Vivo just beat Samsung in launching first Android mixed reality headset

Featured image of the Vivo Vision Discovery Edition headset
(Image credit: Vivo)

What you need to know

  • Vivo unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Vision Discovery Edition, in China.
  • The headset resembles Apple Vision Pro but is lighter at 398g versus 600g.
  • Hardware includes dual 8K Micro-OLED displays and Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset.

The Android mixed reality headset market is beginning to boom, and while we're still waiting for Samsung's Project Moohan later this year, Vivo has just beaten the competition by launching its first mixed reality headset.

Vivo celebrated its 30th birthday today in Dongguan, China, with a special launch event where the company unveiled its first mixed reality (MR) headset called vivo Vision Discovery Edition. Vivo says it has been working on the product for about four years, and the headset is about the brand's vision of bringing mixed reality from the lab into everyday life.

At first glance, the Vision Discovery Edition looks very similar to the Apple Vision Pro. You have a glass-covered front with an aluminum frame and a fabric headband. What's different is that Vivo's XR headset is quite light compared to the Vision Pro, measuring just 398g, while Apple's comes in at around 600g. Vivo also says it offers four sizes of light seal and eight foam padding options to ensure an optimal fit.

Your World, Upgraded ✨ | vivo Vision Discovery Edition - YouTube Your World, Upgraded ✨ | vivo Vision Discovery Edition - YouTube
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While Samsung's XR headset is expected to be powered by Android XR, Vivo has used its own OriginOS Vision for the Discovery Edition. Vivo says the UI elements "seamlessly blend in the surrounding space," and the headset supports eye-tracking and fingertip gesture recognition.

On the hardware front, the Vivo Vision Discovery Edition comes with dual Micro-OLED 8K displays and is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. Vivo says the chipset is powerful enough for high-speed rendering in spatial computing.

The headset can generate up to a 120-foot virtual theater screen, allowing users to watch sports and e-sports broadcasts from multiple angles. Thanks to its split-screen feature, it can also display different games simultaneously.

Vivo hasn't announced pricing or availability yet, but the company will begin showcasing the headset to users in China starting next week.

Alongside the launch of the MR headset, Vivo revealed that it has renewed its partnership with ZEISS, aiming to deepen collaboration with the German brand for better night, portrait, telephoto, and video features on Vivo phones.

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Sanuj Bhatia
Contributor

Sanuj is a tech writer who loves exploring smartphones, tablets, and wearables. He began his journey with a Nokia Lumia and later dived deep into Android and iPhone. He's been writing about tech since 2018, with bylines at Pocketnow, Android Police, Pocket-Lint, and MakeUseOf. When he's not testing gadgets, he's either sipping chai, watching football, or playing cricket.

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