After months of pestering Samsung for a Challenge Moohan demo with out success, I lastly had the possibility to put on Samsung’s mixed-reality headset on the Google I/O press lounge. And as fundamental as it could sound, I actually loved utilizing it.

Samsung revealed its Project Moohan headset again in 2024, however solely gave out demos to a few websites and YouTubers.

We knew what it regarded like and what sort of Android XR software program to count on, however not whether or not it could stay as much as Samsung and Google’s guarantees. We do not even know what Moohan — “Infinity” in Korean — will price or formally be referred to as.

However as a lot as Google’s AR glasses prototype intrigued me as proof that AR glasses can work, Samsung’s XR headset felt like a correct next-gen machine, with seamless hand-tracking controls and helpful Gemini navigation.

What it is like utilizing Challenge Moohan

A Google rep borrowed my glasses to examine my prescription, then printed some lens inserts and snapped them into my Moohan headset. Then they set me up outside subsequent to the AR glasses sales space and had me slide on the headset.

I could not inform you the precise weight, however the headset felt well-balanced and securely strapped onto my head, due to the again knob.

I then needed to slide an influence brick into my pocket, with its twine connected to the left of the headset. It is on the heavy facet, nevertheless it’s not one thing you may discover when you develop into immersed, and a minimum of it is not tethered to a PC or console in a set spot; you may stroll wherever with the headset.

I then progressed by a quick onboarding tutorial. You pinch to pick out objects each close to, grabbing the sting to maneuver a window or the nook to resize it. And also you level your palm towards your self and pinch to drag up the house menu.

As a Quest 3 proprietor who’s used an Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional, I discovered the controls utterly intuitive and acquainted, and I barely had any missed inputs throughout my demo. My digital hand define felt correct and attentive to my actual hand place.

Plus, the full-color digital camera was each vibrant and clear. The headset defaulted to mixed-reality passthrough, and I might see the journalists in line behind me taking images of me as I examined out options.

Samsung hasn’t revealed Moohan’s decision, however the present rumor is that the headset makes use of Sony 4K micro-OLED displays with 3,552 × 3,840 decision, 1,000-nit brightness at 20% energy, 96% DCI-P3 shade gamut, and 90 FPS.

Primarily based on my visible expertise, it is precisely as pixel-dense and colourful as you’d hope for. Some apps (like Maps Road View) cannot stay as much as the decision potential and seem a bit blurry, however once I watched 4K nature movies on YouTube, I might sink into the landscapes.

I additionally watched an immersive 180° video and a standard 2D video enhanced with AI so as to add 3D depth to sure parts of the video. Whereas Moohan’s {hardware} is spectacular, I would not be as excited for the headset if it weren’t for distinctive Android XR tips like this.

Pure Gemini navigation

I clearly cannot present you what I noticed in-headset, however the screenshots above and beneath felt like a reasonably correct illustration of my expertise.

By default, opening any app will carry it entrance and heart as a 2D window. However once I hit the “increase” button in YouTube, it curved the show for a extra conventional theater look and added secondary home windows on both facet with video information, a playlist scroll, and extra.

Principally, although, Samsung and Google expect you to let Gemini do the work of opening and navigating by apps for you.

The Google rep had me open Google Maps, the place I might use pinch gestures to zoom in or out with minimal lag and easy scrolling. Moohan’s Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 chip and RAM have to be sufficient for strong efficiency.

I discovered myself in Yosemite, so I requested Gemini what that close by cliff was. Turned out it was the well-known El Capitan, a 3,000-foot-tall granite formation. Gemini requested if I needed to know extra about its geology or its climbing historical past; I requested how many individuals had climbed it, and Gemini flattered me by saying it was a “nice query.”

Whereas Gemini on glasses has to go your questions off to your cellphone, Gemini on Samsung’s headset processes on-device and feels way more responsive consequently. Gemini nonetheless has to stall generally by saying, “Let me determine that out for you,” however that is most likely higher than an ungainly silence the place you do not know if Gemini heard you or not.

Solely Moohan’s worth has me nervous

Samsung will formally launch Challenge Moohan later in 2025, giving builders a couple of extra months to make use of the new developer preview to make XR apps for the headset.

However this can be a premium productiveness headset with highly effective efficiency and lovely decision, identical to the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. I am positive Samsung will attempt to undercut Apple’s $3,500 worth, however I might guess it’s going to nonetheless price a lot greater than a Quest.

Most of my expertise with Moohan targeted on informal options, such as you’d use whereas slacking off from work. However I am unable to decide from a 15-minute demo whether or not I might need to use this as a laptop computer show (or substitute) for hours on daily basis. That is a a lot larger bar to clear, and it makes Moohan extra area of interest.

That being mentioned, if (A) I can afford Samsung Challenge Moohan, (B) it pairs properly with Bluetooth keyboards and mice for work, and (C) it finally ends up having an honest collection of VR video games and streaming apps, then I might completely purchase and use Moohan frequently.