The most effective XR headset you should buy as we speak
The Meta Quest 3 options cutting-edge pancake lenses, a robust Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, 1000’s of video games, and the power to simply join it wirelessly to a Home windows PC for work or play. Plus, with streaming providers like Xbox Sport Move, GeForce Now, Netflix, and tons of others, it is an leisure powerhouse like no different. It is also bought an enormous quantity of third get together accent assist so you’ll be able to customise it to your liking.
Critical potential
Samsung Undertaking Moohan could be months away but it surely’s bought an enormous quantity of potential due to top-of-the-line {hardware} that doubtless options high-resolution OLED screens, top-notch cameras, a brilliant modern design with magnetically-removable gentle blockers, and the ability of Android XR to again all of it up. It is unproven and the worth is unknown, however we count on to see extra later this yr.
Samsung Undertaking Moohan made waves when Samsung introduced it alongside Android XR, a new and thrilling model of Android constructed particularly for XR gadgets like AR glasses, VR headsets, and combined actuality headsets. It is an upcoming combined actuality headset that can mix the digital and actual worlds into video games and productiveness, similar to the Meta Quest 3.
Undertaking Moohan, because it’s at present identified, will obtain a last product title someday later this yr earlier than the anticipated launch. Samsung confirmed off the {hardware} for the primary time publicly at Samsung Unpacked 2025 through the Galaxy S25 unveiling.
Samsung Undertaking Moohan is alleged to sport higher-end {hardware} than the Meta Quest 3 and guarantees to be the perfect VR {hardware} up to now, merging high quality {hardware} with a extra reasonably priced price ticket than the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. However does that imply will probably be a greater headset? Let’s discover out.
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Whereas each Samsung Undertaking Moohan and the Meta Quest 3 are combined actuality headsets, they every look and match fairly in a different way. The Meta Quest 3 is designed principally to suit price restraints so it may be below $500. That features delivery with a comparatively uncomfortable material strap in your head and an all-plastic design.
Samsung Undertaking Moohan has a much more premium appear and feel, and whereas some components are plastic to maintain weight down, it seems to be much more like a Meta Quest Professional than a Meta Quest 3. This consists of inflexible facet straps with a wheel on the again for shortly adjusting dimension, a big, plush pad for the again of your head, and one other giant plush pad in your brow.
Not like the Meta Quest 3, Undertaking Moohan does not put any weight in your face in any respect. The rubber gentle blockers are magnetically detachable — Samsung hasn’t even proven off these components of the headset but — so you may really feel no stress in your face whereas sporting the headset for lengthy durations of time.
You may swap out the Meta Quest 3’s face pad, head strap, and extra, guaranteeing it matches you completely.
The Meta Quest 3’s default material strap distributes weight in your face and across the sides and again of your head. Some individuals, like me, discover this to be uncomfortable and find yourself shopping for a third-party head strap together with a number of different Meta Quest 3 equipment to make it extra snug to put on.
Whereas this feels like a unfavorable at first, Meta’s “modular” design of the Quest 3 means you’ll be able to take all of the vital components off — the pinnacle strap, the face pad, and so on — and change them with ones you discover extra snug.
Once I work whereas sporting a Quest 3, I have a tendency to make use of a Kiwi Design H4 Enhance head strap and I take the face pad off fully so the headset’s weight is not resting on my face. In any other case, once I’m gaming with a Quest 3, I maintain the face pad on to offer most immersion.
It is not clear but if Undertaking Moohan can be a modular headset. One of many largest issues with the Meta Quest Professional was that its head strap and battery could not be simply eliminated, so that you had so as to add issues to the headset as a substitute of simply changing them with one thing extra snug. We’re hoping Samsung realized from Meta’s design mistake on its Professional headset.
Undertaking Moohan has computerized IPD adjustment, giving it a bonus over another VR headset in the marketplace.
Samsung Undertaking Moohan has computerized IPD adjustment due to its eye monitoring capabilities which ensures that every consumer has the precise proper eye distance calibration the second they put the headset on. That is an enormous benefit for Samsung over each different VR headset in the marketplace which all require guide IPD adjustment.
Some headsets, just like the PlayStation VR2, will enable you to select the best IPD through the use of eye monitoring to show a picture you’ll be able to line up. The Meta Quest 3, like most different VR headsets, requires you to know your IPD forward of time. Adjusting it on a Quest 3 is straightforward and will be carried out by way of the IPD wheel on the underside of the headset, however you continue to must know the best quantity earlier than utilizing it.
Samsung’s headset helps controllers however we’ve not seen them but.
The Meta Quest 3 ships with two movement controllers — one is held in every hand — and likewise helps controller-free hand monitoring for extra easy interactions. Every of those controllers encompasses a joystick, three face buttons, a set off, and a grip button.
Samsung Undertaking Moohan can even have controller and hand monitoring assist, however Samsung hasn’t confirmed if the headset will ship with controllers included or if they will be a separate buy. Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional famously shipped with no controllers and no assist for motion-tracked controllers. Apple later added assist for controllers attributable to suggestions, as they’re merely required for some experiences and forms of video games.
Meta Horizon OS, the working system that powers Meta Quest Headsets, is constructed upon Android and at all times has been. Equally, Android XR, which powers Samsung Undertaking Moohan, can be a selected model of Android constructed for XR gadgets. Whereas they sound related on the floor, there are some important key variations to think about.
Whereas each are based mostly on the Android Open Supply Undertaking, Meta Horizon OS options important layers of customization that Meta has constructed over the previous decade. Meta has constructed a lot on prime of Android that it truly packages it as a “separate” working system, calling it Meta Horizon OS, and now gives it as an choice for third-party corporations to construct their very own headsets on.
Meta Horizon OS not solely revolves across the “Meta Horizon expertise,” which incorporates selling the Meta Horizon metaverse app entrance and heart, but in addition ties Meta providers deeply into the OS. Apps like WhatsApp, Fb Messenger, Fb, and Instagram all have native Horizon OS apps, and whereas a number of different apps will be downloaded on the app retailer, Meta Quest headsets are nonetheless primarily gaming consoles with some additional computing performance.
The Meta Quest’s working system is constructed on Android however does not function the Google Play Retailer. Android XR will.
Android XR is constructed upon the Android Open Supply Undertaking as properly however, like most builds of Android, Google providers are on the heart. Android XR is alleged to be “the primary model of Android constructed for the Gemini period” which suggests Google Gemini is ready to function the whole expertise for those who ask it to.
Google defined that Gemini can see what you see, together with each the digital and actual world, and is ready to reply questions and work together with digital screens as you see match. This might open up important new design and interplay paradigms that we merely have not seen earlier than, however we’ll want to attend till the complete product launch to get a greater concept of the particular performance.
Each working programs are designed to allow multitasking in combined actuality, plus enable for full immersive apps and video games.
Each working programs assist native multitasking, giving customers the power to open a number of home windows directly and float them wherever in actual 3D house. You may consider these a bit like resizable digital screens you can place wherever, all of that are in a position to be interacted with like a smartphone or pill interface.
Since Android XR has the Google Play Retailer inbuilt, it is anticipated that Samsung Undertaking Moohan could have considerably extra 2D apps at launch than the Meta Quest ever has. Conversely, the Meta Quest sports activities 1000’s of video games that can take time to transform over to Android XR. Meta funded a number of of the greatest Meta Quest video games, so it is not going they will see a launch on an Android XR-powered headset.
If you wish to study extra about how each working programs examine, see our detailed Android XR vs Meta Horizon OS comparability.
Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets energy the Meta Quest 3 and Samsung Undertaking Moohan, however Undertaking Moohan options the extra highly effective Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2. This new chipset permits Samsung to incorporate increased decision cameras and shows on Undertaking Moohan, all whereas sporting higher total efficiency.
Neither are “laptop-grade” chips like what’s included within the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional, however each chips are very succesful and are roughly comparable in efficiency to a 2023 flagship smartphone with important customizations to account for the additional processing wanted for house monitoring and movement monitoring.
We all know a some specs for Undertaking Moohan however many technical specs, like quantity of RAM, storage, and show decision, are nonetheless unknown. It is stated that Samsung Undertaking Moohan options micro-OLED panels with as much as 3,000 DPI decision. The Meta Quest 3 makes use of LCD panels with roughly 1,200 DPI decision.
Specs | Samsung Undertaking Moohan | Meta Quest 3 |
Show kind | Micro-OLED | LCD |
Show decision | 3,000 DPI (rumored) | 1218 DPI (2208 x 2064 per eye) |
Refresh price | Unknown | 120Hz |
Lens kind | Pancake | Pancake |
FoV | Unknown | 98° vertical, 106° horizontal |
IPD adjustment | Computerized | Handbook per mm |
Audio system | Constructed-in stereo | Constructed-in stereo |
Included head strap | Adjustable inflexible plastic with again padding | Elastic material |
Facial interface | Magnetically-removable | Detachable by way of clips, velcro |
Controllers | Supported | Included |
Hand monitoring | Sure | Sure |
Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 |
RAM | Unknown | 8GB |
Weight | Unknown | 503g |
Worth | Unknown | $499 |
Each headsets use pancake lenses, however Samsung Undertaking Moohan builds eye monitoring into the lenses. This can allow Samsung to have even higher efficiency due to one thing known as foveated rendering. This know-how permits the headset to render the very best decision on the heart of your imaginative and prescient whereas saving processing energy by reducing the decision exterior of that.
Meta helps mounted foveated rendering which makes an attempt to recreate the identical idea with out eye monitoring. Whereas it’s efficient in enhancing efficiency, it creates decrease decision exterior of the middle of the lens and reduces visible high quality in these areas.
Contemplating you can not purchase Samsung Undertaking Moohan but, this one’s a little bit of a no brainer till then. The Meta Quest 3 is the perfect VR headset you should buy by way of worth and accessible software program. It is bought essentially the most video games of any VR headset and, since it is a standalone VR console, does not want a PC or exterior show to work. That is an incredible worth for simply $499.
Samsung Undertaking Moohan will virtually definitely sport higher {hardware} than the Meta Quest 3 when it launches, but it surely’s anticipated that Samsung will cost fairly a bit extra for its first Android XR-powered headset. Present rumors estimate the worth to be round $999, though we’ll want to attend till later within the yr to truly discover out.
In case you’re seeking to get into XR as we speak, although, the Meta Quest 3 is the best selection because it not solely has an enormous library of video games and assist for a lot of streaming providers, but it surely additionally helps native Home windows desktop streaming for simple hookup to a PC.
Why wait? The Meta Quest is already nice
With 1000’s of video games, standard streaming providers, straightforward PC connectivity, and loads of equipment to customise your expertise, the Meta Quest 3 is already an incredible headset price proudly owning.
With nice energy…
Samsung and Google have an opportunity to redefine the XR expertise with Android XR and Undertaking Moohan, two very polished-looking merchandise which are slated to debut later in 2025.