Former Quest Engineer Highly Praises Vision Pro Imitation

Wait a minute, is Apple really bypassing a black version of the Vision Pro? Yes, indeed. But don’t worry, because Play For Dream MR has that covered. Dubbed the “Android Vision Pro” due to its Android-based operating system, this China-based headset drew significant attention at CES 2025 last week.

After its initial release in Asia last year, Play For Dream set its sights on Western markets with this Vision Pro-inspired mixed reality gadget. By launching a Kickstarter campaign in September, the project raked in a cool 2,271,650 Hong Kong dollars, translating to roughly $292,000 USD.

Packed with a suite of advanced XR features, Play For Dream MR includes a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset that runs on Android 15. You’ll find dual 3,840 × 3,552 micro-OLED displays operating at 90Hz, eye-tracking, automatic IPD adjustments, and the capability for both wired and wireless PC streaming. Plus, it comes with a Quest Pro-inspired rear-mounted battery and Touch-like controllers.

Essentially, this headset seems to offer it all, even borrowing the user interface from Apple’s Vision Pro.

Putting design inspirations aside, Amanda Watson, a former Quest engineer, had the opportunity to try out Play For Dream’s MR headset. She shared her experience on X, noting it was “absolutely the best all-around HMD demo I saw on the floor today.”

Watson, who left Meta in 2022, further remarked, “It’s like an ‘Android Apple Vision Pro.’ The execution was spot-on with great performance, optics, UI, and media capture/playback features.”

While at Meta/Oculus, Watson contributed to various Quest projects, including the Link and the Air Link Wi-Fi streaming tool. Impressively, she was the sole developer of Air Link for 13 months leading up to its release. So, when Watson praises a product, it’s worth paying attention.

“The headset offers USB and wireless PCVR streaming (I tested USB). While it’s still a bit of a work-in-progress in terms of frame rate and latency, that’s somewhat expected given it’s a recent feature. The essentials like controller motion were executed perfectly, and the resolution stood strong.”

Moreover, Watson found the Touch-style controllers to be impressive. Although hand tracking exists, she noted it wasn’t part of the demonstration. Importantly, she highlighted the headset’s pancake lenses, which feature “excellent distortion correction.” According to Watson, this is a major plus for her.

Founded in 2020 under the name YVR, Play For Dream has already launched two standalone VR headsets, the YVR 1 and YVR 2, both of which became available in China in 2022.

As of now, the Play For Dream MR doesn’t have a set release date or final pricing, but the company has indicated that it will be priced under $2,000. For more information, check out Play For Dream’s website, where detailed specs and availability updates will be provided.