’ creeping in from your peripheral vision? Regardless, if you do want that, you can just take them off.

Overall, the Galaxy XR package is well considered, nicely made, and during those first few goes, easy to wear.

It’s a good start.

---

The software experience

The Galaxy XR is the first headset on sale to run Google’s Android XR operating system. It’s the result of a collaboration with Qualcomm and has Gemini built in. That means it has one of the best AI platforms as standard, including stuff like Circle to Search (which you can perform on anything you see in front of you).

The key experience, however, is that of spatial computing. If you’ve not tried this before, it essentially throws the headset’s operating system into the space in front of you. Or into a virtual environment, if you fancy watching Netflix in the wilderness.

Apps appear in multiple smartphone-like grids that can be swiped with hand gestures. Once you find the app or game you want to open, you either look at it or use the virtual pointers extending from your hands, and pinch your thumb and forefinger to select. Multiple apps can be opened at once and placed ‘around the room’. You can resize them, pull them towards you, push them away, and even snap windows to walls. Android XR will remember the placement of up to three apps when you return to the headset later.

If you’re a Samsung smartphone user, Android XR feels immediately familiar. Icons, toggles, and the behaviour of windows all feel very One UI. As it should; these headsets still struggle to bake themselves into our daily lives, so the less foreign they feel, the better.

If you’ve got a Windows laptop, you can use PC Link to cast the screen into Android XR and do your work there (not something I was able to test due to my Mac Fanboyitus).

The biggest issue with headsets from my perspective is explaining what they’re like to use. It’s something you have to experience yourself for the full effect. But just like visionOS, Android XR offers an incredibly immersive way of doing the kind of stuff you’d normally do on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. The problem is that it still feels brilliant-but-almost-unnecessary.

If you’re wondering how the Galaxy XR stacks up against Samsung’s other recent flagship hardware, check out our Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 hands-on for more.

What I like

The setup process for Galaxy XR was easy and fun. You can do it from scratch, of course, but if you’ve got a Galaxy phone, it’s even easier; you just scan a QR code on your phone with the headset, and most of your stuff is copied across.

You’re then taken through a simple but intuitive walkthrough of how to interact with Android XR. Samsung has nailed this part, and that’s important because if it feels fiddly from the off, you’ll lose the wearer quickly.

As noted earlier, I like how lightweight the headset is, too, and the strap design feels well-considered and easy to get to grips with. The hardware, too, won’t make you feel shortchanged, and that’s extremely important at this price point.

Android XR is a great-looking operating system, and it’s made that way not least because of the superb image quality offered by the Galaxy XR. Those dual 4K 90FPS displays are sharp, fast, and vibrant. It’s what separates headsets like this one from some of the considerably cheaper competition.

However, the standout feature is one that Samsung can, at the time of writing, lay claim to being the only headset provider offering it – Google Maps immersive mode.

Once again, this is incredibly difficult to show you via some text on a webpage. Even screenshots don’t do it justice. You need to be there, literally. Hit the Immersive button while using Google Maps on the Galaxy XR, and you’re thrown into a virtual top-down view of wherever in the world you happen to be looking at. Zoom in, and the buildings turn into 3D objects. They note quite photo-realistic (‘paper mache’ would be unfair, but it’s the closest thing I can compare the look of the buildings to), but it’s super cool.

It’s a lovely way to explore cities and regions you might be thinking of visiting and would be a great learning tool for kids. Just remember to actually go to those places for the real experience, please.

You can go one step further, too. If a business has photographed the inside of its establishment, you can go ‘inside’ and move around the interior to, for instance, get a sense of a restaurant’s layout. Street View is also considerably more immersive on the headset compared to your smartphone.

How often would I use it personally? I’m not sure. And that brings me to the stuff I’m not keen on.

What I don’t like

Despite being among the lightest headsets I’ve tried, the Galaxy XR still has its fitment issues. Some of this might be related to needing to spend more time with it to get the fit right, but I suspect this is just a facet of life with the current mixed reality headsets.

After twenty minutes or so of using the Galaxy XR, two things bothered me. The first was the pressure I felt on the bridge of my nose, and the second was the heat generated. There are vents on the top of the unit above the outer panel, and while they don’t emit serious heat, they do get warm, and that warmth seemed to transfer itself through the forehead rest and onto my head. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but I could feel it far more than I could on Vision Pro, and it wasn’t ideal during the UK’s brief heatwave.

The controls can be a little fiddly in Android XR, too. Once again, I suspect this is simply me needing more time with it, and I’m sure both Samsung and Google will refine the controls over time. Regardless, I found myself fairly regularly mis-pinching things and struggling to interact with window controls efficiently.

Lastly, it’s still a very expensive device. Which brings me to my inevitable conclusion about the Galaxy XR.

---

Conclusion: Who is Galaxy XR for?

Just like Vision Pro, the Galaxy XR experience is seriously impressive – particularly if you’re new to headsets of this kind and, specifically, spatial computing.

The problem remains, though. Who is this for? Meta has been providing far cheaper headsets for a number of years now, and if you’re going to spend considerably more than what you would on something like the Meta Quest 3S, you need an extremely good reason to do so.

I’m not sure what that reason is. I even drafted in Toby, our apprentice, who is astronomically younger than me and who has had far more experience using headsets of this kind. He, too, was impressed by the technical prowess of Galaxy XR and Android XR, but, just like me, he struggled to figure out who would actually buy one.

Uber Samsung fans probably will. Anyone with deep pockets who still can’t quite justify Vision Pro (particularly after the recent price hikes) might be tempted to grab their first experience of spatial computing via Samsung. I’m just not sure if it’s going to stick with any of that crowd, let alone those who don’t find themselves in either camp.

This is, I’m afraid, why I have to turn this one over to you. Let me know in the comments if Samsung’s headset has tempted you enough to buy it and why you made that decision.

Curious how Samsung’s big-ticket devices compare to the competition? We put together a full breakdown in our Samsung S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max guide.