Samsung, Apple and Meta want to use OLED in their next VR headsets – but only Meta has a plan to make it cheap
- Samsung, Meta and Apple are reportedly working on OLED VR headsets
- Meta's headset is tipped for 2026, while Apple's is set for 2027
- Samsung and Meta will use new OLED on Silicon displays
OLED, OLED, OLED – that’s the name of the game right now in the XR world, if a report on leaked hardware specs is to be believed. Samsung, Apple, and Meta are said to be working on OLED-display equipped headsets. And while Samsung's and Apple's plans are interesting, Meta’s OLED headset could be a winner for one big reason: cost.
Starting with Samsung – because its headset is the only one we officially know exists – the report via The Elec (a South Korean outlet, details translated and summarized by @Jukanlosreve) says the upcoming consumer version of Project Moohan headset (the Android XR wearable it developed with Google) will come with a 1.3-inch display boasting a pixel density of 3,800 PPI (pixels per inch).
Interestingly this OLEDoS display (OLED on Silicon, also known as Micro OLED tl;dr: they’re very tiny but high-density OLED panels built on silicon) would come from Sony, not Samsung Display, and it’s higher than the 3,386ppi display used by the Apple Vision Pro – suggesting that Samsung wants to cement Moohan as a high-end alternative the Apple headset. Hopefully it won’t be as pricey (I’m not holding my breath).
Speaking of Apple, it's said to be working on a Vision Pro that’s more consumer-friendly (read: cheaper). Instead of silicon, according to the above report Apple will rely on more traditional glass OLEDs with a 1,500ppi, with a release planned for 2027 – but I’m not holding my breath for this device to be affordable as being cheaper than a $3,500 headset could still be very expensive.
Meta's OLED headset plan
Last up is Meta, which reportedly plans to use a 0.8 to 0.9-inch OLEDoS display in a headset set for 2026.
The smaller display size would apparently be a cost-cutting measure. OLED panels are typically made large and then cut to size, and Meta is apparently hoping that if it can reliably create a 1.42 OLEDoS unit (the same size as a Vision Pro) it can then cut that up into roughly four 0.8 to 0.9-inch panels, and cut its costs by a quarter. Given this small size, though, it may need to use two displays per headset (which would follow the two-display setup used in its Quest headsets), which would only halve the effective cost.
Regardless, OLEDoS displays, even at a quarter or half the cost, likely wouldn’t come cheap – which is why I’m expecting this 2026 headset would be the rumored Meta Quest Pro 2. It's supposedly been cancelled twice already, but the third time seems to be the charm, as Meta might have settled on a unique glasses-like shape (which I think sounds awesome, by the way), and some OLED screens would help cement it as an exciting proposition.
A 2026 window would also work for a Meta Quest 4 launch (based on the three-year gap between the Quest 2 and Quest 3 releases), although unless Meta can seriously bring costs down, OLED displays might be a bridge too far for its mid-range line, where they wouldn’t be for its high-end Quest Pro headsets.
As with all leaks and rumors we’ll have to take these details with a pinch of salt – especially in the case of Meta and Apple – as even if these are their current plans there’s plenty of time for things to change, and we won’t know what any of these brands has in store for us until they make an official announcement. Hopefully Samsung won’t leave us wondering for much longer, and perhaps Meta will tease something at Meta Connect 2025.
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