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2025 has just started, and we all have reasons to be excited. This year marks a turning point for XR, with Apple’s Vision Pro leading the charge in its second year, proving the potential for spatial computing as a work tool or as a sports viewer.
Affordable devices like the XREAL glasses are bringing XR accessibility to the masses, particularly for on-the-go entertainment and productivity. Meanwhile, Google and Samsung’s collaboration brings serious competition to Apple, hopefully encouraging rapid innovation and better experiences for users to enjoy.
Immersive video is reaching new heights with groundbreaking tools, giving sports fans unprecedented ways to engage with their favorite games. Advancements in volumetric video and AI-driven content creation promise to redefine interaction and personalization.
Finally, as curiosity grows among non-tech users, 2025 could be the year businesses beyond the bleeding-edge innovators start investing in XR to transform customer engagement and daily life.
The Apple Vision Pro has been with us for almost a full year. While it was never intended as a mass-market headset, Apple proves that high-quality screens and seamless UX are possible on a headset. The UX stands out with features like intuitive eye + hand tracking and familiar navigation, creating a cohesive and fluid user experience that feels natural and easy to adopt for any user.
Eventhough there are significant barriers, such as (very) high price and weight, that Apple must overcome, this hasn't prevented nearly 400.000 early adopters from buying one. The primary use cases are watching traditional video on a large screen like in a private cinema and as a second screen for their computers, providing a curved panoramic screen to increase productivity anywhere. These early use cases hint at a broader transformation in how we interact with machines, transitioning from laptops to spatial computing devices that integrate with cloud tools.
When the iPhone was released, the killer feature was a browser on the go. What if the spatial computer killer feature is a work computer on the go?
In the remote working setup that we enjoy now, a portable multiscreen setup might be enough for people to buy an XR headset in 2025.
The Quest 3 headsets, priced at just $300, deliver a strong XR experience with a great mixed-reality mode and a large catalog of experiences, mostly games and fitness apps. Meta continues refining its software to compete with higher-end devices like the Apple Vision Pro, but we'll see if, in 2025, they can go beyond the tag of a game console for gamers.
Meanwhile, XREAL One AR glasses offer an affordable alternative for quality AR experiences, expanding accessibility for everyday users. For instance, they are being used for on-the-go entertainment, such as watching movies on a virtual large screen while commuting, or for productivity, like displaying multiple virtual monitors for work tasks in small spaces. Both Meta and XREAL aim to position themselves as the affordable spatial computer, available today. This diversity in price points and features will help bring XR technology to a broader audience in 2025.
Google’s recent announcement of Android XR and its collaboration with Samsung marks a renewed rivalry with Apple. The integration of Google’s software, Samsung’s hardware, and Qualcomm’s chipsets promises an advanced AR/VR experience.
Android XR has a significant advantage over Quest, which is already a company with billions of users worldwide. Any person buying an Android XR-enabled device will have immediate access to their contacts, images, passwords, and Chrome history, making the first step in VR much easier.
Competition always drives rapid innovation, resulting in better features, lower prices, and broader consumer adoption. For example, the rivalry between Android and iOS in the smartphone industry led to rapid advancements in camera technology, app ecosystems, and user experience, benefiting consumers across the board. In XR, a similar competitive landscape could lead to equally transformative breakthroughs.
In 2025, we hope to see the Samsung device delivering a solid alternative to the Apple Vision Pro and becoming a realistic option for developers to start porting Android apps quickly. Hopefully, Samsung won't be the only Android XR headset launched this year. We need more headsets with different price points but similar experiences. This is the only way to attract consumers and then attract developers.
The immersive video industry will reach new heights in 2025, with tools like the just-announced Blackmagic 16K 90fps camera, Canon’s immersive video pipeline, and Davinci Resolve & Final Cut editing VR video. These changes will make high-quality VR video production more accessible because, until now, only a few pioneer companies have started investing in high-quality VR content.
We need mainstream content, such as immersive video, dynamic player stats in AR overlays, and interactive fan-centric broadcasts, to become part of the sports fan experience in 2025. These formats can make fans feel more engaged, whether they are reliving pivotal moments in VR or tracking player performance in real-time through AR glasses. We hope that the push that Apple is giving and the new cameras will inspire other major sports companies to produce content in this new way. Our XR Sports Alliance has the goal to accelerate this industry by exchanging learning between all the companies producing immersive video broadcasts. We need a collaborative effort to make this industry mainstream, the fans are already waiting. From all the demos I do, immersive video for sports is by far the most liked.
Holographic technology, also known as volumetric video, is set to transform content production and consumption, but maybe not yet in 2025. However, it is one of the technologies that makes me more excited to see its progress this year given the recent advancements in Gaussian splatting 4D, and other science-fiction technologies. Companies like Canon, Arcturus, or Skyream and emerging startups such as Gracia.ai are pushing boundaries on the technology every month. They still have some big hurdles to make it affordable or even possible for live events.
Why are so many companies investing in this type of production?
Volumetric video captures a scene in 3D, enabling viewers to interact with it from multiple angles or perspectives, creating a truly immersive experience. Unlike traditional VR video, which is often restricted to a fixed viewpoint in a 360° or 180° space, volumetric video allows users to move around and explore the content as if they were physically present. For example, imagine a basketball game captured using volumetric video. A sports fan could use XR glasses to watch the game and freely move around the court, view replays from any angle, or focus on specific players during crucial moments. This level of immersion transforms passive watching into an interactive experience, where fans can feel like they’re part of the action, whether it’s from courtside or even the referee’s perspective. By contrast, VR video might only provide a stationary view from a fixed seat in the arena, limiting the fan’s engagement.
AI tools reshape content creation by accelerating workflows and enabling 3D world-building with simple prompts. This will allow creators to produce immersive environments for movies, TV shows, and games with less effort. These advancements make XR content more engaging and accessible, bridging the gap for mainstream users. I hope that 2025 will be the year when content owners are not blocked by the current technical boundaries of creating immersive content.
Looking ahead, AI can also enable real-time personalization of XR experiences. Imagine a sports fan entering an immersive basketball game environment where AI adjusts the scene dynamically to highlight their favorite team’s plays, replays specific moments on demand, or even creates a guided tour narrated by the coach. These tools could make immersive content more compelling and further encourage mainstream adoption by tailoring experiences to individual preferences.
For the first time, non-tech users are curious about XR, specifically AR glasses, spurred by devices like the Apple Vision Pro or the Orion glasses from Meta. While these glasses are still on the prototype table, they are showing a future where we interact with our world and the internet seamlessly, whether we're at home or on the go.
Maybe some people will prefer an immersive sports experience in the comfort of home but feel like they are in the stadium, thanks to a VR headset. Other people would rather watch traditional videos on a large screen even on the go, like on public transport, wearing semi-transparent AR glasses. Each person will find their own killer feature that might push them to buy their first headset.
Telecom operators can benefit from this customer curiosity, offering hardware and XR services to their consumers and further monetizing their existing 5G or home networks.
In 2025, we will see more operators reselling headsets and redefining how they interact with their customers in this new spatial computer era. For example, existing video aggregator apps will be deployed on visionOS or Android XR, eventually starting to offer immersive content. New 5G packages will be tailored for consuming video on the go in public transport.
At Accedo we are ready to guide and support you through your XR journey, helping you explore the potential of immersive technologies and transform your ideas into impactful experiences.
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