I tried every Apple Vision Pro alternative ($3,500 vs $500)

Having been a long-time AR/VR fan (augmented reality / virtual reality) has been… expensive. If you're just getting into it, you've probably noticed – the Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500.

Maybe you've looked at the Valve Index – $1,000, or one of HTC's many offerings – also above a thousand dollars.

But AR/VR doesn't have to be so expensive, especially if it's your first time delving into this still fairly new and exciting technology, full of potential.

At this point we've said it many times – you don't need to buy the Apple Vision Pro just yet, for a variety of reasons, not just its price.

So before you buy into the hype, and rush to sell a kidney on the black market (who really needs two of those?) just to afford Apple's latest and greatest, ask yourself the following…

What else is there, and should you try out something cheaper instead? Well, I've tested everything there is to try right now, so let's explore…

HTC Vive XR Elite, Pimax Crystal, Valve Index – VR headsets with AR features (well, two of those)

This is going to be short, as those are also expensive headsets, whose primary focus is VR gaming. But since the former two also have limited AR features, they're worth acknowledging.

If you saw my HTC Vive XR Elite review, you know I wasn't particularly impressed with it. It has some AR features like the Apple Vision Pro, but they're far underdeveloped. You can do some basic multitasking with virtual windows, while seeing the real world around you, creating the mixed reality experience you may want after seeing the Vision Pro in action, but it's very underwhelming.

Same goes for the Pimax Crystal, whose focus is primarily VR gaming, and it's great at that, but its standalone AR experience is also as basic as they go. Meanwhile the Valve Index is pretty much an outdated, overpriced VR gaming headset, and nothing more.

That's the thing – all of those three headsets are still very expensive, and any mixed reality features they may have aren't their main focus at all; just a failed attempt to compete with the likes of the Apple Vision Pro or the Meta Quest.

So instead, let's move on to the Quest, where things actually get interesting…

Meta Quest 3 – an affordable AR/VR headset that predates the Vision Pro, and is based on Android

I've been using almost every Meta (formerly Oculus) headset that's ever come out, and I have to say – the culmination that is the Meta Quest 3 is pretty much perfect. Considering current technology limitations, it's the perfect balance between features and affordability.

I know I already said "perfect" twice there, but it's the perfect affordable ($500) AR/VR headset for the masses.

Check out my Meta Quest 3 review for all the details, but in short – this affordable AR/VR headset is capable of pretty much all the mixed reality experiences the Apple Vision Pro offers, plus has the biggest library of games, designed specifically for it. It's powerful enough to play them on its own; no other hardware needed.

On the Meta Quest 3, you can download apps, browse the web and multitask with floating virtual windows, watch your favorite football game as you answer emails, while feeling present in the real world too, as you'll be seeing it through the headset's cameras, in full color, with almost true-to-life depth perception.

The sky's the limit. Sure, since the Quest 3 costs $3,000 less than the Apple Vision Pro, there have to be some compromises, such as the lack of eye tracking, and its less precise hand tracking, but the latter is there and serviceable. And if you prefer precise controllers – you get them. The Vision Pro is yet to offer that option.

The Quest 3's operating system is based on Android, so developers have been able to expand its capabilities further, even though the Meta team itself also pushes updates often, adding welcome new features and improvements on its own.

Speaking of developers expanding on what the Quest 3 can do…

Meta Quest 3 + a $10 app that simulates Apple Vision Pro

Last month I published the following article, and the title speaks for itself:

• You don't need to spend $3,500 on an Apple Vision Pro, just get a Quest 3 and this $10 app

Indeed, shortly after the Apple Vision Pro came out, a developer was able to replicate its interface on the Meta Quest 3 nearly down to the smallest detail; all within a single Quest 3 app that costs $10.

You like the Vision Pro's interface? You can get it. You like the way it handles multitasking? Same.

That's the power of having the Quest 3 use Android at its core – developers can freely expand on it however they feel like, and thus – so can users, by simply downloading an app from the app store.

The same way you can get a different launcher for your Android phone, you can replace the Quest 3's entire interface with this one app, that replicates the Apple Vision Pro experience.

So basically, in total, it can cost you as little as $510 to get the Apple Vision Pro experience in a smaller package, plus you get an entire AR/VR headset beyond that, with infinitely more games and experiences available, than the real Apple Vision Pro.

Xreal Beam Pro, Rokid Max – AR glasses, also based on Android

But maybe you want to skip ahead into the future, where Apple is hoping to take the Vision Pro someday, and shed off that huge brick strapped to your face for a pair of smart sunglasses? Something more convenient, portable, and socially acceptable; perfect for use in public, unlike the Vision Pro.

That's where AR glasses and their mini PC companion devices come in – the Xreal Beam Pro being the latest one we've reviewed. So I'll talk about that one, but you can have a very similar experience with the Rokid Max and Rokid Station, among other AR glasses we've reviewed, and are about to review soon.

So the Xreal Beam Pro is a combo of Xreal's AR glasses, plus a pocketable Android device that serves as their "brain," doing all the computing from your pocket. Think how the Apple Vision Pro has an external battery that dangles from the headset at all times – well, this is a thinner device, and it's actually an entire Android computer plus a battery, instead.

So what can you get out of the Xreal Beam Pro, and similar offerings? Well, as mentioned – the most compact and socially acceptable spatial computing available today.

Since we're dealing with what are essentially slightly thicker sunglasses here, with displays discreetly embedded into the top of their lenses, you can see your virtual content, while seeing the real world through it. People around you will be none the wiser, unless they stare at you long enough to notice that your sunglasses are a bit thicker than usual.

They have embedded speakers, their spatial computing companion device is running Android, so any apps and games you may want to use or play while on the go – you can.

From watching Netflix and YouTube, through surfing the web and playing some games (gamepad highly recommended, though) – it's all available to you in those virtual floating windows that only you can see.

What's the catch? Well, unlike AR/VR headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro and Quest 3, these glasses lack a lot of the same sensors and computing power, in order to be this thin and lightweight. You can not play immersive virtual reality games, for one, and multitasking in mixed reality is limited to, say, two apps at a time, as is the case with the Xreal Beam Pro.

But honestly, after trying everything; after having access to every device listed above, I always come back to either the Quest 3 or Xreal Beam Pro, simply because the former does all the spatial computing and VR gaming I'll ever want, while the latter offers all the mixed reality multitasking and content consumption, and in a very socially acceptable, compact package.

At some point I also realized that I'd much rather use tablets than heavy, inconvenient VR headsets most of the time, so let's talk about that too…

iPad Air, Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Lenovo Tab Plus – just tablets and laptops (yes, really, hear me out)

As hinted above, headsets are bulky, heavy, and uncomfortable, and the Apple Vision Pro is arguably the most uncomfortable one I've tried so far.

Every other headset is made out of plastic, and it's not just about cost savings, but weight reduction.

The Vision Pro is so over-engineered and inconvenient to use, especially in public, that I find myself more and more often reaching for a tablet when I need to consume some content, as opposed to that, or even my Quest 3.

And there's a good chance you already have a tablet. Right now, the Apple Vision Pro isn't much more than a mixed reality iPad strapped to your face anyway, running essentially the same operating system but with fewer apps, so why not just use your iPad?

It's there, it's much cheaper, it's more comfortable to handle, and far more socially acceptable to use on the go.

You can just watch your movies or do your work on your iPad – a tried and tested tablet with exceptional performance and abundance of polished, professional apps. Do you really feel like it's worth having a far lesser, underdeveloped experience with a headset taped to your face, making you sweat, leaving red marks on it, just because it's new and has tons of theoretical future potential?

Because that potential is nowhere near reached yet. The Apple Vision Pro is in such an early state, so overpriced, that I can't realistically recommend it to anyone except developers looking to make apps for it.

Again – newer Vision headsets will come. More companies will release competitors too. Wait for it – mixed reality can only get better and cheaper.

And I believe it will indeed get far better and cheaper, and it'll be incredible, mind-blowing… And most importantly – extremely useful. But not yet. Give it time, stay patient, and don't waste your money.

Conclusion – should you get something cheaper, or do you need the Apple Vision Pro?

Not at all, unless you have the money, and want to see what the fuss is about, or you're really into watching golf tournaments, or are into other sports that you can only watch on the Vision Pro, arguably better than they can be experienced even live.