For years, it felt like VR headsets were a technology that would never break through. Fun, yes — but game-changing? No.
2025 just might be the next big test for the technology, as more companies than ever invest in the future of the technology. Apple, Meta, Google, Samsung, and many more will all be attempting to plant their flag this year, and the amount of interest is a good sign. Heck, even Microsoft is rumored to get back in the game at some point.
Many of the best VR headsets already support mixed reality, and with the launch of high-end color passthrough in headsets like the Meta Quest Pro or Apple Vision Pro, the hardware is finally in place to make XR headsets take the next big leap forward.
Here’s where the fun begins.
Apple Vision Pro and visionOS
When Apple enters a market, it brings great hardware and integrated software that often gives it the edge over competing solutions. Apple worked in secret for many years designing and developing an XR headset. The result is the Vision Pro, an impressive device that’s even better thanks to the refinements brought by visionOS.
As part of the Apple ecosystem, the Vision Pro can access iCloud and seamlessly syncs photos, music, notes, logins, and more. Some iPad apps can run on the Vision Pro, and you can even access printers and security cameras from the headset. It’s almost like a multi-screen iPad Pro.
Still, there’s room for improvement. The Vision Pro could get access to Apple Intelligence in 2025. Notification summaries, image generation, writing help, and more would be a welcome improvement to streamline visionOS so you can focus on what you want to do in XR.
Immersive gaming will get a big boost if rumors are true that Apple might add support for Sony PSVR2 controllers. Hand-tracking can be used for gaming, but most VR developers design games for more popular headsets that use controllers. Porting to a hands-only system is difficult, so a motion controller option could greatly expand the number of games available to Vision Pro owners.
Apple has released more immersive content but it’s still a relatively small library. You can expect to see more 3D movies and videos, as well as live sports, possibly from stadiums fitted with spatial cameras for immersive video.
Beyond software, we’ve heard rumors of two new Apple XR headsets, a more affordable version of the Vision Pro and a second-generation model that’s even more powerful. It’s unclear which will arrive in 2025 but one seems likely.
A less expensive Apple Vision might sell for as low as $2,000, making it much more attractive to shoppers despite some inevitable tradeoffs. The external EyeSight display will probably be cut, the internal display resolution could be reduced, and Apple might optimize its algorithms to minimize tracking cameras.
The Vision Pro 2 will definitely come with a faster processor, likely an Apple M5 chip with stronger neural and graphics performance. It should offer better comfort, solving a common complaint about the Vision Pro. Apple will continue to push the limits of display technology, likely giving the second-generation Vision Pro sharper optics and brighter panels without increasing the price.
2025 could see a flood of XR headsets that aim to match or exceed many of the unique features of Apple’s first-generation Vision Pro, but the advances coming to the Vision Pro 2 should keep it at the top of the list of the best ultra-premium XR headsets.
Meta Quest and Horizon OS
Meta is an old pro at VR, acquiring Oculus in 2014 and releasing the first consumer VR headset with a passthrough camera in 2019. That laid the groundwork for Meta to take the lead in mixed reality and led to a thriving marketplace of third-party developers and accessory manufacturers.
The affordable Meta Quest 3 and low-cost Quest 3S provide an unbeatable combination of price and performance, ensuring Meta’s reign as the XR headset leader for a few years at least.
Meta’s most expensive headset, the $1,500 Quest Pro that launched in 2022, flopped, and it seems the company is content with promoting the Quest 3 as its top solution — at least for now. That doesn’t mean it’s surrendering the high ground to Apple though.
Meta is opening up Horizon OS to other manufacturers, and several tech leaders have signed on including Lenovo and Asus ROG. That opens up possibilities for high-end productivity and gaming headsets that don’t fit Meta’s plans to keep Quest prices incredibly low.
Meanwhile, Horizon OS continues to evolve into a robust platform that features remarkably smooth hand-tracking, undistorted passthrough views, voice recognition, and even multimodal AI via Meta’s advanced LLaMA 3 model.
Since Meta demonstrated lifelike avatars on its low-power Orion AR glasses prototype, we may get similar upgrades for messaging in Horizon OS in 2025. While the Meta Quest 3 and 3S lack the look and pinch interface of the Vision Pro, the latest updates make Horizon OS similar to visionOS in many ways with up to six adjustable windows appearing in a more attractive design.
Horizon OS even supports quick connection to a Windows PC just by looking at and tapping a button, matching Apple’s Virtual Display feature. It’s a quick, convenient way to extend your desktop to multiple screens without the cost and space of physical monitors.
Moving to hardware, Meta isn’t in a rush to launch the Quest 4, which might not arrive until 2026. Since the Quest 3 was such a big upgrade over the Quest 2, focusing on software improvements and leaving 2025 VR headsets for other manufacturers makes sense.
However, serious competition is arriving from another Android-based platform with a big 2D software advantage. Meta might accelerate its headset rollout if its hardware partners delay manufacturing.
Samsung Moohan and Android XR
Android XR is the culmination of over a decade of Google research in AR and VR. In 2014, Google published a guide showing how to build a DIY VR headset out of cardboard. Aptly named Google Cardboard, the key components include your phone, which runs a companion app, and lenses that let you focus when the screen is about an inch from your eyes.
Google advanced beyond Cardboard with its Daydream headset in 2016. Lenovo joined the Mirage headset on the Daydream platform and even launched a Mirage camera that recorded 3D videos in VR180 format in 2018.
While Daydream never took off, Google continued developing XR software for Android phones with AR features in Google Maps, 3D flythroughs with Google Earth, and ARCore APIs that any Android developer can use to make spatial apps.
Android XR, like visionOS benefits from the Android ecosystem and Google apps like Chrome, YouTube, Google TV, Google Maps, Google Photos, and the Play Store where you can install more. Headsets built on this platform will benefit from Quick Share, Find My Devices, Family Link, multi-user support, and more.
Android XR headsets will be able to run Android apps, unlocking a library of over a million games and apps. As mobile apps they’ll appear in resizable 2D windows, hovering in space around you.
While Meta still holds a massive lead with hundreds of immersive VR games and mixed reality experiences that blend virtual worlds into your room, Android XR could catch up quickly since Horizon OS is also based on Android and uses Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chips. Unity already supports Android XR, simplifying porting Quest games built with Unity and OpenXR.
While the Vision Pro lacks even the somewhat limited AI of Apple Intelligence, Google’s Android XR will have Gemini fully integrated. It goes further than Meta’s current Horizon OS implementation, accepting virtual and passthrough input. Gemini will have contextual awareness of everything you see when wearing an Android XR headset.
Alongside Android XR, Samsung introduced Project Moohan, an XR headset that could challenge Apple. Samsung has shared limited details about the device, so it’s unclear whether Moohan will be strong enough to compete with the Vision Pro. However, we know it will have at least some features the Quest 3 lacks.
We had a hands-on demo of Samsung’s Project Moohan running Android XR. In our brief time with the device, it seems like an impressive headset with many of the qualities that make the Vision Pro stand out from other VR headsets.
For example, it features high-resolution displays and eye-tracking with pinch gestures similar to Apple’s Vision Pro. However, the physical design is closer to Meta’s Quest Pro. A forehead pad and halo strap remove cheek pressure and the open sides let you see your actual surroundings in peripheral vision. There will be spatial controllers like Meta Quest headsets, but it’s unclear if these will be included or sold separately.
Samsung’s Project Moohan sounds awesome, and officially it’s coming in 2025. We’re eager to learn more details such as the price, full specifications, and launch date. Stand by for more information in a few weeks. We don’t expect Samsung to launch its XR headset that soon, but we’ll probably learn more about Project Moohan at Galaxy Unpacked.
Sony, Xreal, and Lynx are also working on Android XR devices. While Sony and Lynx are most likely to launch headsets, Xreal is a smart glasses manufacturer and is the first Android XR glasses partner announced. Google is working on Android XR glasses as well.
An exciting year for XR headsets
2025 will be one of the most exciting years for XR headsets in many years, as multiple tech giants stake their claims on the next frontier in computing.
Hardware is important, but software and content are what make a new platform successful. While Apple and Google can lean heavily on big libraries of 2D apps and content, Meta has a significant lead in VR games. My guess is that the Quest 3 and Quest 3s will continue to be the XR headsets that will be hard to beat.
Competition will be a great motivator, inspiring developers and content creators to triple their efforts to create XR games, apps, and experiences to run on visionOS, Horizon OS, and Android XR.
The best VR headsets already include mixed reality capabilities, but those innovations need more games, apps, operating system refinements, and content to become engaging and useful enough to sway the masses. With several new devices arriving in the coming year, 2025 could be the dawn of a new era for XR headsets and AR glasses.
