Why the Samsung Galaxy XR can support ‘almost all’ Android apps

The Samsung Galaxy XR is designed to be a showcase for Android XR, Google’s new AR / VR operating system, but unlike competing mixed reality headsets, Google says there will be few limits on the apps the Galaxy XR will actually be able to run. In fact, a Google spokesperson tells Engadget that “almost all Android apps will automatically be made available without any additional development effort.”

Obviously, Google and Samsung would love deliberately designed spatial experiences for their new hardware, but almost all existing Android apps, regardless if they were made for phones or not, will be considered “Android XR compatible mobile apps” once the headset launches. That means they’ll run in a floating spatial panel that can be moved around the virtual space surrounding you, and per Google’s Android XR developer guidelines, will automatically support core XR input methods like eye and hand tracking, along with the usual suspects like controllers, mice and keyboards. They should also run and look like they would on a smartphone or tablet. “Apps that specify compact sizes show up accordingly and apps that allow for resizing can be resized in XR. These apps do not run in compatibility mode and won’t be letterboxed,” Google says.

The only apps that won’t make the cut are ones that require features a given Android XR device doesn’t support, like GPS. And in the case of apps that are already updated to work on large screens, or that are “adaptive apps” designed to reflow and change size depending on the Android device they’re running on, things will be even smoother. Google says adaptive design will be expected to be the default going forward, an effort that started with this year’s release of Android 16. “Many APIs restricting size will be ignored on larger screens (which includes Android XR),” Google’s spokesperson said, because the company ultimately wants Android apps to feel responsive whether they’re on a phone, an in-car display or an XR headset.

Apple tried a similar, but more limited approach with the launch of visionOS and the Vision Pro by letting developers list their iOS and iPadOS apps in the visionOS App Store. The move produced mixed results, and a dearth of real visionOS apps. An app designed with a device in mind is better than one that’s not, but Google does at least appear to have set Android developers up for a slightly smoother ride. Considering the Galaxy XR’s cheaper price when compared to the Vision Pro, they might also have a bigger audience to make apps for, too.