- Vivo has shown off its mixed reality headset
- The device looks just like an Apple Vision Pro
- It signals Vivo’s big push into… robotics?
The Meta Quest 3 is the best VR headset for most people thanks to its impressive performance and reasonably affordable price. After fending off 2024’s upstart, the Apple Vision Pro – which failed to properly explain why anyone should spend a ridiculously high sum on it – in 2025 Meta’s Quest is set to face Samsung and Google’s Project Moohan Android XR headset, but there might be a bigger threat
That’s because Vivio – a Chinese electronics company – has just debuted its Vivo Vision MR headset which could be the real headset to watch this year.
The prototype Vivo put on display looks nearly identical to an Apple Vision Pro – right down to the battery pack you put in your pocket to keep the device powered and portable. Heck, you could have both the Apple and Vivo headsets next to each other and most people wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
Under the hood, I expect there are plenty of differences – but right now, it’s unknown what is powering the Vivo headset.
Beyond a vague mid-2025 debut for the prototype, Vivo has remained tight-lipped on the device’s specs, weight, battery life, and price. Though its tech generally lands somewhere in the mid-range to affordable flagship range when it comes to phones (usually undercutting similarly specced rivals like the iPhone 16 Pro with its Vivo X200 Pro).
If this headset can find a way to deliver premium performance at a more affordable price than other high-end models it could serve up some tough competition to Meta in the regions where both the Vision MR and Quest 3 headsets are available.
Speaking of, Meta’s big advantage in this fight will be the Vivo device is likely to launch exclusively in China and some Asian countries rather than getting a full global release. But even if it’s confined to one continent and never makes it to the US, Vivo’s headset could be a fascinating launch to watch.
Get ready for a revolution
What’s interesting about Vivo is that XR tech seems like an afterthought rather than its primary objective.
Vivo explains the headset is part of its strategy to “strengthen its real-time spatial computing capabilities” but not to develop sleek AR glasses – which appears to be Meta and Samsung’s goal with their respective Meta Orion specs and leaked smart glasses plans – but for “future applications in consumer robotics.”
At the same time, Vivo has announced it’s establishing a new robotics lab in China.
AI robots – from autonomous vehicles to humanoid assistants – are picking up a lot of steam in the tech space right now with high-profile companies Nvidia and Tesla making their lofty robot-based goals known in recent months.
Mixed reality headsets have to do a lot of spatial processing to create realistic experiences that blend your real and virtual worlds, so the tech would seemingly be useful in robotics too – especially for in-home helper robots that need to know how to navigate around and recognize different items of furniture (something headsets can already do).
Meta has robotics plans, too, based on the work of its researchers and leaked memos, but it has yet to make its bold plans public if it has any. But if it doesn’t react soon, it could find its XR lead slip away in what looks to be the sector’s next frontier.
We’ll have to wait and see what’s announced in the coming months, but of all the XR headsets launching this year I think the Vision MR has a shot at being by far the most interesting.
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
