Welcome to DEVELOP3D’s round-up of the best head-mounted displays that deliver total immersion and incredible fidelity for exploring and showcasing 3D models
In our last headset round-up, headset-mounted displays (HMDs) were just beginning to emerge that were clearly streets ahead of their predecessors – faster, simple to use, and more comfortable to wear.
Since then, HMDs have made further advances. The headsets featured on this list are all lightweight, built for many hours of comfortable wear, and offer unprecedented levels of colour and clarity.
It’s also notable that almost every HMD listed here offers video passthrough. Combined with increased refresh rates, this allows 3D models to be viewed at true scale and in situ, as opposed to within the confines of a VR box. Pleasingly, these benefits also help eradicate any symptoms of motion sickness during headset use.
Weight has been reduced dramatically. Balance has been tuned. Straps have been redesigned and colour quality has skyrocketed. If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to consider an enterprise use case that will see HMDs integrated with your product design and engineering workflows.
A word of warning: do watch out for accessory costs! Battery packs, cables and other accompanying kit can really set you back when purchased as add-ons.
Sony X Siemens XR HMD (SRH-S1)
The result of Sony’s collaboration with Siemens, the SRH-S1 is an ‘immersive spatial content creation system’, which was unveiled at CES in January 2024 and became available for purchase over a year later. Two handheld controllers – a stylus and a ring – make clicking, pointing and zooming in on an object feel intuitive. Plastic components reduce any extra weight on the user’s head, and the well-balanced front and back sections prevent the sensation of tipping forwards often associated with front-heavy weighting.
The XR HMD is compatible with Siemens NX X cloud-based software. This enables users to work with the software in a browser window, side-by-side with a live 3D render of their design, enabling editing and examining of that design in real time. Different buttons on the controllers enable different tools.
» Tethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: From £3,669
www.sw.siemens.com
Vision Pro
The Apple Vision Pro is intended for entertainment, and typically used to play video games and watch films, television shows and sports. But this headset also boasts a customisable workplace with ‘infinite space’, which connects to a Mac using the Mac Virtual Display tool. Apple keyboards, trackpads and other Bluetooth accessories can also be connected – although sadly not the Apple Pencil – and apps can be used with colleagues in real time using FaceTime. Screens can be placed anywhere in the Vision Pro’s display, with passthrough allowing customisation of an office or home space.
Apple sells various accessories designed to maximise productivity and portability. The battery, travel case and light seal will set you back £199 each. For those of us who wear glasses, Zeiss optical inserts are available, starting at £99.
» Untethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: From £3,899
www.apple.com
Meta Quest 3
The most affordable option on our list, the Meta Quest 3 offers significant improvements over the previous Quest 2. A more powerful processor and higher resolution improve the user experience. Pancake lenses make the entire device slimmer, lighter and more comfortable to wear. Since it offers ten times the number of pixels in passthrough when compared to its predecessor, blending the real world and virtual world feels far more natural.
The Meta Quest for Business subscription service enables corporate users to control and maintain the multiple headsets that might be needed by a team. Users can design their own avatar and use these when meeting in a virtual office – useful for teams spread across multiple locations. Improved Touch Plus controllers make fine-tuning 3D designs feel more natural than before. 3
» Untethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: From £469
www.meta.com
Vive Focus Vision Business Edition
Designed specifically for business use, Vive claims that the Vive Focus Vision offers its “most immersive spatial computing experience yet.” A built-in depth sensor makes passthrough feel natural, and the Vive Streaming Kit, sold separately, makes VR graphics visually lossless. The headset can be monitored and updated remotely using the Vive Business+ device management solution, making managing remote teams easier.
Alongside designing and 3D visualisation, which can be used by multiple people at the same time in a remote collaboration context, the Vive Focus Vision can also be used for training and simulation, including location-based experiences and manufacturing.
» Tethered or untethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: £1,296 (Headset at £999 plus two-year business warranty and services pack)
www.vive.com
Magic Leap 2
Magic Leap 2 optimises passthrough with transparent eyepieces and is designed to be ergonomic, offering a comfortable fit even after an entire day of wear. The computing and battery units are tethered to the device in a separate pack, reducing the weight of the headset. A dual-CPU configuration means that one processor in the headset manages lighter tasks, while another more robust processor is in the separate pack, ready to handle more demanding tasks.
Magic Leap 2 is built on an open platform, meaning that apps can be ported from other devices and adapted for use. Its 3.5 hours of battery life is higher than that offered by other headsets on this list and includes running AR apps without distortion or lag.
» Untethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: From £3,337
www.magicleap.com
Varjo XR-4 Series
The XR-4 series from Varjo boasts an expanded field of view, spanning 120 x 105 degrees, as well as passthrough cameras that mimic the human eye with an XR gaze-driven autofocus camera system. The headset is compatible with workstations powered by Nvidia GPUs and running software that includes Nvidia Omniverse, Unreal Engine, Autodesk VRED and hundreds of others.
Unlike some headsets, which require the purchasing of prescription lenses, the XR-4 series can be worn with glasses. Noise-cancelling microphones improve group collaboration sessions.
There are three variants in the series: the XR-4; the XR-4 Focal Edition, which features enhanced passthrough with autofocus cameras; and the XR-4 Secure Edition, which is designed for secure training environments and is TAA-compliant.
» Tethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: From €5,990 excl. tax
www.varjo.com
MeganeX Superlight 8K 
The MeganeX weighs just 179 grams and boasts a ‘near-zero facial pressure’ design, reducing the risk of facial marking and discomfort or redness after long periods wearing it.
The headset does not offer passthrough, but its physical flip-up mechanism allows the user to pause work and return to their real-world surroundings without needing to remove the headset.
Headphones and other devices can be connected via a USB-C port. A dongle for connecting controllers is included, as is a useful handheld pole adapter, which allows for quick VR experiences without needing to wear the headset, similar to the experience of looking through a magnifying glass.
» Tethered
» Passthrough: No
» Price: Available for pre-order from £1,599
en.shiftall.net
Lenovo ThinkReality VRX
Engineered ‘exclusively for enterprise’, the ThinkReality VRX offers high-resolution passthrough for mixed reality simulation.
Compared to previous generations, this new headset is slimmer for comfort, while pancake lenses reduce weight. The battery is placed at the rear of the headset to act as a counterweight and make the design more ergonomic. A venting system channels heat generated by the display away from the user’s face to maximise comfort.
Intended for soft skills training, the VRX is accompanied by a suite of end-to-end services with included support. It can be used as a standalone device or connected to a workstation for wireless or tethered streaming.
» Tethered or untethered
» Passthrough: Yes
» Price: From £949
www.lenovo.com