Samsung's VR Headset Looks a Lot Like Apple Vision Pro

[HobeSoundDarryl]

We are rapidly becoming a more diverse media and significantly denser population. Thus, the days of the huge screen and very loud music and video device will become less attractive. Apple Vision Pro and the other like devices fixes the new trends nicely. If one looks at a home theater system costs, could even save costs. The problem just around the corner.

As a general fan of Vpro, I hope this does NOT become a home theater replacement. There is a lot of benefit to gathering with others in person to watch the big game, etc. Tech that isolates us to ourselves and/or to only friend access virtually seems more like a negative than positive to me. I don't see that as a mainstream use.

Do I think it can stand in for the single person, living alone? ABSOLUTELY. And, of course, it becomes a great way to bring a virtual home theater with you anywhere without paying a fortune to pack up the traditional home theater pieces and somehow getting to set it all back up on the plane, at the hotel, etc. I can even see it being used when someone also has a home theater... such as virtually gathering the school mates to "attend" the big game together when everyone's physical bodies are scattered far & wide and just can't actually rendezvous there.

HOWEVER, I think the real "killer app" is that Vpro and similar are probably BEST at addressing something the whole industry is trying to accomplish: bigger mobile screens. There are 4 such options:

1. Fold
2. Roll
3. Projector
4. Virtual

The first 2 can't scale to giant screens without scaling to giant sizes & weight. Imagine trying to fold or roll down your current TV to take it with you as readily as you can take the other 2 options. How heavy is your current TV before the hinges, etc are added in?

#3 only works well in relative darkness and has no privacy.

#4 is the same weight and physical size no matter what screen size user wants. It works in brightest day or darkest night and offers complete privacy.

"We" seem to be in such a hurry to wish Vpro away and bury it but I ask again: what's the desired replacement for bigger mobile screens? Do we want big & heavy foldables/rollables? Those will only get bigger & heavier as the desire for larger sizes grow. Projection that only works in the dark? What? MacBooks 24" and MacBooks 30" as is? iPhones at 10", 14", 20"?

We should "think different" because the end goal is bigger mobile screens. If we think phones & laptops are towards max size & weight now, how do we want to get there if not virtual?

 

[turbineseaplane]

I know we've gone back and forth on this ten times and you disagree with me, but I really don't think they need it like yesterday. They absolutely need to reduce the price before it'll go mainstream, but we're still super early days in this market and they've got plenty of time for the price of the tech to come down; apps are being built for it, and there is more and more immersive content for it all the time.

I'm not really sure where we are on the timeline honestly so I'll agree with your overall point of just needing something less expensive

No matter how great AVP and VisionOS is, it simply will never get to where it could go without a ton more users which just won't come at this current early bird pricing

 

[iBreatheApple]

And the Vision Pro looks like goggles. There’s only so many ways to design this type of device. - An Apple Fan

 

[steve09090]

I'm not really sure where we are on the timeline honestly so I'll agree with your overall point of just needing something less expensive

No matter how great AVP and VisionOS is, it simply will never get to where it could go without a ton more users which just won't come at this current early bird pricing

You’re absolutely right. And the tech is obviously still new. I mean it took 10 years to build the MacBook Air that was actually capable, the one they wanted to build but couldn’t with Intel. It took the iPad the same time before they got rid of most of the bezels and made it right.

So like those, they were 'good enough' and best in those spaces, but maybe it will be 10 years before this becomes are really compelling product.

But a cheaper, more mediocre unit doesn’t do many favours for people if it doesn’t work. However, if it brings in more use cases, then that will work for Apple as well as Android. Like a lot of products, they feed each other.

Maybe this is the best thing for the AVP? Because it can bring in more content and show how the AVP is so far above the rest as well.

Watch more spatial video cameras coming from Samsung as they continue to develop or copy, or whatever they chose to call it.

 

[patlee2000]

Samsung has completely lost their identity, they mimic Apple on everything. That new Galaxy S25 looks just like my iPhone 14 pro.

That has always been their identity since the iPhone came out 🐑

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Visual Shorthand for “smartphone” is something that resembles the first iPhone. Visual shorthand for “something better than what Meta’s doing” will be the Apple Vision Pro.

 

[steve09090]

That always has been their identity since the iPhone came out 🐑

Oooh. I like the Dolly reference.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I'll be waiting for the lawsuit.

So that's a "no" on the source for your statements, I take it 🤣

 

[Polinsky]

Sad thing is the AVP is still a solution looking for a problem.

I keep on reading about this absurd and hackneyed nonsense about "a solution looking for a problem"!! What problem are you talking about? Does everything ever created have to be a response to some perceived and non existent problem? Things can be created/made to be helpful, for fun, for enjoyment without having to be a "solution".

There was no problem for the AVP to solve. Sure, it was supposed to make certain things easier and more enjoyable, but that doesn't mean there was some significant issue that needed an AVP to solve.

 

[patlee2000]

I keep on reading about this absurd and hackneyed nonsense about "a solution looking for a problem"!! What problem are you talking about? Does everything ever created have to be a response to some perceived and non existent problem? Things can be created/made to be helpful, for fun, for enjoyment without having to be a "solution".

There was no problem for the AVP to solve. Sure, it was supposed to make certain things easier and more enjoyable, but that doesn't mean there was some significant issue that needed an AVP to solve.

The world “problem” in the tech startup world mainly means “purpose”. So replace problem by purpose and things may make more sense to you. 😊

 

[Lift Bar]

Looks nice. This is a product category that makes a lot more sense for Samsung.

 

[mejsric]

remember Samsung wont copy a failed product

 

[coolfactor]

Sad thing is the AVP is still a solution looking for a problem. Yet Sammy is happy to start its photocopier.

Maybe in the Consumer marketplace, but the AVP was positioned as a "Pro" product for a reason... to focus on the Professional marketplace, where there are very clear problems that can be solved.

• Investigative and Microscopic Surgery
• Automobile and Aircraft design
• Building design
• Landscape design
• Animation, TV show and Movie Making production
• Flight training
• Accident scene simulations

These are not consumer-centric problems, hence why it's not being marketed as a non-Pro device yet.

The next Vision headset will be less-Pro and more consumer-oriented, able to engage with emerging technologies and media, such as:

• Immersive games
• Immersive TV shows and movies
• Travel
• Simulations, such as walking on the moon and other planets.

The content is not there yet, so it was smart of Apple not to push this too hard as a Consumer device.

 

[kaycrystal626]

Hopefully no over priced, maybe $1500 range.

 

[Vulkan]

Is anything unique with Samsung anymore

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

 

[iHeading]

Depends… as it’s priced at $3.499 for certain.

But it’s based on Android VR and it’s open to others to develop for. I’ll bet the library of real working apps will be plenty compared to the AVP. Together with Gemini and other VR devices AVP will become a dead end.

Littered with **** quality apps like the rest of Android

 

[iHeading]

You’re from the USA I suppose? Volvo and many other brands use Android automotive. It’s open and carmakers can make the adjustments to make it look and feel like the rest of their brand.

Apple is closed and that’s why you won’t see CarPlay 2.0.

Who wants to use anything looking like the rest of their crap infotainment systems? I don’t

 

[BB1970]

Apple is Samsung’s R&D wing.

 

[turbineseaplane]

If I were a Samsung user (I'm not), I'd personally be happy they copy Apple designs

They are usually really good designs!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Hopefully no over priced, maybe $1500 range.

If $1500- even without Apples FAT margin- resolution is almost certainly going to take the big hit... which is what it will also take for a Vpro NOTpro to hit those kinds of prices so many keep pitching as necessary.

If Samsung or a NOTpro launches at $1500 or lower, get ready for the massive backlash summarized in just one word:

BLURRY!
​

Other than some financing trickery and the approx. $1000 cellular subsidy model, I see no path to:

1. Maintain Apple's fat margin​
2. Keep 4K per eye (which is most key in addressing the blur)​

Samsung's "copy" could potentially address #1 some... but I believe the path to retail at $1000-$1500 brings on the blur... probably 1080p per eye at best... which is what the ones already down in the "desirable price points" offer now. What's wrong with those? Blurry! Apple (or Samsung) branded blurry won't be superior blurry... just a much more tangible gripe to sling at the next version(s).

For the very same reasoning we rationalize anything "retina" to justify paying up for it, this is basically the same thing... EXCEPT we are so locked on price, we are wishing away a kind of "retina" only to then- probably- not want what we're seeking because they sacrificed quality of image (the vision part of Vision Pro) to hit the price point. Will blurry cheaper be > crisp pricier? Is that what we really want? Because half price or greater discounts require sizable, tangible compromises. What major parts of Vpro should be compromised?

 

[steve09090]

remember Samsung wont copy a failed product

No. And by the 24th iteration, it may be as good as the competition.

I keep on reading about this absurd and hackneyed nonsense about "a solution looking for a problem"!! What problem are you talking about? Does everything ever created have to be a response to some perceived and non existent problem? Things can be created/made to be helpful, for fun, for enjoyment without having to be a "solution".

There was no problem for the AVP to solve. Sure, it was supposed to make certain things easier and more enjoyable, but that doesn't mean there was some significant issue that needed an AVP to solve.

I agree with you. Most things are iterative.

The single thing it did solve was a 'Minority Report' gesture control. Albeit, no one has been able to adequately copy this without goggles. And Apple has done it best.

But it has shifted what has been able to be done with screens. Moving them about, extended them at will, 3D perceptive video. Nobody has been close to having a real 3D "Obi Wan Kenobi, you are my only hope" experience but this enables it. Albeit with Goggles. This obviously has also been done before, but the AVP puts that all together in a super immersive unit. And then you add the Spatial Audio to the Spatial video.

If I were a Samsung user (I'm not), I'd personally be happy they copy Apple designs

They are usually really good designs!

They had a head start with someone else actually designing it. They’ve got some smart people in Samsung, well those who aren’t corrupt…. Just not in actual design, just in iterative design and tech.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Still way too big and heavy, with a big light seal that presses against the face which, like those in other big headsets, probably gets uncomfortable after about an hour or less.

 

[richinaus]

Sad thing is the AVP is still a solution looking for a problem. Yet Sammy is happy to start its photocopier.

all you need is some vision [pun intended]

 

[JohnC1959]

I like when they look like ski goggles so I can watch a movie while skiing and no one around me will know.

 

[CEmajr]

The most "innovative" thing Samsung did in this industry was popularize larger screen phones. Outside of that they've been content with being the shameless copy of Apple.