Vivo Vision Discovery Edition First Impressions

Like most smartphone companies and other tech brands, everyone has either announced or launched a virtual reality (VR) or mixed reality (MR) headset by 2026. Vivo also announced its own mixed reality headset in China last year, and calls it the Vivo Vision. Vivo's mixed reality headset takes a very Apple Vision Pro-like approach, banking on entertainment and a spatial user interface. It's not very different in functionality or overall package from other similar offerings, but it has a few notable differences. Vivo hasn't announced any plans for an India launch yet, but will let interested customers try out its MR headset. At the Vivo Next event in India, I got to try the Vivo Vision Discovery Edition headset, and here's how it went.

The Vivo Vision headset has a button near the right temple

The headset does indeed look like a pair of ski goggles. Two adjustable headbands at the back are made of soft elastic fabric. On the front, there's a mix of metal, plastic and glass inserts around the visor. The visor has six visible cameras facing forward and two pointing down. Some of these project the surrounding environment onto the dual-binocular Micro-OLED displays with 8K resolution. These display spatial overlays, whether it's full-screen immersive videos or menus.

The headset feels relatively light when worn

The headset feels comfortable to wear and is much lighter (398g) than it looks. I wore it for about 15 minutes and noticed no eye strain or headaches. A button near the right temple brings up the home menu when you press it; it's basically a bunch of icons, like an app drawer. To navigate the interface, pinch your thumb and index finger to highlight and hover over home menu items. Once you highlight an item with this gesture, pinch again to select or tap it. Dragging items in the spatial interface uses the same gesture, as every window has a bottom bar you can use to drag/move it in the virtual 3D space around you. Like the Apple Vision Pro, an item once placed in 3D space remains right where you left it.

The headset can be customised for the perfect fit with prescription lenses, light seals and padding

During the short demo, I experienced a few features that were loaded onto the headset. Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 platform and Vivo's custom OS, OriginOS Vision, power these experiences. During the demo, I watched an immersive video experience that, I have to admit, felt quite immersive, with elements that had real depth. I also watched a regular video on a large canvas, which made me feel like I was sitting in a movie theatre. I also tried a game that lets you play as a tiny, squishy character, where you can move and rotate small maps in a mixed-reality space.

The Vivo Vision comes with a small power pack, which is plugged into a port on the left side of the headset

A small power pack powers the headset. You can keep it in your back pocket while you move around.

As for customisation, every headset can be customised to the user's vision requirements. Prescription lenses were available during the demo and will be available with the final unit whenever or if it launches. They also had a selection of light seals and foam padding options to achieve the perfect customised fit.

I must admit that my Vivo Vision experience wasn't flawless. I struggled to choose the bottom bar for each window, and the calibration was a bit off. But the hardware platform seemed to handle the overall experience pretty well. OriginOS Vision just needs a bit of polish, which will probably come with future updates. Those interested in trying it out can check this article for demo availability and other details in their respective cities.