With the Galaxy XR, Samsung seems to have taken a lot of lessons from the Apple Vision Pro, an extremely expensive but impressive mixed-reality headset. I tried Samsung’s headset for the first time in between the chaos of CES 2026, which revealed some key differences.
From the outset, it’s lighter and comfier, but feels more plastic. Compared to the Vision Pro, the Galaxy XR lets in more light underneath the lenses. However, you can attach a couple of light-blocking guards, which creates a more closed VR-like experience.
It was also much easier to get started with Samsung’s headset. Even though I wear glasses, I didn’t need to have my lens prescription sorted ahead of time, like with the Vision Pro. Samsung claims that most people’s eyesight is good enough to use the Galaxy XR as is. From my experience, I didn’t feel the need to wear my glasses to comfortably use the headset.
Because of the more comfortable form factor, and doing away with the uncanny valley outer display of the Vision Pro, the Samsung Galaxy XR feels like a more practical device. It enables a similar extended display mixed-reality workspace, with near-identical intuitive hand gestures.
Of course, the big difference is the price. While Samsung hasn’t confirmed an Australian release for the headset, it has a starting price of US$1,799 overseas. That’s significantly cheaper than the hefty US$3,499 Vision Pro.
In the meantime, you can see my full hands-on experience on GadgetGuy‘s YouTube channel.
Valens Quinn attended CES 2026 as a guest of Samsung, LG, Hisense, Belkin, Ecovacs, Asus, TP-Link, Reolink, Roborock, and Aiper.
