Samsung Debuts $499 Windows Mixed Reality Headset

At an event held in San Francisco this morning, Samsung and Microsoft announced the debut of the HMD Odyssey, a headset designed to work with the Windows Mixed Reality platform.

Priced at $499, the headset offers high-resolution dual 3.5-inch AMOLED displays with a 110-degree field of view for what Samsung says is the "most immersive Windows Mixed Reality experience." With AMOLED technology, the headset offers more vibrant colors and deeper blacks for more lifelike images, and there are built-in AKG headphones for 360 degree spatial sound.

samsungodyssey2
The HMD Odyssey is equipped with a Six Degrees of Freedom sensor for "intuitive and natural movements," while the headset itself features an adjustable control wheel for a snug fit on the head and the two motion controllers enable movement in the virtual world.

samsungodyssey1
Windows Mixed Reality, despite the name, is essentially Microsoft's virtual reality platform. Microsoft has teamed up with several PC makers like Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to create a range of "Mixed Reality" headsets that work with the platform. Mixed Reality mixes augmented and virtual reality experiences to blend the real world with the digital world, but Windows Mixed Reality is a full virtual reality experience at the current time.


While Apple has delved into and embraced augmented reality with the release of ARKit in iOS 11, the company is also rumored to be exploring virtual reality concepts. There have been rumors of work on both a virtual reality headset and augmented reality smart glasses, but it's not yet clear if those products will ever make it beyond the prototyping stage.

Apple in macOS High Sierra is planning to support eGPUs and VR content creation through Metal 2 and partnerships with Valve, Unity, and Unreal, but beyond that, ARKit is the closest thing the company has to the Windows Mixed Reality platform, and there is no comparable product to the Samsung headset.

Samsung's Odyssey Mixed Reality Headset is priced at $499, and is available for pre-order starting today ahead of a November 6 launch. A range of other Mixed Reality headsets are also available from Microsoft at prices starting at $329.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...

Top Rated Comments

44267547 Avatar
104 months ago
Like the Pippin, iPod HiFi and Apple Watch, right?
You mean the top selling Watch Globally? The Apple Watch that's outselling Rolex.

http://www.executivestyle.com.au/apple-watch-topples-rolex-as-the-numberone-selling-watch-in-the-world-gyh56a
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
polterbyte Avatar
104 months ago
Like the Pippin, iPod HiFi and Apple Watch, right?
They WISH it would lose money like the Apple Watch.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
104 months ago
I sense another money loser for Samsung.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deanthedev Avatar
104 months ago
“Virtual Reality. The next killer technology product everyone will be using.”

Repeated every year for the last 20 years. Still hasn’t come true. Kinda reminds me of Linux users claiming this to be “The Year of Linux on the Desktop.”
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiRez Avatar
104 months ago
Like the Pippin, iPod HiFi and Apple Watch, right?
It's highly unlikely Apple Watch is a money-loser. Sales are estimated at ~33M total, 15M in the last 12 months. Most likely on pace for well over $5B per year in revenue at this time, for most companies that would be an incredibly successful business all by itself.

Not even sure the HiFi lost money. It certainly didn't light the world on fire, but the development and production costs likely weren't outrageous either.

Pippen, well yeah, but come on, you're going back a long way there (20 years) to the dark days of Apple, lots of bad decisions back then by bad management and if I were Samsung, I certainly wouldn't want to be reassuring myself it's OK because Apple didn't sell many Pippens.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KazKam Avatar
104 months ago
Seriously, who buys stuff like this, and then ACTUALLY USES it enough to justify the expense... beyond just a novelty or curiosity?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)