Samsung Reveals Project Moohan, Smart Glasses Surge 247%

Samsung officially reveals Galaxy XR (Project Moohan) — hands-on impressions

Samsung's long-rumored XR headset is real, and it's impressive. Built in partnership with Google and Qualcomm, the Galaxy XR runs Android XR and targets the sweet spot between Quest 3 and Vision Pro.

• Dual 3,552 x 3,840 Micro-OLED displays at 72Hz (90Hz max)
• Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 with Gemini AI integration
• Passthrough cameras with depth sensing for mixed reality
• 256GB storage, 16GB RAM — serious specs
• Price: $1,799 — splits the difference between Quest 3 ($499) and Vision Pro ($3,499)

The Takeaway: Samsung is making a calculated bet that there's a massive market between Meta's budget play and Apple's premium tier. The Google partnership gives them Android's app ecosystem, and Gemini AI is a genuine differentiator. The big question: can a $1,799 headset find its audience when Quest 3 does 80% of the job for $499?

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses get live translation update

Meta pushed a major firmware update enabling real-time translation for 14 languages through the glasses' speakers. Say something in English, and your conversation partner hears it in Japanese — no phone required.

Rokid AR Lite gets new "Workspace" mode for productivity — floating screens in AR with keyboard/mouse input.

visionOS developer community crosses 10,000 published apps

Apple's spatial computing platform hit a major milestone: 10,000 apps are now available on the Vision Pro App Store.

• 10,000 apps available — up from 2,500 at launch
• Spatial video and photo apps: fastest-growing category (+380%)
• Enterprise apps: 1,200 (12% of total) — growing fastest by revenue
• Average app price: $7.99 (higher than iOS average of $1.99)

The Takeaway: 10K apps in 18 months is solid — better than Apple Watch's trajectory at the same point. The higher average price suggests developers can actually make money on visionOS, which will attract more high-quality apps.

Beat Saber hits $500M lifetime revenue

Meta's flagship VR game crossed the half-billion dollar mark. It remains the best-selling VR game of all time by a significant margin.

Google releases ARCore 2.0 for Android XR — adds persistent cloud anchors and Geospatial API v3.

Smart glasses market surges 247% in 2025

Counterpoint Research's annual report dropped this week with a staggering number: AR smart glasses shipments grew 247% year-over-year in 2025 to 2.4M units.

• Ray-Ban Meta: 68% market share (1.63M units)
• XREAL: 14% market share (336K units)
• All others combined: 18%
• Average selling price: $312
• 2026 forecast: 5.8M units (+142% YoY)

The Takeaway: Ray-Ban Meta is the iPod of smart glasses — the product that made the category mainstream. But the 247% growth rate suggests the rising tide is lifting all boats. XREAL's 14% share with a more expensive, tech-focused product is impressive.

Spatial computing VC investment totaled $6.8B in 2025

A16z, Khosla, Sequoia, and Tiger Global all increased XR fund allocations. The sector saw 340 deals globally — up from 215 in 2024.

Niantic raises $200M for its AR platform division — valuation holds at $8.7B despite Pokémon GO revenue decline.

Apple launches Vision Pro for Enterprise program

Apple quietly launched a dedicated enterprise program for Vision Pro with volume pricing, MDM support, and dedicated account management.

• Volume pricing starting at $2,999 per unit (down from $3,499)
• Full MDM support via Jamf, VMware, and Microsoft Intune
• Enterprise App Store — companies can distribute custom apps privately
• Apple-certified XR deployment partners: 24 agencies in North America
• Target industries: healthcare, architecture, engineering, education

The Takeaway: This is Apple acknowledging that Vision Pro's near-term future is enterprise, not consumer. The volume pricing and MDM support are exactly what IT departments need. Expect a wave of enterprise Vision Pro deployments in Q2.

Accenture deploys 10,000 Quest 3 headsets for global employee training

The consulting giant's "One Accenture Park" VR training campus now serves 250,000 employees across 30 countries.

Boeing uses Varjo XR-4 for full-scale aircraft cabin design reviews, replacing expensive physical mockups.

GDC 2026 — XR track announced

The Game Developers Conference confirmed a dedicated XR track for the first time, separate from the main gaming sessions. Keynotes from Meta Gaming VP Chris Pruett and Unity CTO Natalya Tatarchuk.

AWE EU 2026 — Call for speakers open

The European XR conference (October 12-14, Vienna) is accepting speaker submissions through May 31. Focus areas: enterprise AR, spatial AI, and XR accessibility.

Nathie celebrates 1M subscribers with a community Q&A

The Dutch VR creator marked hitting 1 million subscribers with a 45-minute livestream Q&A. Highlights:

• Most-requested content: "I want to see more AR glasses coverage — people are realizing this is the future form factor"
• Favorite headset of 2025: Quest 3 — "best value ever in VR"
• 2026 prediction: "Samsung Galaxy XR is going to surprise a lot of people. Google's AI integration is going to change how we think about XR"
• Plans to launch a dedicated AR-focused channel later this year