{"id":81043,"date":"2024-01-05T18:22:17","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T02:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/new-qualcomm-mr-reference-headset-shows-what-to-expect-from-samsung\/"},"modified":"2024-01-05T18:22:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-06T02:22:17","slug":"new-qualcomm-mr-reference-headset-shows-what-to-expect-from-samsung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/new-qualcomm-mr-reference-headset-shows-what-to-expect-from-samsung\/","title":{"rendered":"New Qualcomm MR Reference Headset Shows What to Expect From Samsung"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"rtvr-article\">\n<p>Alongside the announcement of the new Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip, Qualcomm also revealed its latest reference headset, a mixed reality device that\u2019s likely the foundation of Samsung\u2019s upcoming headset.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.roadtovr.com\/samsung-google-qualcomm-xr-headset\/\">Samsung announced last year<\/a> that it\u2019s working with both Google and Qualcomm on an XR device. We\u2019ve been around the block once or twice and can tell you how these things usually go down.<\/p>\n<p>Qualcomm is far and away the leading provider of processors powering XR devices today. Part of the reason why is because when the company makes a new XR chip, it makes more than <em>just the chip<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Qualcomm also creates \u2018reference headsets\u2019, which are bare-bones but fully-functional headsets that contain their latest chip, and act as a blueprint for customers (ie: Meta, HTC, or Samsung) to use as a starting point to develop their next device.<\/p>\n<p>Lo and behold, alongside the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.roadtovr.com\/qualcomm-snapdragon-xr2-plus-gen-2-processor-announcement\/\">Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 announcement this week<\/a>, Qualcomm not only confirmed that Samsung would be using the new chip but also revealed a new MR headset reference design which very likely gives us a ballpark idea of what Samsung will reveal.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115709\"><a href=\"https:\/\/roadtovrlive-5ea0.kxcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/snapdragon-xr2-plus-gen-2-3.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"360\"  src=\"https:\/\/roadtovrlive-5ea0.kxcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/snapdragon-xr2-plus-gen-2-3-640x360.png\"  width=\"640\"><\/img><\/a><figcaption>Image courtesy Qualcomm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like most of Qualcomm\u2019s reference headsets, the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 reference headset is made in partnership with Goertek. And here\u2019s what we know about it: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor (obviously)<\/li>\n<li>Eye-tracking from Tobii<\/li>\n<li>Support for 18.5MP (4,300\u00a0\u00d7 4,300) per-eye resolution at 90Hz<\/li>\n<li>12 concurrent cameras\n<ul>\n<li>[Our speculation on their uses]\n<ul>\n<li>2x eye-tracking<\/li>\n<li>2x RGB passthrough<\/li>\n<li>4x world-tracking<\/li>\n<li>4x depth-sensing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Pancake lenses<\/li>\n<li>Hardware IPD adjustment<\/li>\n<li>Microphone array<\/li>\n<li>3.5mm headphone port<\/li>\n<li>Wi-Fi 6\/6E\/7<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So that\u2019s the reference headset. What can it tell us about what Samsung is likely building?<\/p>\n<p>Well for one, the overall form-factor. While Samsung\u2019s headset will have different aesthetics, the form-factor probably won\u2019t deviate all that much. That\u2019s because the XR2+ Gen 2 is built for a certain amount of power consumption, heat dissipation, and camera count. If Samsung was building something significantly smaller, they would likely be building with the Snapdragon AR2 platform instead, which is designed to be more power-efficient and compact.<\/p>\n<p>The camera stack is likely to be similar too, considering that XR2+ Gen 2 ups the concurrent camera count to 12 (compared to 10 with the prior XR2 Gen 2).<\/p>\n<p>But then there\u2019s the parts that are usually heavily customized between the reference headset and the finished product. The first of which is the display.<\/p>\n<p>While the reference headset can\u00a0<em>technically<\/em> manage up to\u00a018.5MP (4,300\u00a0\u00d7 4,300) per-eye resolution at 90Hz, our understanding is that Qualcomm\u2019s reference headsets usually aren\u2019t equipped with the maximum supported display (because the maximum theoretical pixel throughput usually exceeds displays that are widely available at the time).<\/p>\n<p>The status quo for displays of this size currently on the market is in the 2K range. Samsung\u2019s headset will likely land between 2K and 3K per-eye; we doubt they\u2019ll jump all the way to 4K.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen if Samsung will stick with the industry-standard LCD display technology or perhaps want to leverage its own OLED display expertise. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.roadtovr.com\/samsung-acquire-ar-vr-microdisplay-company-emagin-218m\/\">Samsung acquired a microdisplay manufacturer last year<\/a>, though it isn\u2019t clear if that was to support this specific upcoming headset or simply a strategic move anticipating future demand for such displays.<\/p>\n<p>The lenses are another element that tends to differ significantly from the reference design. Recent headsets have been moving away from single-element Fresnel lenses and toward more compact pancake lenses. Samsung\u2019s headset will likely use pancake lenses but we\u2019ll have to wait and see if they have something as good as those in Quest 3, or if they\u2019ll end up with something closer to the less performant lenses in Vive XR Elite.<\/p>\n<p>The big question up in the air right now is whether Samsung\u2019s headset will be positioned to compete with the likes of Meta\u2019s Quest or Apple\u2019s Vision Pro; our bet is on the former.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115710\"><a href=\"https:\/\/roadtovrlive-5ea0.kxcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/snapdragon-xr2-plus-gen-2-2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"625\"  src=\"https:\/\/roadtovrlive-5ea0.kxcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/snapdragon-xr2-plus-gen-2-2-640x625.jpg\"  width=\"640\"><\/img><\/a><figcaption>Image courtesy Qualcomm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Interestingly, Qualcomm\u2019s marketing photo shows the user with her hand in her lap doing a pinching gesture. That looks an awful lot like the look-and-tap system that Apple has shown on Vision Pro. Will this become a new standard input method?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alongside the announcement of the new Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip, Qualcomm also revealed its latest reference headset, a mixed reality device that\u2019s likely the foundation of Samsung\u2019s upcoming headset. Samsung announced last year that it\u2019s working with both Google and Qualcomm on an XR device. We\u2019ve been around the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":81044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[432,157,100,158,5169],"tags":[428,154,95,155,5165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}