The biggest one? Price
Apple’s premium Mixed Reality headset does not come cheap. | Image credit — PhoneArena
In my eyes, and in the eyes of many other people, the biggest hurdle that the Vision Pro faces is its price tag of $3,499. Even the most die-hard XR enthusiast will find it difficult to justify dropping that much cash for a headset that has barely any content.
With the release of the new M5 Apple Vision Pro, the company has refused to reduce the price, still putting the headset way out of reach for the average consumer. Seeing as the Vision Pro has also struggled to attract enterprise clients, this pricing has pretty much guaranteed that it will stay sitting on store shelves for a very long time.
Samsung, meanwhile, has done the opposite. While keeping almost all of the experience intact — some redundant features like the exterior display are not present — the company has priced its headset at a much more affordable price: $1,799.
This isn’t cheap, by any means, but it’s still a lot more palatable than the Vision Pro’s price. And it also has more to do!
Endless content on Galaxy XR
There’s so much to experience on Galaxy XR. | Image credit — Samsung
Another big problem that the Vision Pro faces is the fact that there’s not much content on it. Some games have been ported over, and some new ones have been made for the headset. Apple is also releasing short immersive films every few months. But between those releases? Nothing much.
Galaxy XR, on the other hand, runs on Google’s new platform: Android XR. Android XR, as the name implies, is interconnected with the entire Android ecosystem, so all of your favorite apps can run on the headset too. Google and Samsung have also made it much easier for developers to port their apps into Mixed Reality, or create new ones from scratch.
While the Vision Pro suffers from a drought, the Galaxy XR already has a lot more to do at launch. Give the Galaxy XR a chance, and you’ll never run out of fun spatial experiences to get lost in for hours at a time.
It’s also much more comfortable
Galaxy XR is much lighter than the Apple Vision Pro. | Image credit — PhoneArena
If you release an XR headset that gets uncomfortable to keep wearing after 15 minutes of use, it will be dead on arrival. It will not sell, period. Apple made that mistake: all of that fancy extra tech and heavy use of glass made the headset…well…heavy. Around 650 grams, in fact.
Not only that, but Apple is continuing down that design philosophy with the new M5 Vision Pro, as it’s even heaver than the first generation: around 800 grams! Want a bit more extra comfort for your first-generation headset? The new Dual Knit Band will set you back $99.
None of that nonsense on the Galaxy XR, though. Samsung has made its headset so much lighter at only 545 grams, and includes a fantastic cushioned head strap along with every purchase. There’s even a light shield, for when you want to better block out external light.
Samsung has genuinely put effort into making sure that its headset is a pleasant device to use, and not something that’ll leave you wanting to go back to your boring smartphone.
And, of course, AI
Galaxy XR is built from the ground up for Gemini. | Image credit — Samsung
Lastly, while Apple still struggles to deliver on its 2024 promises for Apple Intelligence, Galaxy XR is built from the ground up for Google’s Gemini. AI on the Vision Pro isn’t bad, but it’s so much better and so much more capable on the Galaxy XR.
This is mostly because Gemini, unlike the mythical revamped Siri, is always available to help you out in anything. It sees what you see, and hears what you hear. It can even pop up inside VR gaming sessions to aid you in completing a particularly challenging level. This is Mixed Reality AI implementation done right.
I still have a lot of hope for Apple’s XR offerings, though not so much for its headsets. The Apple Vision Pro has been cancelled, and the M5 version is just a refresh to keep the company relevant in the XR market. Apple is focusing on rushing consumer-grade AR smart glasses to market to compete with Meta and Samsung for the future of computing.
But Samsung and Meta, at least, seem to realize that more people would be willing to give their glasses a try if they find their headsets pleasant to use first.
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