Samsung's Vision Pro alternative may bury its best feature under a ridiculous price tag

(Image credit: Samsung / Google / Qualcomm)

Project Moohan, Samsung's upcoming mixed-reality headset following in the footsteps of the Apple Vision Pro, is a real spatial computing supergroup moment for the virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality market. But is it destined for the same fate as Apple's highfalutin headset — impressive, expensive, and quick to fade from memory?

Moohan is the result of a collaboration between industry giants Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm, each bringing their own portion of expertise to the table through hardware or software.

The headset will reportedly be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2+ Gen 2 chipset, a follow-up to the XR2 Gen 2 chip found within Meta's Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets, with new rumors (via 9to5Google) suggesting it packs some premier 4K display tech to secure the edge over Apple's mixed reality visor.

However, all that comes at a cost — both in price and the risk of burying Moohan's best feature, Google's new HorizonOS and VisionOS competitor and mixed-reality platform: Android XR.

Project Moohan: The more expensive they are, the harder they fall

Despite all evidence pointing to the contrary, companies like Apple and Samsung seem convinced that what the spatial computing market really needs is a headset of such incredible value that it's to be exclusively worn on the head of bankers like a high-tech crown rather than an actual product.

The Vision Pro, with its baffling $3,500 price tag, offered some impressive specs but appeared to have no idea who it was for when it launched in February 2024.

While insiders claimed that this was more of a developer-focused introduction of the tech, Apple's own ads pushed the illusion that this was a device for the average Joe or Jane as they virtually tippy-tapped their way through immersive home movies and engaging with putty-faced digital avatars over FaceTime.

Ultimately, Apple's headset has managed to impress with a pocketful of cool features but hasn't quite lived up to the potential suggested by its price tag. It's a warning you'd expect a company like Samsung to have observed and learned from.

However, Project Moohan looks to be heading in much of the same direction, with Korean outlet The Elec reporting that Samsung is aiming to incorporate some expensive display tech to push its headset beyond the Vision Pro's specs. This includes 1.3-inch OLEDOS panels that offer a pixel density of 3,800 PPI (Pixels-per-inch), over three times that of the Meta Quest 3 (1,200 PPI) and topping that of the Vision Pro (3,400 PPI).

Samsung's desire to produce the best headset with components like this may also lead to its being the most expensive. While Samsung may be able to shave some of the costs by not selling at a 100% markup (as Apple does), that won't stop it from becoming the kind of enterprise-only headset that flags for DOGE investigations when someone tries to expense it.

Android XR: How Moohan risks burying the lead

Meanwhile, Moohan's best feature risks being buried by its ballooning spec sheet. If Samsung truly wanted to make an impact, it would be by pushing Google's new spatial computing platform, Android XR, to the forefront — and into the hands of as many as possible.

Android XR has the potential to do for VR/AR/MX systems what Android did for smartphones. It offers an open ecosystem that breaks free from Apple and Meta's walled gardens, promoting a platform that all developers can take advantage of and that users of many different products within this market may benefit from.

However, if Samsung instead opts to chase what's flash for cash, Android XR's grand introduction may feel like a behind-closed-doors event, exclusive to the members of a big club, that most people aren't in or invited to.

The Vision Pro made mixed reality feel like an exclusive piece of tech far out of the reach of many. Meta's Quest headsets have gone some way to reversing that opinion, with much of that owed to the Quest 3S' impeccable $299 price tag. Samsung's Moohan looks to drag things back in the polar opposite direction. when what the spatial computing world needs right now, is a product everyone can get excited for.

Mixed reality needs momentum, not another overpriced executive tech demo. Moohan may be a move that costs Samsung the chance of leading this market but it could be a great opportunity for others to take the ball and run with it.

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Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.