Wait a minute, did Apple actually release their Vision Pro in black? Not exactly. However, there’s a new player in town making waves at CES 2025 – the Play For Dream MR. This device earned the nickname ‘Android Vision Pro’ because of its Android-based operating system, and it has certainly captured some attention.
This headset first made its debut in Asia last year, developed by the Chinese company Play For Dream. Aiming to expand into Western markets, they launched a Kickstarter campaign in September, managing to raise an impressive 2,271,650 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to around $292,000 USD.
The Play For Dream MR is not skimping on features. It boasts a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip powered by Android 15, sleek dual 3,840 × 3,552 micro-OLED displays with a 90Hz refresh rate, eye-tracking capabilities, and automatic IPD adjustment. Additionally, it supports both wired and wireless PC streaming and sports a rear-mounted battery and Touch-style controllers inspired by Quest Pro.
In essence, this headset seems to offer a complete package—even mimicking the user interface of the Vision Pro.
Going beyond its design influences, former Quest engineer Amanda Watson had a chance to test the Play For Dream MR headset and shared her thoughts online, stating it was “absolutely the best all-around HMD demo I saw on the floor today.”
“Imagine an ‘Android Apple Vision Pro’ executed with excellence. The performance, optics, user interface, and media capture/playback features were top-notch,” Watson remarked. Having left Meta in 2022, Watson’s expertise comes from her extensive work on various Quest projects, including both the tethered Link and the Air Link Wi-Fi streaming tool where she initially served as the sole developer. Her stamp of approval carries significant weight.
Watson also noted the headset’s USB and wireless PCVR streaming capabilities. Although she only tested the USB option, she saw it as a work-in-progress compared to other features, but promising nonetheless. The critical basics like controller motion and resolution were impressively solid.
As for the Touch-style controllers, Watson found those to be quite good too. Though hand tracking is reportedly available, it wasn’t demonstrated. She praised the pancake lenses as well, marveling at their superb distortion correction, which she considered particularly important.
Founded in 2020 and originally known as YVR, Play For Dream has already released two standalone VR headsets, the YVR 1 and YVR 2, in China back in 2022.
There’s no confirmed release date or pricing yet for the Play For Dream MR, but the company has hinted it will be priced under $2,000. For more information, head over to Play For Dream’s website to keep an eye on specs and purchase options as they become available.
