Virtual reality in 2025: 8 predictions for next year

2025 will be an exciting year for virtual and augmented reality. Read about the events and trends that will shape the year.

After my review of 2024, in this article I turn to the coming year and make 8 predictions for 2025.

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Meta Quest 3S will be the touchstone of the VR industry

The direct successor to Meta Quest 2 will determine the development of the VR industry for years to come, and 2025 will show which direction the journey will take. Will the VR market surpass the successful years of 2021 and 2022, grow slowly but steadily, or decline?

Nothing will be as important next year as the performance of Meta Quest 3S. A key indicator will be the quarterly results that Meta will report in early February.

New mixed reality innovations and volumetric content

Meta plans to give developers access to Meta Quest cameras early next year. The passthrough API could be a game-changer for mixed reality, allowing applications to be more responsive to objects and environments and better integrate them into the experience (see What's needed for mixed reality 2.0?). Next year, we will see the first exciting experiments in this direction.

I also expect to see great advances in volumetric content thanks to Gaussian splatting. VR applications of this technology will continue to mature in 2025, making it easier than ever to bring the real world into virtual reality.

Valve announces a standalone SteamVR headset

Towards the end of the year, there were increasing signs that Valve was working on new VR controllers and that the rumored Deckard headset could finally become a reality in 2025. Six years after the release of the Valve Index, it's time for a follow-up.

We don't know what the features of the device will be yet, but I'm speculating on a Steam Deck for the face, which will allow you to play the Steam library on a virtual big screen, as well as many PC VR games. PC connectivity will be an option, not a requirement, I believe.

Samsung’s mixed reality headset inspires new AI features

Google and Samsung announced Android XR and Project Moohan just before the end of the year. The headset will be released in 2025 and from what we already know will be a premium headset with pancake lenses, state of the art displays and eye tracking.

I speculate that Samsung will produce a limited number of units and that the price will be between $1,500 and $2,500. This means that, like the Apple Vision Pro, the headset will be aimed primarily at businesses, developers and enthusiasts.

According to early hands-ons, the device is heavily influenced by existing mixed reality headsets. New impulses and innovations can be expected in the integration of its AI assistant Gemini.

No Apple Vision, but maybe a new Vision Pro

According to Apple leaker Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a revision of the Apple Vision Pro with an M5 chip that could be released between fall 2025 and spring 2026.

I think it is unlikely that the rumored cheaper Apple Vision will also be released next year, since Apple does not seem to know how to reduce manufacturing costs. If an Apple Vision were already in the works, we would probably know about it.

Playstation VR 2 sees a soft comeback

Sony did something this holiday season that it should have done a year ago: it drastically slashed the price of the Playstation VR 2, and the result is a surge in sales.

I expect the 2025 ecosystem to grow slowly but steadily as the platform gets a new lease on life.

This would be great news for everyone: Sony, consumers, and the developer community, who would have another platform to successfully sell their games.

Meta Quest 4 takes shape — in leaks

According to a report, Meta Quest 4 will be released in two versions at the end of 2026. Nothing is known about the technical features yet, but there are indications that Meta is testing eye and face tracking for the headset.

Upcoming Quest headsets are poorly kept secrets. For example, almost everything about the Meta Quest 3S was known before it was even announced.

It could be similar with Quest 4. I expect that by the end of 2025 we will have an idea of what the next generation of Quests will offer technically.

Meta launches display glasses and a neural wristband

I don't expect any new Meta headsets for 2025, but according to a leaked hardware roadmap, Meta could introduce three new hardware products next year:

• A new pair of smart glasses in the style of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, but equipped with a simple display that shows incoming smartphone messages, scans QR codes and translates texts in real time. It is unclear whether Ray-Ban is involved in the development, as the company reportedly balked at the design.
• A neural wristband that serves as an input device for the new smart glasses. Meta presented such a device in September together with the Orion AR glasses.
• A smartwatch with an integrated neural interface, effectively an upgrade of the wristband with smartwatch features.

Almost two years have passed since the leak and Meta's plans may have changed in the meantime, but the timing seems right to me. New Quest headsets won't arrive until 2026, and it's still too early for true AR glasses. In 2025, Meta could start testing a new form factor between the Ray-Ban smart glasses and the upcoming AR glasses.

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