The XR market is the perfect place for Samsung to be fun again

At this point, we may as well admit it; Samsung is no longer fun. The company has given up being the innovative and rebellious risk-taker and started the transition to becoming an Apple rip-off. We see this manifest itself in several ways, and one way is with its smartphones and with One UI. Well, there’s a new frontier in tech called XR (Extended Reality). Samsung wants to make a splash in this burgeoning market, having already dipped its toe in with its Project Moohan headset. But, here’s the thing, this headset is a fresh new chance for Samsung to be that fun rebel again.

Several companies are trying to emulate Apple in some way, as it is one of the biggest companies in the world. However, it’s more painful to see Samsung go down this path, as it’s historically been the “Anti-Apple.” It was always one to poke fun at Apple’s mentality of safety and sameness. We got radical innovations like the S Pen, Selective Focus, the Infinity Display, and much more from Samsung in its heyday. The company was the first to launch a mainstream phone with water and dust resistance, the first to use an ISOCELL camera sensor, the first to bring a foldable phone into the mainstream, and the company that paved the way for larger screen phones.

Samsung of old

No doubt, Samsung wanted to take the tech industry and mold it into whatever it wanted. People fed off of that energy too. There was a loyal following of people who loved Samsung because it would often represent a middle finger to Apple. Every time Samsung launched a phone, it would look fresh, new, and gorgeous compared to the copied and pasted design that Apple would launch.

However, those were the old days. Now, Samsung is launching designs that are inching closer to the iPhone. It’s recycling designs for years at a time with little to no technical improvements outside of a new processor. Also, Samsung is quick to swipe software features that Apple comes out with. It is a trend we see with companies across the industry, but given its legacy, we always find ourselves uttering a disappointed “e tu, Samsung?”

The XR market could be Samsung’s chance to be fun again

The latest Galaxy phones are pretty much the same as what we’ve seen over the past couple of years, and there’s little hope that the Galaxy S26 phones will do much to rock the boat. The formula for what makes a good phone is already set in stone, and the same thing goes for Samsung’s smartphone identity. It has established a specific look that we associate with the company, and we doubt that it will revamp the design all that much.

However, Samsung was at its most innovative when the smartphone was still developing. Well, guess what industry is still developing at this point, XR. Obviously, we’ve had VR, AR, and other headsets for years, but this market is still trying to get its footing. Headsets of the past were clunky, inconvenient, and expensive. Several companies are still searching for that feature, device, or gimmick to bring XR into the mainstream.

So, the XR market is still a lump of clay just waiting to be molded. Apple made an indentation in it with the Vision Pro, but here’s the thing, its safe and closed-off approach to the market was instrumental in the device’s downfall (that, and the ridiculous price tag). This means that we’re starting to get an idea of what does and doesn’t work in this developing market, and this is primetime estate for Samsung.

The company has the money, brand power, user base, and engineering prowess to take this market and make something special. This is the company’s chance to be the antithesis to Apple that we’ve missed over the years.

Freedom!

Let’s start off with the freedom. The Apple Vision Pro is like an iPhone that you wear on your head in that it’s a device running A tightly locked-down operating system. That was to be expected. This means that, if you use it, you’ll be subject to some tough restrictions, and you’re limited to the experience that Apple decides that you can have.

A few good examples are the fact that the company didn’t design its headset for gaming. Also, you’re limited when it comes to the kind of content you can watch on it. It’s designed for a specific set of tasks that Apple has laid out. Samsung could buck that trend and do it loudly. The company can make it so that its headset is much more open. We know that it will use Android XR, which we’re sure will be a more open operating system. Still, that doesn’t mean that the company can’t make a big show out of it.

Samsung could say “Hey, why do only what Apple says you can do with XR? Our headset lets you actually unlock the true potential of XR!” It’s as simple as not trying to limit the user in what they can do just to follow Apple. The thing about Apple is that it wants this squeaky-clean operating system. Just like iOS, it’s no man’s land for tinkerers, tech nerds, and other people who want more from their tech.

So, Samsung could actually give people wiggle room to make the operating system their own and do more. People don’t want to spend multiple thousands of dollars on a device that comes with limits. It’s like buying a Ferrari and finding that you can’t go above 60mph.

More features, please

Let’s give Samsung some credit. While it did swipe several features and practices from Apple, we have to give the company credit for trying to maintain some level of originality. However, that’s the bare minimum at this point. We saw a completely fresh and distinctive feature set on Samsung devices back in the day, and we want to go back to that.

Apple packed a bunch of features into the Vision Pro, and the same thing goes for other companies with their respective headsets. Obviously, there’s going to be some overlap with features. We know that Samsung will port many common-sense features that have already been introduced.

We know that Samsung will introduce features with a high degree of polish. However, we don’t want to see polish, we want to see risk. We want Samsung to give us a bunch of cool features that make us say “WOW! You can’t get that on any other headset!” Along with fully-baked and developed features, we want to see features that give us a glimpse of the future. Features that may not work 100% today but show that the company is passionate about grabbing the future by the neck and pulling it to us.

Yes, this means gimmicks, but we’re dying for gimmicks after several years of the same sterile smartphone experience that we’ve had with Samsung’s phones. The curved display was a gimmick until it became an industry-wide trend. The same thing with providing phones with built-in styli. We want those features that are freaky, fun, and futuristic not just functional.

Give us the games

As stated before, Apple didn’t design the Vision Pro as a gaming device. As such the company didn’t add controller support. Sure, you can argue that it’s a business device and not designed as a gaming console. However, enough people have spoken out about this to let us know that the customers want games.

Apple has since partnered with Sony to make its headset compatible with PSVR 2 controllers. Other than that, we’re sure that Apple will make some changes in post to facilitate gaming. But, here’s the thing, the company will need to shoehorn these features into the experience to satisfy the user. Samsung could launch the device with gaming in mind. It could bring some hardcore gaming features that really bring the experience to the next level.

These features could be baked in and more polished than what Apple could sprinkle onto its headset. This won’t only satisfy the gamers. Here’s the thing, one of the main reasons why the lack of gaming annoyed Apple Vision Pro users is that the device costs $3,499. A device that expensive- and a device that could more than likely handle any XR game on the market- should at least have SOME gaming support. iPhones can be business-focused devices, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t play games on them.

If Samsung’s headset allows for some serious gaming, then people won’t have that complaint. We know that the headset will be pricey. However, people won’t be paying a bunch of money for a device that doesn’t allow them to work and play.

A price for success

Samsung has been in the hardware business for decades, and we know it can create some truly incredible devices. We know that the company’s headset will be an impressive feat of engineering. Obviously, it’ll primarily be compared to the Vision Pro, as both devices are gunning for the same market. This is why price is important. We don’t expect Samsung to sell its headset at Meta Quest prices, but we expect a price that undercuts its Apple-made rival.

Here’s the thing, a competitive price isn’t only important because people will spend less money. It’s crucial on a mental level. Many of the complaints about the Vision Pro aren’t about the price, but they’re about what you get for the price. 3499 is the number of dollars you spend and the number of restrictions you have to deal with. People don’t like spending money on an experience that doesn’t warrant the price. Customers are saying, “I get THIS for the money I paid?”

Samsung could use that to propel this headset to new heights. We know that the company will jam a bunch of functionality into the headset. While it will cost a fair bit, we need the company to price it at a price so that people won’t feel the same way about it as they do the Vision Pro. Not just so that they save money, but so that they feel like they’re getting what they pay for. So that they don’t open the box and put the headset on only to run into a bunch of stuff that they can’t do.

Like the old days

How does this remind us of old Samsung? The company has historically priced its phones similarly to iPhones, so making cheaper devices isn’t a Samsung Original™. However, the company had a way of filling its devices to the brim with fun features and useful additions. Juxtaposed to iPhones, and their short list of features and functionality, each Galaxy phone (well, not anymore) looked like a full-fledged experience. That was one of the things that made Samsung the Anti-Apple, and it was one of the reasons why people turned to the company back in the day.

Well, pricing its headset at a competitive price while offering a full experience could be a breath of fresh air. Right now, Samsung is offering its phones at similar prices to iPhones while not offering much more in terms of functionality. In fact, the company is taking away features like the Bluetooth functionality in the S Pen. People buying one of the Galaxy S25 phones are saying, “I get THIS for the money I paid?”

Giving people a full experience for a reasonable amount of money compared to what Apple put out will remind people of the old Samsung.

A trail that needs blazing

Samsung’s recent actions have shown us that it has Apple on the brain, and we see that the most with its mobile devices. Its Galaxy phones are starting to resemble iPhones, it took the “Ultra” naming scheme from the Apple Watch series, it brought over several iOS features immediately after they launched, and so on. It got to the point where the company’s leaders were disappointed in how the mobile division has been aping the Cupertino giant.

However, the XR market is fertile soil. Other companies have already launched their devices, but Samsung can take the wheel in the market and steer it in a new direction. It just needs to be that risk-taker again. It needs to drop its Apple mentality and give its users the fun that they’ve been starved of.

Apple has its user base of people who can work within the limitations, and that’s not an insult to Apple users. The company has created a safe and optimized ecosystem of hardware and software that works like a well-oiled machine. But Samsung’s user base isn’t looking for that. Samsung fans are used to seeing new and trailblazing features that dare to push the limits even if they don’t work all the time. Apple’s slogan is “It just works,” But, Samsung has been the company to MAKE THINGS WORK.

Making it work

The Galaxy Note Edge’s display wasn’t a hit with audiences, but Samsung made it work and revolutionized the industry. The first Galaxy Z Fold got damaged from dust and sand, but the company made it work. It brute-forced its way past the limitations of its first-generation mistakes and led the way for other companies to innovate, and one of those companies is Apple.

While companies struggle to adapt to this new form factor, maybe Samsung bringing back its old tactics will help it and the entire industry thrive.