Apple Vision Pro Stands Firm Against CES AR & VR Debuts

CES 2024 is the last major chance for producers of AR and VR headsets to make a splash before the Apple Vision Pro is released. Here’s what Apple’s rivals unveiled in Vegas.

The Apple Vision Pro will be released in the United States on February 2, in a move that could make a major impact on the virtual reality and mixed reality headset market. With Apple finally reaching out into the headset industry, this gives other manufacturers only a few more weeks to impress the public with their own devices.

At CES 2024, a number of companies are doing just that, using the trade show to hawk new head-mounted displays, to try and earn customers before Apple’s heavyweight comes into play.

What follows is a roundup of headsets, smart glasses, and associated technologies that surfaced at CES for 2024.

Sony announced an intention to create a Spatial Content Creation System, in partnership with Siemens. The headset, yet to be named, is described as a “high-quality XR head-mounted display and controllers dedicated to interaction with 3D objects.” It will feature 1.3-inch 4K OLED microdisplays, six external cameras and sensors, a ring controller for object manipulation, and a pointing controller for precision work. The headset will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 Platform, combined with Sony’s proprietary rendering technology.

The Asus AirVision M1 wearable display is a pair of smart glasses equipped with a micro OLED display for each eye, 1080p resolution, and up to 1,100 nits brightness. It offers a 57-degree vertical field of view, multiple virtual screens setup, and a USB Type-C connection. The frame includes a multi-function touchpad and noise-canceling microphones and speakers for remote conferencing.

Xreal introduced the Air 2 Ultra, an AR glasses model made from titanium, featuring full positional tracking with six degrees of freedom, Sony micro OLED panels for each eye, and a 120Hz refresh rate (90Hz in 3D mode). It offers 500 nits brightness (250 nits in 3D mode), a 52-degree field of view, directional audio, and two built-in microphones. Initially compatible with the Samsung S22 and S23, it’s priced at $699, with pre-orders for shipment by the end of March.

Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform, a single chip architecture designed to power new hardware for improved MR and VR experiences. It supports resolutions of up to 4.3K per eye, with a 15% higher GPU frequency and 20% higher CPU frequency compared to the XR2 Gen 1. Qualcomm is collaborating with Samsung and Google to utilize this chip in upcoming hardware.

In conclusion, while CES 2024 showcased various new products, none seemed to directly challenge the Apple Vision Pro. Sony’s new headset, while advanced, is more focused on content creation than general consumption. Xreal’s offering and other smartglasses are more aligned with AR overlays, unlike Apple’s mixed-reality headset. Qualcomm’s new chip and collaborations indicate future competition, but these are not immediate threats to the Apple Vision Pro.