Samsung revealed its Galaxy XR headset in October as a startlingly late rebuttal to Apple’s Vision Pro.
First released in early 2024, Apple’s mixed reality headset was an attempt to do virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) ‘right’, with a device that pulled out all the stops and spared no expense doing so.
While VR never hit anywhere near the heights that the tech sector might have envisaged in the mid-2010s, the Vision Pro was positioned as something that could finally realise the true potential of the technology. At £3,499, it would have to be damn good to convince the unconverted to fully embrace VR. But aside from the price, there were just too many compromises to justify the purchase – a bulky battery pack, excessive weight that could cause neck strain and the uncanny EyeSight feature, which added needless complexity.
With recent reports suggesting that Apple has cut production of the Vision Pro after poor sales, it came as a surprise that Samsung decided now is the time...