Samsung’s Android XR Headset to Feature In-House Motion Controllers and PC VR Streaming Support

Samsung has given VR fans and developers a lot to be excited about with the announcement of its latest Android XR headset, even though they’re keeping most of the specifics under wraps for now.

Dubbed ‘Project Moohan,’ this headset is poised to be the first device that brings Android XR to the masses next year. In our hands-on experience, we primarily used hand-tracking and eye-tracking to navigate it. However, Samsung has confirmed they’re also working on their own set of motion controllers designed to be seamlessly integrated with Android XR.

Why is this a big deal? Well, it paves the way for countless existing VR apps, many of which rely heavily on motion controllers, to transition to the Android XR ecosystem without needing to overhaul their game designs. That’s a sharp contrast to Apple’s Vision Pro, which doesn’t support motion controllers, leaving much of today’s beloved VR content with no easy route to fit into Apple’s XR world.

The specifics of Samsung’s Project Moohan controllers remain a mystery, except for their slated readiness to coincide with the headset’s launch in 2025. It’s still up in the air whether these controllers will come bundled with the headset or be an optional purchase.

Another win for current VR aficionados is the confirmation from Samsung and Google that Project Moohan—and subsequent devices—will support some form of PC VR streaming via Android XR. This means you could potentially stream VR content from your PC straight to the headset, tapping into the rich SteamVR library for amazing graphics and robust modding capabilities.

That said, we’re still left with questions. Particularly, it’s unclear if Android XR will come with built-in PC VR streaming features like those found on the Quest, or if Google is merely allowing third-party streaming apps to do the heavy lifting.

The signs seem to indicate the latter, considering Virtual Desktop—a third-party app that’s hugely popular for PC VR streaming—is actively being developed for Android XR.

If you’re eager to dive into more details about Android XR and what Samsung has up its sleeve with Project Moohan, be sure to check out their announcement and our firsthand impressions of the headset.