Sony XYN Headset could be an Apple Vision Pro killer, but only for a select few

Sony has briefly shown off its prototype XYN Headset during CES 2025, as the brand looks to expand its head-worn device offering outside the world of the gaming-centric PSVR.

The headset is part of the wider XYN announcement from Sony, as it introduces “an integrated software and hardware solution designed to support the creation of spatial content”. It’s aiming to meet demand for 3D CG (computer graphics) production in film, animation, games and design which fuse the real world with the virtual.

This positions the XYN Headset as a content creation device, rather than a consumption device for gaming, video calling or watching a movie. Instead, the prototype headset is aimed at creatives who want to delve into 3D production and 3D character modelling.

Sony envisions the headset being used in the industrial design and entertainment fields, and it’s revealed there’s already a proof-of-concept experiment taking place with Sony Pictures Animation.

Not mainstream, but a leader

It’s not necessarily a direct competitor for the Apple Vision Pro then, as Sony describes its headset as “an immersive spatial content creation system”. Although, while the Vision Pro can record and play spatial video, for those in the business of creating spatial content, Sony’s headset looks to be the leader.

Details on the tech specs of the XYN Headset are thin on the ground, but we do know it comes with 4K OLED microdisplays and a video see-through function. The latter means the user can switch from viewing content in an enclosed VR environment to seeing their physical surroundings via external cameras on the device.

This isn’t new for a VR headset – the Meta Quest 3, PICO 4 Ultra, Apple Vision Pro and others offer the same functionality of blending the real world with an overlay of the virtual. However, none tout quite the same content creation credentials as Sony’s new offering.

The XYN Headset is an exciting advancement in the world of spatial video, therefore, although it’s not going to make it into the hands of consumers – not only as this version is a prototype, but also as it’s not aimed at everyday folk.

That being said though, while you’re not going to see it in our best VR headset round-up anytime soon, the breakthroughs made with this new headset could pave the way for seriously impressive mixed-reality consumer headsets in the future. PSVR3 anyone?