There have been several posts popping up on X suggesting that Microsoft has signed a development and supply contract with Samsung Display for micro-OLED displays. The information comes from a Korean tech website, The Elec, which claims that the company wants “hundreds of thousands” of these displays for an XR device built for gaming and media consumption.
Simply put, Microsoft is working on an Apple Vision Pro rival. Sony, Samsung, Google, and Meta have already dipped their hats in this circle, partnering with each other and other firms like Qualcomm and LG, and it now seems like we can add Microsoft to that list as well.
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Microsoft Is Not New To Making Headsets
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has made news in the headset segment, having made both VR gaming headsets in the past and the work-enhancing AR headset HoloLens. Whether the HoloLens 3 project is still alive but its future is uncertain, though the company definitely hasn’t officially called it quits on the project yet.
Either way, not much has been happening on the XR front at Microsoft for quite some time, so the prospect of a new device is good news. The Korean report, citing industry sources, said the Microsoft XR device could arrive as early as 2026.
This seems a bit early, especially given the fact that Sony and Google’s devices don’t have any launch dates as of now, and Meta’s headset isn’t expected to come out till 2027. Despite the Vision Pro’s rocky launch and numerous critics, it seems to have done its most important job -- to kick-start a new wave of XR devices.
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Microsoft Now Sees OpenAI As Rival In AI And Search
Microsoft has a long history with OpenAI, having pumped in a reported $13 billion in the ChatGPT maker as part of a long-term partnership. As part of the deal, Microsoft runs OpenAI’s models across its enterprise and consumer products and is also OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider.
However, Microsoft called the startup a “competitor” for the first time in an SEC filing. In the company’s annual 10K, OpenAI joined a long list of rivals in AI, alongside Anthropic, Meta, and Amazon. OpenAI’s latest SearchGPt feature was announced recently.
It’s likely the tech giant is aiming to change the narrative on its relationship with OpenAI in light of antitrust concerns -- the FTC is currently looking into the relationship, alongside similar cloud provider investments into AI startups. The company recently gave up its board observer seat at the startup -- a seat it got after a kerfuffle last fall when OpenAI’s board briefly fired CEO Sam Altman.