Why Samsung needs to copy Apple’s most gimmicky feature
Some features are easy to immediately dismiss as gimmicks. Then, over time, they start to make sense. Apple’s “Personas” is one such feature, which Samsung and Google seriously need to emulate.
Apple’s “Personas” are realistic avatars for video chats
Apple Personas are realistic recreations of your face. Imagine a photo of yourself moving and talking. If you’re on a video call with someone, your Persona mimics your real-world expressions.
Like Google Photos turning photos into video, it’s the kind of feature that, for many viewers, immediately triggers weird levels of disgust the moment something seems odd. This is also a challenge that video game designers face. Many of us think we want hyper-realistic games, but we really don’t. Even though screenshots may look real in a single frame, the movement usually disrupts the whole thing. We are then immediately put off by something we once thought impressive.
There are few things that approach the uncanny valley as quickly as Personas. I also sent them back immediately. But they got better and I’ve since become convinced that Apple has the right approach.
3D avatars are not enough
I own a Samsung Galaxy XR headset. I’m wearing it right now, typing these words via a Bluetooth keyboard. It has proven capable of doing everything I’ve asked of it so far, except for one thing: video calls.
As an XR headset, the Galaxy XR has no way of pointing a webcam at my face. Even if I were to connect an external webcam, seeing myself wearing giant glasses is not the right vibe. Instead, Samsung is offering what’s called a Galaxy Avatar.
This is what it looked like when I joined a work call using mine.
My colleagues were very sporty about it, but I was a novelty and a distraction. After all, I was a Nintendo Mii character in a room full of real adults.
These avatars are comparable to the avatars you create for VR chats on a Meta Quest. However, this is explicitly presented as a gaming headset. Meta has even created a 3D VR world in the form of Horizon Worlds for these characters to navigate. This is all great for MMO fans, but it’s not the look you’re going for if you’re pitching your product not as a gaming device, but as a general-purpose device, like Samsung does. Companies aren’t replacing Zoom with cats in Zuckerberg’s metaverse. Schools and colleges will hardly teach lessons in what looks like a VR video game. Even most family members won’t want to have a conversation with the animated version of their loved one.
A realistic representation is the next logical step
I bought a VR headset for productivity, not gaming. For many of us who work remotely, video calls are a regular part of our working lives. If I can’t make a video call from my VR headset, that limits when and how I can use it during work hours.
The simplest solution, for meetings that allow it, is to simply leave my video off. But what about when that’s not an option? As I said, VR headsets don’t have a front-facing camera like laptops and phones do. Additionally, just imagine a grid full of workers all wearing VR headsets on a Zoom call together.
Likewise, a 3D avatar will never work. Even if the 3D visuals were as sharp as Cyberpunk 2077 on a maxed out gaming rig, I’d still look like a video game character in a meeting.
Only after considering all the other options does a meaningful and realistic photo begin to make sense. This is the only option which, once the software matures, seems viable whether in a professional or educational context. Sure, it’s not the same as looking at someone’s real face, but we already socially accept talking to someone’s photo when they’re unable to turn on a webcam, and we also accept an artificial background when someone wants to hide the mess or people behind them. A realistic character can fit into this space where it’s not as good as a live video chat but is acceptable enough.
Take a look at the current state of Personas on Apple Vision Pro. I would say that Apple has already succeeded in achieving this.
For now, my phone remains my go-to device for video calls where I need to turn on my camera. It’s also a shame, because joining Google Meet on the Galaxy XR is great for viewing presentations and shared documents. When it comes to video calls, Samsung’s current headset is unfortunately another case of two steps forward and one step back.
- Brand
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Samsung
- Resolution (per eye)
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3552×3840
- Display type
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Micro-OLED
- Storage
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256 GB
- Connectivity
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Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Battery life
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2.5 hours
The Samsung Galaxy XR is a mixed reality headset and the first to ship with Android XR. It runs almost all Android apps in addition to content designed specifically for XR and VR. With full access to the Play Store, the ability to sideload apps, and an unlocked bootloader, the Galaxy XR is the most open headset at the time of release.
