Samsung's February 2023 Unpacked event was dominated by the Galaxy S23 and, to a lesser extent, the Galaxy Book 3 series. These products are primarily iterative upgrades over their predecessor and don't bring any breakthrough new technology to the table. The company is working on a more exciting device, though: an "extended reality" headset. Samsung is usually the first to market with products in emerging categories, but it seems to have taken a different approach this time.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Samsung's president and mobile leader, TM Roh, confirmed the company is working on an "extended reality" device. The product is "getting there," signaling that the Korean giant's first XR wearable could debut in the near future. Samsung is working with Qualcomm on the chipset, with Google supplying the software. The latter confirmed that it is working on a special version of Android specifically for wearable headsets and displays.

In a statement to the publication, Google spokeswoman Kaori Miyaki said, "We're excited to work with our partners to build a new generation of immersive computing experiences that will further elevate what users can do with Google."

We could hear more about Google's efforts on a new version of Android for AR/VR devices at MWC later this month or at Google I/O 2023.

Interestingly, Samsung will also partner with Microsoft and Meta to build services around its XR device. It would probably be the first time all major tech giants but Apple are collaborating on a product's development. This will be important, as there's no clear use case for AR/VR headsets right now. All the companies involved must work together to build an ecosystem before the hardware's arrival.

Apple is rumored to launch its first AR/VR headset later this year, which should help increase consumer interest in this field. It looks like Samsung does not want to be left far behind.

Samsung has experience with wearable AR/VR headsets. Its Gear VR headset from 2015 relied on your smartphone to act as the display. Then, its Odyssey headset for Windows PCs was launched in 2017. However, following limited consumer interest, these products were eventually discontinued.

With smartphone sales slowing down and Samsung hit particularly hard by waning interest, the company is likely putting all its efforts into ensuring its first AR/VR device can attract consumer interest.