On August 21, 2025, Vivo officially launched the Vivo Vision Discovery Edition, a mixed-reality headset that stands directly up to the Apple Vision Pro in terms of design. The headset weighs much less – 398g – than most other competitors and mimics the Apple Vision Pro’s ski-goggle design (curved glass visor, fabric light seals, and a flexible rear strap).
Obviously, from a distance, this looks like an Apple Vision Pro clone, but then, it got its own uniqueness and impressive features. Vivo, for one, is a company focused on innovative tech, and they’ve just jumped into the MR headset market to make their mark. Yes, the Vivo Vison headset is affordable, and it is “the first MR product developed by a smartphone manufacturer in China.”
Design and Build: Sleek, Lightweight, and Inspired by Premium Competitors
Apparently, the design of the Vivo Vision is inspired by what we’ve already seen in headsets from premium competitors—not only the Apple Vision Pro. This MR headset comes with a gray fabric facial interface, knitted rear strap, and detachable light-blocking seals. It also features a digital-crown style dial on the side and a magnetic connector for its external battery pack.
Should we say it’s the Vivo Vision vs Apple Vision Pro design comparison? Maybe yes; the design features of the Vivo Vision echo “Apple Vision Pro,” including four sizes of light seals and eight foam padding options for custom fits. However, the design differences are in the minor details; unlike the Vision Pro, this one from Vivo features metallic side arms.
Advertised as a very lightweight headset, weighing just 398g, the Vivo Vision also features a compact build: 40mm thick and about 83mm tall. Yeah, this is roughly 26% smaller than most other headsets in the market, which means you’ll enjoy a noticeably lighter, less front-heavy feel on the face.
Display and Performance: Dual 8K Micro-OLED Powerhouse
Now, let’s get to the main things that matter: what’s under the hood of this tech stuff. Well, it packs a display punch, with dual 8K Micro-OLED panels (3,840×3,552 pixels per eye). This resolution actually slightly exceeds the Vision Pro’s own 4K-per-eye display, making the visuals extremely sharp.
Vivo claims a 180° panoramic field of view, which would fall among the widest of any consumer headset and should result in an immersive, edge-to-edge experience. Color coverage is equally impressive: the panels cover 94% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and Vivo hinted that it performed careful calibration to allow both eyes to see consistent brightness and color.
The chip pack is quite impressive; it’s got a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset, which is the latest XR-focused Android processor from Qualcomm, also used in higher-end MR systems. This chip is paired with Vivo’s Android-based OriginOS for its MR platform; this OS supports full-color passthrough with low latency (around 13ms).
Also, this headset is poised to be a game changer for VR gamers, integrating full MR and PCVR gaming support, multi-window productivity, and up to 120-inch virtual screen playback. The specs sheet really looks cool, but we’ll await real-life analysis from users to actually come to terms with this.
Software and User Experience: OriginOS Vision in Action
The Vision Discovery Edition headset runs on Vivo’s new OriginOS Vision platform, which is well-optimized for a mixed-reality experience. The interface is designed for intuitive eye-and-hand tracking control (similar to Apple’s “gaze-and-pinch”). Vivo integrated precise tracking up to 1.5° high-precision eye tracking and 26o of freedom in fingertip gesture recognition.
With this, users can select and manipulate virtual objects simply by looking and pinching or swiping in space. From the released early demos, we can see that the information panels appear in surrounding spaces and respond naturally to users’ gaze. For gaming, traditional VR controllers are also supported, so you can use motion controllers for play.
Vivo asserts that this headset can record 3D videos and capture spatial (3D) photos into a virtual 120-inch cinematic display. Sound is spatialized, too, so audio appears to come from the surrounding environment.
Being a smartphone brand, Vivo hinted at seamless integration with smartphones, and features like 3D imaging may work best when the headset is paired with a Vivo phone. The headset can mirror or cast PC and mobile games, support multi-window productivity, and stream videos in dome mode.
We don’t yet know how robust its app ecosystem will be – likely Chinese Android apps (it won’t have Google services out of the box). However, at launch, it appears to come with both entertainment (VR/AR games, video) and productivity demos. Practically. Vivo seems to have tried mirroring Apple’s approach to Vision Pro’s ecosystem, but leveraging its own strengths in imaging and smartphones.
Battery Life, Pricing, and Availability: Is $1,400 Worth It?
Vivo Vision Discovery Edition uses an external battery pack that plugs into the headset (via a USB cable). The exact battery specs are not yet known, but what we do know is that it does boast a custom “Blue Ocean” power management system to stretch the pack’s life. The tethered design means you have to travel with the battery all the time.
As unveiled, the official price of the Vivo Vision Discovery Edition headset is around ¥10,000 in China (which converts to approx. $1,400 US Dollars). That’s less than half of the Vision Pro’s $3,499 base price. Pre-orders have opened through 12 Vivo Experience Stores in China, but full availability is currently limited.
Pros and Cons
Well, everything’s got its good sides and bad sides; the Vivo Vision is no exception.
Pros:
- Very lightweight, just 398g—that’s 26% smaller size than many of its alternatives.
- Dual 8k resolutions and a massive FoV
- Advanced MR features such as eye tracking, gesture control, 3D recording, and spatial audio
- Premium design, looks comfy in the paddings
- Good entry price
Cons:
- Currently only available in China
- Less uniqueness, copied Apple’s Vision Pro in many regards.
- Tethered battery pack
- The Android-based OriginOS doesn’t seem flexible
Should You Buy This MR Headset?
Actually, whether you should buy this depends on your VR/MR preferences and love for collecting gadgets. This is a standalone headset that looks almost exactly like the Apple Vision Pro, while selling at half the price. The device is currently only buyable in China; so if you’re living outside China, you might not be able to lay your hands on this.
Conclusion
One good thing about the Vision Explorer Edition headset is that it has set the pace for lightweight, powerful, yet affordable MR headsets. It may not get all checked out right now, but eventually, it could get better from here. If made available overseas, and more people are able to buy this, then we can know if this is truly a budget-friendly Apple Vision Pro clone.
