There’s a new contender entering the tech arena, aiming to take on the Vision Pro crown—and it even shares the ‘Vision’ moniker. Although it might not yet be a familiar name to everyone, Vivo from China has carved out a reputation for crafting practical, mid-range smartphones, steadily securing a spot among the top five smartphone producers by market share.
Today, during the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan Province, Vivo unveiled its inaugural venture into the XR (extended reality) market: the Vivo Vision. According to their press release, this move is part of Vivo’s broader strategy to dive into both robotics and XR technologies. They proudly describe Vivo Vision as “a significant milestone in Vivo’s exploration of mixed reality technology.”
Currently, while Vivo Vision is slated for an official reveal in mid-2025, many details remain under wraps. Questions swirl around the specifications of the MR (mixed reality) headset, the operating system it’ll use, the exact release date, its availability worldwide, and of course, the price. However, we got a glimpse without the device, as a prototype was displayed at Vivo’s booth. From what was shown, it appears Vivo drew significant design inspiration from Apple’s Vision Pro, featuring similar touches like its distinctive headstrap design, the digital crown button, and an external battery that’s tethered magnetically.
Vivo’s smartphones typically run modified Android operating systems: Funtouch OS for global devices and Origin OS for those sold within China. It wouldn’t be surprising if Vivo aims to adapt Google’s upcoming Android XR OS for the Vision, considering Google’s collaboration with Samsung on their upcoming mixed reality project, ‘Project Moohan,’ set to debut sometime this year. But for now, that’s just theory.
It seems we’re witnessing a surge in Vision Pro look-alikes from Chinese manufacturers. Earlier this year, Play for Dream caused quite the stir with its MR headset at CES 2025. The device didn’t just attract attention but also earned accolades from Amanda Watson, a former Quest engineer, who raved about it, saying it was “absolutely the best all-around HMD demo I saw on the floor today.”
As the lines between original innovation and inspired designs continue to blur, only time will tell how Vivo Vision stacks up in this rapidly evolving XR landscape.
