It’s been a groundbreaking week in the XR space with Samsung finally announcing the release of its long-awaited headset on October 21. The big reveal will take place at hosted event, the World’s Wide Open Galaxy. However, Apple’s hit back in a seemly perfectly-timed press release: the release of the new M5 chip. The chips is expected to revolutionise iPads, MacBooks and most importantly, the Vision Pro.
If you lead innovation or IT, the next 10 days will shape your 2026 XR roadmap. Samsung’s promise of Android XR and Gemini AI meets Apple’s M5 and visionOS machine: two visions for the workplace metaverse, one big purchasing decision.
Related Articles:
- Apple Vision Pro 2: What to Expect for Businesses and Beyond
- Samsung XR Headset Launches Oct 21 – Project Moohan Marks a New Era of Spatial Computing
- Phew! Samsung’s Moohan Confirmed After Silence at ‘Unpacked’
The Quick Context
As countdown clocks tick toward October 21, Samsung’s long-teased Project Moohan (Galaxy XR) is finally stepping into the spotlight. Built on Android XR with Google Gemini and Qualcomm at its core, Moohan is pitched as a fluid mix of spatial computing and multimodal AI. Samsung hasn’t published final specs or pricing yet, but credible reporting points to Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, micro-OLED visuals, and deep Android/Gemini integration that lets the headset ‘see what you see’ and respond naturally.
Meanwhile, Apple has moved the goalposts with a second-generation Vision Pro announced on October 15. The big upgrade is the M5 chip, promising faster graphics, a stronger neural engine, and smoother visuals, up to 120 Hz with roughly 10% more pixels being driven, while keeping the external battery model that delivers about 2.5 hours of mixed use (around 3 hours for video). Apple also introduces a Dual Knit Band to improve comfort for longer sessions – an update set to revolutionise the Apple Vision Pro.
“M5 ushers in the next big leap in AI performance for Apple silicon,” stated Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies.
“With the introduction of Neural Accelerators in the GPU, M5 delivers a huge boost to AI workloads. Combined with a big increase in graphics performance, the world’s fastest CPU core, a faster Neural Engine, and even higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 brings far more performance and capabilities to MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro.”
Head-to-Head
Price & Availability
Apple’s play is clear and premium: $3,499, with availability beginning October 22, 2025, a predictable sticker price for IT teams planning TCO and support. Samsung, by contrast, is holding fire on numbers until showtime; reporting places Moohan broadly in the $1,800–$2,800 window, a middle lane between Meta’s value tier and Apple’s luxury bracket. If that holds, it’s a compelling proposition for pilots and fleet deployments.
Performance & AI
On paper, M5 turns Vision Pro’s already best-in-class visuals into something even more fluid, with Apple Intelligence and on-device ML getting a meaningful lift. That’s big for rendering-heavy workflows and latency-sensitive collaboration. Moohan, on the other hand, stakes its advantage on Android XR and Gemini – think natural language plus vision-aware assistance that can respond to your environment in real time – paired with XR2+ Gen 2 to keep frame rates honest.
Displays & Optics
Apple stays with micro-OLED but pushes it harder: higher effective throughput, up to 120 Hz, and that ~10% pixel bump for cleaner motion and text in long work sessions. Moohan leaks point to micro-OLED with aggressive pixel density and sharp optics.
Input, Tracking & Ergonomics
Vision Pro’s hand/eye tracking, Optic ID, and persona system carry forward, now buoyed by M5 and a Dual Knit Band designed to spread load and reduce hot spots over multi-hour use. Moohan is set for hand + eye tracking with optional controllers, plus UX gestures that lean into Gemini (tap/voice) and Android-style semantic search. Weight is still unconfirmed, though some reports peg Moohan around the mid-500 g mark with a rear-biased strap to reduce facial pressure.
Battery & Power
Apple’s external pack remains the model, with ~2.5 hours of general use and ~3 hours of video – familiar constraints, predictable planning. Moohan is expected to follow a similar external-pack path with roughly comparable runtimes.
Ecosystem & Content
This is where strategies truly diverge. Apple’s visionOS already resonates with teams running Mac + Apple Silicon creative stacks and enterprise MDM; the move to M5 should make heavy 3D, design review, and medical imaging feel snappier. Samsung/Google counter with Android XR breadth and Galaxy phone synergy – most notably the emerging 3D capture pipeline from Samsung’s Camera Assistant leak, turning a standard Galaxy phone into a spatial media tool for the headset on day one. For B2B, Samsung’s established 5G and industrial relationships in Korea and beyond hint at real-world rollout muscle.
Verdict
If your north star is pixel-perfect fidelity, mature enterprise controls, and immediate gains in complex 3D workflows, Apple’s Vision Pro (M5) is the safer near-term bet – especially if your teams already live in macOS and Apple Silicon. But if your organization prizes Android app reach, AI-first, eyes-up workflows with Gemini, phone-to-headset spatial capture, and a potentially friendlier unit cost for scaled pilots in training, remote assistance, and MR collaboration, Project Moohan could be the smarter fleet play. Put simply: pick Vision Pro for premium polish today; pick Moohan for scalable price-performance and Android leverage tomorrow.
Ponder This…
Spatial computing isn’t a headset purchase – it’s a habit shift. When anyone on your team can capture 3D on a phone, step into life-size reviews, and co-edit spaces with on-device AI, productivity turns from slides into spaces. Pilot the focused use cases now; scale what the data proves later.
Status Check
- Samsung Project Moohan: Not yet released – formal reveal Oct 21, 2025 (10 p.m. ET). Specs and pricing are unconfirmed until the event.
- Apple Vision Pro (2nd-gen, M5): Announced Oct 15, 2025 with availability from Oct 22; Apple confirms the M5 uplift and display/performance gains.
