First hands-on video of Samsung’s Project Moohan headset is here and it's pretty impressive

YouTuber MKBHD has been given access to an unfinished prototype of Samsung’s upcoming Project Moohan XR headset running Android XR. This is the first time we’ve seen the Vision Pro rival in action in an unofficial capacity after Samsung displayed some units for the show at Unpacked earlier this month.

While trying on Project Moohan, which still doesn’t have an official name yet, the YouTuber described it as “the Nexus or Pixel, but for headsets.” The demo shows upcoming features of the device, including the ability to hold an object and draw a virtual circle around it to bring up Samsung’s Circle to Search tool.

Project Moohan: The hardware

Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, Samsung’s XR headset does not display the user’s eyes to others when they are wearing it. The device comes with a removable magnetic light shield that can be added to block out more light or taken out for improved peripheral vision.

A dial at the back of the XR headset allows users to adjust its fit. “With this setup, most of the pressure is now on my brow above my eyes, unlike with the Vision Pro, which was below my eyes because of the way it sagged,” the YouTuber noted in his video.

For physical controls, the Project Moohan headset features a single button at the top right and a volume rocker at the top left. There’s a touchpad on the right strap of the headset, which users can easily identify while wearing the device thanks to a raised bar. It’s unclear if the headset will come with any controllers in the box.

Another thing the Samsung XR headset borrows from the Apple Vision Pro is the removable battery pack, which is attached to a cable and goes in the user’s back pocket. However, the key difference between Apple’s version and the Project Moohan implementation is that the USB-C cable attached to the battery can be pulled out easily without requiring an extraction tool. This would allow users to quickly swap batteries and plug in another one if the pack runs out.

Android XR in action

Other than the headset’s physical attributes, the YouTuber showcased the Android XR UI on the device, something we at Android Authority have presented to our readers before. Users will be able to move and resize windows using hand gestures. The video also shows the Google Play Store in action, and the YouTuber mentions that all apps available on the Play Store will be accessible on the Samsung headset.

Then there’s the Gemini integration. Google’s AI chatbot is most definitely something we were expecting to see a lot of on Project Moohan, and that seems to be the case, as shown in the demo. Gemini will be able to recognize and talk about things you see through the headset. For instance, you can ask Gemini to take you to a location you see in a magazine and it’ll pull up the place in Google Maps.

Moreover, Gemini can also navigate the headset’s UI to organize windows, perform in-app actions by following voice commands, and more. You can check out MKBHD’s full video above.