Samsung To Debut The Galaxy S22 In The Virtual World
By Mikelle Leow, 09 Feb 2022
Smartphone makers may have been livestreaming their event launches for years, but the pandemic truly drove them to rethink what it meant to establish online connections. It gave rise to the notion of the metaverse, where people can interact similarly to the way they do in the real world,
When Samsung kicks off its Galaxy Unpacked event on February 9 at 10am ET (7am PT), it will, of course, share the live footage of the Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 presentation on YouTube and social media, but there’ll also be an expansive space on 3D virtual world platform Decentraland where fans can attend the launch up close as well as mingle around with others via their keyboard and mouse.
Samsung’s virtual world is called 837X, and it’s a 360-degree recreation of the brand’s 837 Washington St location in downtown New York City. It’s open to everyone, allowing casual visitors to pop in as guests and quench their curiosity about what the metaverse is all about.
Image via Samsung
Once in, visitors can customize their avatars and navigate the street, which, according to TechRadar, includes a pizzeria. Unfortunately, we were unable to access the environment for a good look at the time of writing.
Those a little more committed to the metaverse can link their cryptocurrency wallets to unlock the full experience, which includes the ability to collect NFT badges and the chance to win exclusive wearables.