Vision Pro Imitation Receives High Praise from Former Quest Engineer

Wait a second, does the Apple Vision Pro come in black? Well, the answer is no. But, the Play For Dream MR does. Dubbed by many as the ‘Android Vision Pro’ due to its Android operating system, this headset certainly drew attention at CES 2025 last week.

Initially making waves in Asia last year, Play For Dream, a headset manufacturer based in China, set its sights on bringing their mixed reality headset, heavily inspired by the Vision Pro, to Western markets. By launching a Kickstarter campaign in September, Play For Dream MR successfully raised a whopping 2,271,650 Hong Kong dollars, which is roughly $292,000 USD.

This headset is packed with an impressive array of modern XR features. It boasts a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset running Android 15, dual 3,840 × 3,552 micro-OLED displays at a 90Hz refresh rate, eye-tracking, auto IPD adjustment, and both wired and wireless PC streaming capabilities. Plus, it takes a cue from Quest Pro with its rear-mounted battery and Touch-style controllers.

In essence, it seems this headset has everything—even the user interface akin to Vision Pro.

Putting design influences aside, Amanda Watson, a former Quest engineer, got to experience the Play For Dream MR headset firsthand. She took to social media to describe it as “absolutely the best all-around HMD demo I saw on the floor today.”

“It really is an ‘Android Apple Vision Pro’, but the execution is spot on. The performance, optics, user interface, and media capturing and playback features are excellent,” Watson noted. She left Meta in 2022 after working on several Quest-related projects, including the tethered Link and the company’s Wi-Fi streaming tool, Air Link. Impressively, she was the sole developer behind Air Link for 13 months pre-release. With credentials like that, her endorsement carries a lot of weight.

Watson also mentioned the headset supports USB and wireless PCVR streaming. Although, she found the USB feature to be a bit of a work in progress compared to others, noting some frame rate and latency issues. Still, the fundamental features like controller motion were nailed down, and the resolution was solid.

Moreover, Watson praised the Touch-style controllers, stating they were “also very good.” Although hand tracking was said to be a feature, it wasn’t demonstrated. She also commended the headset’s pancake lenses, citing their “excellent distortion correction” as particularly significant to her.

Founded in 2020 and originally known as YVR, Play For Dream has already rolled out two generations of standalone VR headsets, YVR 1 and YVR 2, both launched in China back in 2022.

As for the Play For Dream MR, the company hasn’t disclosed a specific release date or price yet, but hints suggest it will be priced under $2,000. For those eager to learn more, keep an eye on Play For Dream’s official website for detailed specs and future ordering opportunities.