It looks like the Google Play Store may expand its catalog to include apps for XR headsets. And while we’ve seen news pop up about these devices and collaborations between companies, we’ve yet to see anything meaningful actually materialize. We know that Samsung and Google are working together to bring new hardware to market. That may be coming soon, but new hints about XR hardware seem to be popping up in unexpected places.
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Android Authority has discovered changes to the Google Play Store that indicate the possibility of finally supporting apps for XR devices. This isn’t surprising at all, since the Play Store already offers support for phones, tablets, and even smartwatches.
The natural movement of Google Play Store
XR devices would be a natural next step. Especially when brands want to push their devices to the masses and appeal more to the mainstream. From what we’ve seen so far, the hardware is the easy part, the real issue is the app and software support, which is actually the main factor that makes or breaks a device.
Of course, these changes for XR devices are not published to the Play Store at this time and are only found in the code of version 43.3.32-31 of the Google Play Store app. There are currently icons and references to some XR hardware.
Naturally, this is preparation for what’s to come. And since Google is partnering with Samsung, we expect the brand to release something soon. And as far as we know, Samsung’s XR device won’t arrive until sometime in 2025.
Specifically, there are indications that it will take place in the first quarter, and it will coincide with Samsung’s Galaxy event. Of course, this is a sensitive product category and there are many reasons why brands should be very cautious when approaching this category. So for now we’ll just have to wait and see.
