Apple fanboys are abuzz with excitement following Apple’s announcement of its ever-mixed reality headset named Apple Vision Pro. The Apple Vision Pro marks the new era of Spatial Computing where immersive experience transcends the ordinary. However, amidst the excitement surrounding its launch, a wide range of formidable alternatives stand ready to captivate the audience with their distinct offerings. Here are some of the best Apple Vision Pro alternatives available you can get in 2024.
Note:
For a fair comparison, we’ve added only those AR/VR headsets that are standalone. Thus, excluding the likes of PlayStation VR and Valve Index.
This is the closest alternative to the Apple Vision Pro you can get in terms of performance and price. The Meta Quest Pro, similar to Apple Vision Pro, has mixed reality capabilities that allow virtual elements to be transmitted into a view of the real world through the headset’s camera.
The cheap Vision Pro alternative comes equipped with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage with a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ chip powering its core. A major difference between Vision Pro and Meta Quest 2 is the presence of micro-OLED displays in Apple’s headset compared to the latter’s mini-LED display.
Also, similar to its previous iteration, Meta Quest 2, this mixed-reality headset also comes with a pair of hand controllers. The vast library of apps and games on Meta Quest Pro could be a solid reason to pick this instead of Vision Pro.
Price: Starts at $999
Buy Meta Quest Pro
2. HTC Vive XR Elite
HTC Vive XR Elite is the most awarded VR headset of last year’s CES and MWC. The Vive XR Elite features a versatile design with detachable straps, a battery pack, a goggle-shaped headset, and two touch controllers. With a Snapdragon XR2 chip powering its core and a full pair of motion VR controllers, the XR Elite runs standard VR applications and games perfectly. And, similar to Quest Pro and Quest 3, it can also connect to a PC via wired and wireless connections to run VR content from your PC.
This premium headset from HTC comes with 12GB RAM and 128GB storage space, allowing games to run at its 4K resolution and smooth 90Hz refresh rate without any problems during standalone play. The visual prowess of the HTC Vive XR Elite XR is aided by improved pancake lenses with two LCD displays, each with a resolution of 1920 x 1920 pixels per eye.
The headset also offers a 6DoF inside-out tracking with four tracking cameras, a 110-degree field of view, and a vivid passthrough capability in a remarkably small form factor.
Price: $1,499
3. XREAL Air 2 Ultra
Launched at the CES 2024, The XReal Air 2 Ultra has been touted as a “spatial computing platform” and is already available for pre-order. While this isn’t a straight alternative to Apple Vision Pro as the Xreal Air 2 Ultra is an AR glass instead of the headset design of the Vision Pro, the XReal Air 2 Ultra has dual 3D environment sensors to precisely map out the real world quite swiftly.
These brand-new AR glasses offer a 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) spatial tracking and hand tracking, a wider 52-degree FOV (field of view), and a 42-pixel-per-degree sharpness within an 80-gram titanium package. And while the Xreal Air 2 Ultra costs way less than the Apple Vision Pro, XReal claims that these specs make it a budget Vision Pro alternative.
The 6DoF spatial computing capabilities on the Xreal Air 2 Ultra are enabled by the front-facing dual 3D environment sensors and the Qualcomm Snapdragon processors on the Samsung Galaxy S23 or S22, iPhone 15, or any Mac or Windows machine that can run Xreal’s Nebula launcher.
Price: $699
Announced a week before Apple announced Vision Pro. The Meta Quest 3 uses breakthrough mixed reality to provide new immersive experiences. Also, technically, the Meta Quest 3 is more powerful than the Quest Pro as it is powered by the Snapdragon XR Gen 2 processor, as opposed to the Snapdragon XR2+ on the Quest Pro, which is built on the Gen 1 platform.
The headset has 8GB of RAM, which is half of what is found on the Apple Vision Pro, but that’s OK as it is also more affordable. While Apple Vision Pro is currently only available in 256GB storage option, the Meta Quest 3 is available in 128GB ($499) and 512GB ($649) storage capacities.
The visual prowess of the Meta Quest 3 is aided by improved screens and lenses, as it packs two LCD displays, each with a resolution of 2064 x 2208 pixels. The visual prowess of the Meta Quest 3 is aided by improved screens and lenses, as it packs two LCD displays, each with a resolution of 2064 x 2208 pixels. With Quest 3, you can buy $49.99 prescription lenses from Zenni Opticals, similar to what Zeiss offers for Vision Pro.
Price: $499
Buy Meta Quest 3
5. Magic Leap 2
Magic Leap 2 is an AR device that keeps its users’ view of their surroundings while integrating digital content inside it. Similar to the Magic Leap 1, the Magic Leap 2 includes a pair of dark gray goggles connected to a computer-like puck, which you can attach to your shoulder strap or clip to the belt. These goggles reflect light from tiny LCOS displays using multilayered lenses that project holographic images into your surroundings. You get three options: a base variant for general users, one developer Pro, and an enterprise variant for developers and enterprises alike.
Magic Leap 2 offers a 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) controller for hand-eye tracking and hand tracking, up to 70-degree FOV (field of view), and 1440 x 1760 pixel resolution with a 120 Hz refresh rate. The goggles are powered by an AMD 7nm Quad-core Zen 2 chipset and come equipped with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage capacity. The base variant of the Magic Leap 2 is priced at $3,499.
Price: $3,499
Buy Magic Leap 2
