Samsung HMD Odyssey — specification and verdict
Samsung's Odyssey was the one Windows Mixed Reality headset that did not feel like a budget exercise. Two 3.5-inch AMOLED panels at 1440 by 1600 each ran at 90 Hz behind Fresnel lenses, built-in AKG headphones handled audio without a separate purchase, and two 6DoF motion controllers came in the box - all for 499 dollars with no base stations to mount, because the tracking cameras sit on the headset. That last point was the platform's whole pitch in 2017 and it still reads well. What ended it was not the hardware: Microsoft removed Windows Mixed Reality in Windows 11 24H2, and these headsets keep working with Steam only through November 2026.
The deployment story is a countdown. Windows Mixed Reality was removed in Windows 11 version 24H2, and Microsoft states these devices keep working with Steam through November 2026 - after which there are no security updates, no bug fixes and no technical support. That is a platform decision, not Samsung's, and it applies to every WMR headset equally. Until then the practical picture is unchanged from 2017: no base stations to install, controllers included, HDMI 2.0 plus USB 3.0 into a Windows PC, and a four-metre bound cable. There was never a business tier, device management or kiosk mode for this line.
Do not build anything on it. Our courses are Android standalone builds and this is a Windows-tethered headset, so they never ran on it; and even for PC VR the clock runs out in November 2026 when Microsoft stops supporting the runtime. If you own one, it is a perfectly good headset until that date and a paperweight for Windows afterwards, though SteamVR compatibility may outlive the official commitment. If you are buying, buy something else - the whole platform is closed.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — PC-tethered devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 110°, from 39 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 500 g, from 26 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $899, from 45 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
Windows Mixed Reality motion controller
6DoF
Microsoft's answer to base stations: the headset's own sensors watch the LED halo, and nothing goes on the walls. Two AA cells each, a touchpad and a thumbstick as separate inputs, and — the honest caveat — once it leaves the headset's view for long enough the system body-locks it to you and estimates where it is.
In the boxHow it is tracked
Headset cameras
The headset watches markers on the controller, so it loses a hand held behind the back or low at the hip until it comes back into view.
The controller itself
- Controller weight
- 160 g
- Controller power
- AA batteries
Other controllers
Specific controllers from another maker
Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers (Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, ASUS)
Bare hands
No hand tracking — a controller is the only way in.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Samsung
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — PC-tethered
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- PC-powered VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2017-10-04
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2017
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- 2026-11-30
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- OLED
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Fresnel lenses
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 1440x1600
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 60/90 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 110°
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: not published by the manufacturer
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- 645 g
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- Visible field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- Rendered field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: not published by the manufacturer
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- Subpixel layout: not published by the manufacturer
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- None
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Manual
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 60–72 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- 202 × 111 × 131.5 mm
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- Weight with strap: not published by the manufacturer
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Headband
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- Materials: not published by the manufacturer
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Colours: not published by the manufacturer
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- Haptics in the headset: not published by the manufacturer
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF, 2 cameras
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- 2
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- Yes
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Windows Mixed Reality motion controller
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 6DoF
- Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say.
- Headset cameras
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- Specific controllers from another maker — Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers (Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, ASUS)
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- Controller inputs: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Controller haptics: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- AA batteries
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- 160 g
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Swappable facial interface: not published by the manufacturer
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- HDMI 2.0 · USB Type-A 3.0
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: not published by the manufacturer
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- 2
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Mid range
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $499.99
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: not published by the manufacturer
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
Owners deciding what to do before November 2026, and anyone researching why inside-out tracking became standard. In 2017 the buyer was a PC gamer who wanted good panels and no wall-mounted sensors. It was never sold or supported as a training device.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Samsung published no exact release date - the press release says only available later this year - so none is recorded. Two of Samsung's own pages disagree on which dimension is which: the press release labels the middle figure depth, the store page labels it height, with identical numbers either way. The weight differs by a gram between them because the store page qualifies it as without cable. And despite what every aggregator repeats, no Samsung source anywhere says PenTile, so that is left out. The 110-degree field of view is published without an axis.
Samsung HMD Odyssey in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- VR Kommando2017
Twenty-four hours in, which is early but honest about it. Useful for the AMOLED panels and the built-in AKG audio, which were the two things that separated this headset from the rest of the Windows Mixed Reality line.
Watch on YouTube - MRTV - MIXED REALITY TV2017
A full review from a channel that tested every WMR headset of that generation, which makes the comparative judgements worth more than the individual ones. Note that it dates from before the Odyssey Plus existed, so nothing here is contaminated by the successor.
Watch on YouTube - The Simpit2018
A sim-racing perspective, which is where these panels earned their reputation. Relevant if your interest is seated, cockpit-bound use where resolution and black level matter more than tracking volume.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
Samsung HMD Odyssey — frequently asked questions
- When does the Samsung HMD Odyssey stop working?
- Microsoft removed Windows Mixed Reality in Windows 11 version 24H2 and states that existing devices continue to work with Steam through November 2026, after which there are no security updates, no bug fixes and no technical support. That is a date for the platform, not for Samsung's hardware, and it applies to every WMR headset from every maker. The headset itself does not switch off - but the runtime it needs is no longer maintained.
- Is this the same as the Samsung Odyssey Plus?
- No. The original from 2017 and the Odyssey Plus from 2018 look nearly identical and are constantly confused, which is why this record names the model code XE800ZAA rather than the marketing name - the Plus is XE800ZBA. The Plus added an anti-screen-door filter over the same panel resolution. If a source does not name a model code or a date, treat any claim about which one it describes as unverified.
Compare this device
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The nearest devices in the same class, ranked by availability and launch price — not by our opinion of them.
Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-17. Manufacturer's specification
Product and company names used here are the trademarks of their respective owners and appear only to identify the hardware being compared. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these manufacturers. Illustrations are our own.