Samsung’s Vision Pro killer is half the price and half a pound lighter

Macworld

Apple last week unveiled the second generation of its Vision Pro headset, with a new head strap, faster chip, and slightly upgraded displays. It still costs $3,499 and is unlikely to move the needle much on sales.

But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t caught the attention of the rest of the tech world. Vision Pro might not be a hit with consumers, but its cutting-edge design and specs have set the benchmark for high-end AR/VR headsets. Just this week, in fact, Samsung announced its own Vision Pro competitor, the Galaxy XR, and it’s clearly inspired by Apple’s headset, with “an ergonomic design and soft touch fabric,” 4K micro-OLED display, spatial photos, virtual workstations, and magnetic prescription inserts. Here’s a look at how the key specs compare:

Apple Vision Pro Samsung Galaxy XR
Display 23 million pixels
Micro‑OLED
Supported refresh rates: 90Hz, 96Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz
92% DCI‑P3
27 million pixels
Micro-OLED
Supported refresh rates: 60Hz, 72Hz, 90Hz
95% DCI‑P3
Chip M5 Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 Platform
Camera Stereoscopic 3D main camera system
6.5MP (stereo)
18 mm, ƒ/2.0 aperture
6.5MP
18 mm, ƒ/2.0 aperture
Sensors Two high‑resolution main cameras
Six world‑facing tracking cameras
Four eye‑tracking cameras
TrueDepth camera
LiDAR scanner
Four inertial measurement units (IMUs)
Flicker sensor
Ambient light sensor
Two high-resolution main cameras
Six world-facing tracking cameras
Four eye-tracking cameras
Five IMUs
Depth sensor 
Flicker sensor
Battery Up to 2.5 hours of general use Up to 2 hours of general use
Weight 28.2 ounces (800 grams) 19.2 ounces (550 grams)
Prescription inserts Yes ($99/149) Yes (Starting at $99)

While Samsung’s headset is significantly lighter than Vision Pro, where the Galaxy XR crushes Vision Pro is the price. Samsung’s new headset is priced at $1,800, about half of Vision Pro’s $3,499 price tag. Samsung’s headset is still very expensive, but it’s hard not to see it as a cheap(er) imitation of Vision Pro. It looks like Vision Pro, acts like Vision Pro, and does many of the same things as Vision Pro. Samsung even calls its AI platform Spatial Intelligence.

Samsung’s XR headset is available for preorder now for delivery on October 29. Apple’s Vision Pro with the M5 chip will begin shipping today.

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