Best VR Headsets of 2025: My Favorite Hardware Now
VR and AR can sometimes feel like a product category that doesn’t seem to be mainstream at all, but the headset landscape is changing rapidly.
Google and Samsung are introducing new VR/AR platforms later this year It’s called Android XR. Samsung’s project Moohan is a Vision Pro-like headset that also runs Google’s Gemini AI and many Google Play apps. Expect Android XR to train the bridge between your Android phone, headset and glasses. Samsung’s headset, which has yet to be priced or released date, appears to be the only device on the 2025 Android XR device. AndroidXR could be the future, but it’s hard to tell if you should wait for it now. Qualcomm’s Future plans for VR and AR I rely on phones as a way to power my small glasses, but so far I don’t have these small devices to recommend.
In the meantime, Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro Headsets – Self-contained standalone VR/AR devices placed by Apple as a full-space computer are the best prices in the consumer market, with very different pitches and very different from game-centric devices like Meta Quest This is a device. The ability to run all kinds of iOS apps and open multiple apps at once becomes a unique option, combining its possibilities as an iOS Mixed Reality computer with its incredible display quality and unique input methods for hand-eye tracking. , it is a promising device for creators, researchers, and anyone who has a wallet big enough to pay for a high-end personal film on their faces. It also emphasizes the quality of computing and video, rather than the quest’s biggest strengths, gaming and fitness. But now it’s over a year old and Apple could move to a more affordable version in the coming years.
The Vision Pro is not the only Mixed Reality VR headset. In this category, you will blend VR with surrounding video using a color pass-through camera that feels like augmented reality. The Quest 3 is the most affordable mainstream mixed reality VR headset, with Apple’s most expensive. Samsung’s project Moohan also features mixed reality and we look forward to more.
Sony $550 PlayStation VR 2 It offers a great console gaming VR experience for PlayStation 5 owners and includes eye tracking like Apple Vision Probut not wireless, it’s still a relatively expensive accessory (more expensive than the PS5 itself). It’s more expensive than both Quest 2 and Quest 3, and still the PS5 needs to work, but it’s much lower than the Vision Pro (although it’s limited to PlayStation VR games to serve a completely different purpose and work (It depends on the set). The more limited library and features make it less versatile than quests, but it’s a fun quest alternative for anyone delving deeper into Sony’s PlayStation 5 ecosystem. However, the PSVR 2 feels like it’s not where the future of headsets is heading now.
PC owners have several options. You can also use Quest 3, Quest 3S, PSVR 2, or consider some existing devices. The biggest previous players in the PC VR gaming scene (Microsoft, Valve, and HTC) are quiet in that aspect, especially now that Microsoft has stopped most of its mixed reality efforts and VR headset compatibility . That could change again soon. PC-connected VR headsets can provide the most versatile collection of software for an immersive VR experience. You can also use that headset for creative and business tools. Steam is clearly the best conduit for PC VR.
Cost of a new VR headset It’s up recently. If price is the biggest concern, Quest 3s currently offers the best value in VR. Amazing game.