Technology moves really fast until it doesn’t. Facebook rebranded to Meta in 2021, and we’ve had a grand total of 3 companies actually occupy the metaverse space in 4 years. It’s honestly embarrassing that the only mainstream companies to really embrace AR and VR since 2021 were Meta itself, Apple with the Vision Pro, and now Samsung, with the Project Moohan headset they showcased at .
Although just a concept, the Nothing VR (1) would theoretically be a big move for the AR/VR or metaverse industry. Nothing’s developed this uncanny ability to make every product so much fun that it lifts the entire industry up. It debuted transparency as a design aesthetic and now has multiple larger companies playing copycat. Dbrand even debuted the ‘Something’ skins that emulate transparent backplates found on Nothing phones, allowing you to customize your Samsung or Apple mobile with a transparent-inspired skin. Designer Priyankar Saha hopes to do the same for the VR industry by making its most fun headset yet…
Designer: Priyankar Saha
The headset’s design is best described as functional minimalism. Unlike Nothing’s budget smartphones that use fake ribbon cables to create an industrial-teardown-like aesthetic, every component on the VR (1) is meaningfully placed. From its circular elements on the front (that look like eyes), serving as an indication screen as well as a cooling fan, to the glyph interface around the eyes that give them added character.
Up until the Vision Pro, AR/VR headsets looked like toasters strapped to your face and that was perhaps the singlemost detrimental part of the VR headsets. Sure, a lot of people experienced nausea while strapped in, but if there was a bigger deterrent to the popularity of said headsets, it was the fact that they looked hideous. The VR Pro changed that by anthropomorphizing the headset, adding a display with eyes on the front – and who knew that was all it would take to make the headsets look less awkward and more meaningful again. The Nothing VR (1) does the same, through its anthropomorphized components. The circular display and the fan both look like eyes, reminding me vaguely of the Clockwork Orange logo.
The display, directly above the left eye, plays a pretty important role. You see, traditionally, the only display ever on a VR headset has been the one inside it, so for anyone not wearing the headset, it’s nearly impossible to get any status information or visual cues at all. With this display, the VR (1) informs people around it of notifications without needing to be worn. Charging it? The display tells you how much it’s got in the tank. Wearing it? It’ll inform others whether you’re busy or whether you’re in passthrough mode.
Meanwhile, the fan above your right eye draws air away from the VR headset’s processor, keeping the device cool and running smoothly. Both the fan and the display are flanked by cameras that help track the headset’s movement while also offering passthrough, or the ability for the headset wearer to see the world around them. Along with the cameras are also Glyph lights, which really serve more of an ‘infotainment’ purpose by lighting up in fun patterns while you’re strapped in and gaming.
Audio units on the side sport glyph lights too, as they fire audio directly into the wearer’s ears, eliminating the need for headphones or TWS earbuds. The VR (1) is a pretty all-rounded device, being about as good as say a Quest 3 or a Quest Pro, but with the added beauty of a design that’s fun, functional, and gorgeously transparent as opposed to the white blob that the folks at Meta keep designing every couple of years.
For now the Nothing VR (1) is just a fan-made concept, but it comes at a time when spatial computing or the metaverse is on life support. Apple’s done nothing since the Vision Pro (and it doesn’t seem like they’re keen on launching that budget headset like they initially planned), and Meta’s pivoted to other things like Project Orion and its collab with Ray-Ban. Sure, Samsung debuted a headset just this year, but that was purely to demonstrate Google’s new virtual-reality-ready Android operating system. VR’s living on borrowed time as the metaverse got almost instantly obliterated by the AI wave… but this Nothing VR (1) concept still gives me hope.
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