TL;DR
Samsung’s newly released $1,800 Galaxy XR headset includes support for bootloader unlocking.
Unlike competitors like Meta Quest or Apple Vision Pro, this makes the Galaxy XR uniquely accessible for enthusiasts and developers.
It’s unclear whether this was intended by Samsung or an oversight that will be patched, but it opens doors for custom ROMs and other software mods.
Samsung just launched the Project Moohan headset this week, rebranding it as the Samsung Galaxy XR. It’s the first Android XR headset that people can buy, so there’s a lot of excitement behind the product despite its $1,800 price tag. It seems Samsung has given users one more reason to be excited: bootloader unlocking.
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As X user Brad Lynch found out, the Galaxy XR includes a toggle for OEM unlocking in Developer Options:
Surprise, surprise — not only does the toggle work, but you can also actually go ahead and unlock the bootloader.
Bootloader unlocking on the Galaxy XR is a breath of fresh air, especially when you consider how Samsung went out of its way to remove the bootloader unlock option from One UI 8 across its phones and tablets, even from devices that previously supported it.
It’s even more surprising, considering that most mainstream competitors in the AR/XR space, such as the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest lineup, don’t officially allow bootloader unlocking. You can unlock the bootloader on some older and unpatched firmware versions of the Meta Quest 2 and 3 through exploits. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time an AR/VR/XR headset has had an unlocked bootloader/OS since the Oculus Go. This makes the Galaxy XR a truly unique device in recent times, one that surprisingly doesn’t supremely penalize enthusiasts and power users from tinkering with the software (yet).
Will you buy the Samsung Galaxy XR?
322 votes
Yes, I already have my pre-order!
9%
Probably; I’m waiting for reviews
14%
I don’t think I will, but might change my mind
26%
No, I won’t ever buy this
51%
It remains to be seen whether Samsung actually intended the Galaxy XR’s bootloader to be unlockable, or if this was merely an oversight that will be fixed with a future software update. Given that the Android XR platform could use all the push it could get right now from developers and enthusiasts, it does feel intentional and not accidental.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that developers will find new and innovative uses for the hardware, thanks to the unlocked bootloader. Time for some Android XR custom ROMs? Heck yeah!
Samsung Galaxy XR
Samsung Galaxy XR
Personalized fit • High-res displays • Powerful Snapdragon XR2+ processor
More pixels, and weighs less than the Vision Pro
The Samsung Galaxy XR is an impressive first attempt at a hybrid AR / VR headset. Strap the light-weight unit to your head to enjoy games, movies, or use your favorite productivity apps in large format for up to 2.5 hours per charge. 4K micro-LED displays offer 4,032 PPI of resolution.
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