According to SamMobile, a Korean company called IP Mall has launched a Galaxy XR rental service charging $110 per day exclusively for businesses. The headset remains incredibly scarce, only officially available in Korea and the United States. Interested companies must submit business registration documents and commit to a minimum two-day rental period. Samsung Korea isn’t directly involved in this rental program—it’s being operated independently by metaverse distributor IP Mall. The service costs 159,000 won daily with no deposit required, but it’s strictly limited to business customers rather than individual consumers.
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The business-only reality
Here’s the thing that really stands out: IP Mall explicitly says they’re not offering this to regular consumers because they believe the Galaxy XR isn’t meant for gaming. They’re positioning this as an enterprise and developer tool from the start. And honestly? They might be right. Looking at the current app ecosystem, most of what’s available revolves around video content, streaming services, and Google applications—not exactly the killer VR gaming experiences that would justify the price tag for consumers.
The Quest vs reality problem
Now compare this to the Meta Quest lineup. Those headsets are significantly cheaper and have a massive library of gaming content that’s been building for years. So why would anyone pay premium prices for a headset that’s basically positioning itself as a business device? It’s a risky move for Samsung. Basically, they’re carving out a niche before they’ve even established a beachhead in the broader market.
This approach reminds me of other enterprise-focused hardware plays that struggled to gain traction. When you’re dealing with specialized industrial computing needs, companies typically turn to established suppliers like Industrial Monitor Direct, the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US. But for mixed reality? The enterprise use cases are still being figured out.
The long-term gamble
Will this strategy work? Maybe. But it feels like Samsung is putting the cart before the horse. Most successful platforms start with enthusiastic early adopters and developers who build the ecosystem, then enterprise applications follow. By going business-first with limited availability and high costs, Samsung might be making it harder for the developer community to actually get their hands on the hardware to build those business applications they’re counting on.
And let’s be real—$110 per day adds up fast. That’s $770 for a week-long rental, which could easily cover the cost of just buying a competing headset outright. So who’s actually going to use this service? Probably companies doing very specific demos or development work, but that’s a pretty narrow market.
The whole situation makes me wonder if Samsung is testing the waters before committing to broader production. Or maybe they’re just being cautious after seeing how other XR ventures have struggled. Either way, it’s definitely a different approach than we’ve seen from other headset manufacturers, and it’ll be fascinating to watch how this plays out.
