Samsung's 'Flex Magic' to compete with Apple's 'Vision Pro', a spatial computer
These are not the days when Samsung made the Bada phone and became the subject of Apple's ridicule. In particular, young Korean teenagers are Apple fans, so Samsung has the image of being an old man's phone, but the global opinion is that Samsung is already ahead in terms of technological know-how in telecommunications and home appliances. Moreover, as it is a global semiconductor company, it is difficult to coexist without Apple, Tesla, and Samsung.
It's just that Apple brings a big edge to innovation. The company is doing well, and I thought that Apple would lead the future with this Apple Vision Pro.
Samsung files a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The next-generation new XR headset is scheduled to be released at the end of next year or early in the year.
Samsung is driving to launch an XR (extended reality) headset by applying for trademark rights to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As Apple prepares to launch its XR headset product early next year, the industry predicts that Samsung will also accelerate its pace and begin unveiling its products in the first half of next year.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the 14th, Samsung Display recently applied for a new trademark ‘Flex Magic’. The new trademark is believed to be aimed at Samsung's next-generation new XR headset. Samsung Display mentioned the general application of the display in its explanation of the trademark, and the inclusion of ‘3D glasses, virtual reality headsets, virtual reality goggles, virtual reality glasses, and smart glasses’ is particularly noteworthy. Samsung Display already applied for a trademark of the same name to the European Patent Office last month.
In particular, the logo presented in the new trademark resembles a square-shaped panel. This is believed to embody the unique form factor ratio used in AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) devices.
Although patent applications are not directly related to product launch, the industry believes that Samsung has already made significant progress in product disclosure. According to the industry, the release of Samsung's XR device ‘Galaxy Glass (tentative name)’, which was originally expected to be released at the end of next year, has recently been reported to have been brought forward significantly. It is estimated that development will be completed and that it may be released as early as the beginning of the year.
Previously, Samsung Electronics officially declared that it would develop the XR form factor in cooperation with Google and Qualcomm at the ‘Unpack’ event last February. Samsung Electronics is expected to release XR devices by taking charge of devices, Google is responsible for software such as the Android operating system (OS), and Qualcomm is responsible for chipsets dedicated to the XR platform.
As Samsung, which was initially a latecomer, drives its development, the possibility of a confrontation with Apple, which is showing signs of delay in launching new products, has increased. The industry believes that Apple is likely to release Vision Pro in March next year. The launch price of Vision Pro is $3,499 and it is scheduled to be released first in the United States and then in overseas countries in the second half of next year.
It was reported that Apple's internal software team was initially aiming to debut Vision Pro in January. Vision Pro was first unveiled at the World Developers Conference (WWDC 2023) held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, last June. It has been nine years since the first release of the Apple Watch in 2014 that Apple introduced a completely new form factor.
The Vision Pro's appearance is similar to ski goggles. Users can wear the Vision Pro and use the operating system ‘Vision OS’ to operate the device with their eyes, hands, and voice. Various apps can be used in three dimensions by floating them in the air in augmented reality, and even video calls can be made where the other person is represented as a life-size tile.
Meta, which has been putting all its effort into the XR field by changing its company name, is also working with LG Electronics to develop premium products. In this year-end reorganization, LG Electronics established a new XR business department directly under the headquarters to prepare for future business. Currently, LG is working with Meta to develop mixed reality (MR) devices. It has been reported that the two companies have begun collaborative research with the goal of releasing this headset in 2025.
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According to Presence Research, the AR/VR headset market size is expected to grow from $9.19 billion last year to $22.9 billion in 2026. Currently, Chinese companies are expanding their market share in low-priced products priced below 500,000 won, and in products priced close to 1 million won, companies such as Meta and Sony are dominating the market share.
However, if Apple and Samsung each release premium products priced at over 1 million won next year, the market landscape is expected to change significantly. An IT industry official predicted, “With the participation of Samsung and Apple, the global top two in devices, the metaverse market will expand in earnest next year.”
<Terminology>▶ XR (Extended Reality·eXtended Reality): A technology that creates an expanded world using virtual reality (VR), which immerses users in a virtual world, and augmented reality (AR) technology, which overlaps virtual elements with the real world. It refers to realistic technology.