Coco Fengin Guangdong

Published:24 Aug 2025

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo unveiled a mixed-reality headset that resembles Apple’s Vision Pro in name, design and interface, but weighs about 35 per cent less and is likely to cost one third as much.

The Vivo Vision is similar to the Apple gadget that is controlled with intuitive eye tracking and hand gestures, according to information published on Vivo’s website on Thursday.

But the Vivo device weighs 398 grams, much less than its US rival, which weighs at least 600g, addressing one of the most common concerns of high-end virtual-reality (VR) headsets.

The headset has two organic-light-emitting-diode displays, each with a resolution of 3,840 pixels by 3,552 pixels, which combined deliver 8K resolution. The product is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 Platform, which boosts the graphics-processing frequency by 15 per cent compared with its predecessor for crisp visuals and less jitter, according to the company.

The headset also offers two strap options: a solo knit band and a dual-loop band.

For now, the unit only works with certain Vivo phones and with computers running Windows 10 or later versions for screen projections.

The introduction represents a major step for Vivo into the VR industry, after it exhibited the headset in China’s southern Hainan province in March, without providing technical specifications. The Thursday announcement did not disclose a release date or pricing, but invited users to book demonstrations at certain bricks-and-mortar stores in 12 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Vivo chief operating officer Hu Baishan told Chinese media earlier this week that the price could be brought down to roughly 10,000 yuan (US$1,393), or less.

The Vivo headset is controlled with eye tracking and hand gestures. Photo: Handout

If that is true, the product would be a threat to Apple, whose Vision Pro costs at least 29,999 yuan in mainland China.

This price-undercutting strategy mirrors that of Chinese hardware manufacturers in other sectors, such as smartphones, who offer comparable specifications at significantly lower prices.

In the second quarter, Apple ranked fifth in mainland smartphone shipments with a market share of 15 per cent, according to Canalys. Huawei and Vivo topped the list.

China is set to become one of the biggest markets for VR and augmented reality, with total spending surpassing US$10.5 billion by 2029, second only to the US, according to IDC.

Coco Feng

Coco Feng joined the Post in 2019, covering the technology and internet sector from the Greater Bay Area. Previously, she worked at the Post's Beijing bureau.