AR vs. VR vs. MR vs. XR: What's the Difference?

If you've heard of immersive video games, virtual travel, or AR shopping, then you've no doubt run into labels like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (XR). We've reviewed these terms in depth to learn what they mean and how they differ so you can have some clarity about which one is right for you.

Overall Findings

Extended reality is a blanket term that refers to a group of technologies: augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. Therefore, a virtual reality headset and an augmented reality headset, for example, while different, are both considered extended reality technologies.

These perception-changing technologies deal with virtual elements, meaning an onboard computer generates all the objects. In VR, the CGI fully covers your vision, so you're immersed in a totally fake world. AR and MR use computer-generated images, too, but since the point is to also see your surroundings, those elements don't take over your whole vision. Instead, your physical environment is enhanced or changed in some way.

You can use some AR and MR implementations from a standard smartphone without needing headgear, but VR requires a full headset.

Technology: VR Blocks Your Vision, AR/MR Doesn't

Before digging into these XR technologies, we first need to make a clear distinction between how they work. The links at the beginning of this article provide an in-depth look, but for now, you need to know that there's a single factor that separates AR and MR from VR, and that's the fact that VR totally blocks your vision.

Virtual reality is built to hide everything but computer-generated images. Augmented reality and mixed reality are built to show you the real world and the virtual world.

It works this way because AR and MR, as you'll read below, are designed to enhance and change what you're already doing and seeing around you, while VR is designed to replace reality with something completely fake.

Availability: AR Can Run Straight From a Phone

In terms of widespread availability, AR (and sometimes MR) is already in use on smartphones all over the world. By just holding your phone in front of you, you can experience things like live language translations, filters that change how your face looks in real time, and 3D models anchored in space.

Contrast this with virtual reality that's available only through a headset, and it's clear how easily accessible AR and some MR implementations are with nothing more than a smartphone. Most mixed reality experiences are accomplished through a headset, too, but with the line blurred so much between these terms, you could say some form of MR is also possible with just a phone.

Furthermore, there are plenty of free AR/MR apps, so no additional investment is needed to experience those XR types, which can't be said for virtual reality.

Immersion: VR Is the Clear Winner, MR Is Close

An immersive experience is meant to simulate a different reality, ideally making you forget that you're even in it. VR is the only extended reality method of achieving that because you're completely engrossed in the simulated world. If you walk around in the room with your real legs, you won't know where you're going because you can't see anything but what the computer is generating (though, some VR experiences digitize real obstacles for safety reasons).

However, if you think of immersion as an altered perception where your environment is simply different from what it is usually, then MR is a close second because there's a level of interaction between the virtual and real elements, something that AR doesn't permit.

Mixed reality objects can be anchored in real space, meaning you can physically walk around them and often interact with them as if they were real. It creates a solid bridge between a completely real and a completely virtual environment.

Applications: VR/MR Excel in Education, VR in Entertainment

There are lots of applications for all three XR types, and many of them bleed into the others.

AR includes your real surroundings, so it's useful for critical information in the real world, like overlaying on a body a hospital patient's vitals or X-ray details for precision surgery. Similar is MR, which isn't as helpful for a scenario like that but instead more beneficial for 'performing' the surgery with virtual objects, something that might be set up during an unqualified surgeon's training phase.

Arguably more relevant to the masses are entertainment and gaming. AR, VR, and MR create fun experiences in their own unique ways, but the deepest immersion level can be achieved only through virtual reality. With VR, an entire movie theater can be erected just for you, and realistic first-person shooter video games and virtual tourism are best enjoyed with a headset and no distractions from the outside world.

AR and MR can drastically change how we shop by letting us do all sorts of neat reality-bending tasks, like trying on clothes, testing how furniture will fit in a room, and viewing customer ratings on top of in-store products. Even VR can provide a fully simulated shopping mall for you to browse through with just a headset.

Final Verdict: They All Have Their Place

All three of these extended reality types are useful, so the one you choose depends entirely on what you want to accomplish. AR and MR are built for truly mixing real and imaginary elements, with the latter having an edge over the former by leaning deeper into the actual mixing of realities. VR doesn't let you view the real world around you, but that's the whole point; it excels in that you're fully immersed in a digital reality that you can enjoy alone or with friends.

If escapism and rich, life-like experiences like gaming are what you're after, you can't go wrong with VR. While MR is nearly synonymous with AR, its advantage is that it feels more real than augmented reality because you can interact with virtual elements that stay where they are regardless of how you view them. AR, however, is much more ubiquitous, available in some form on nearly all modern smartphones, often for free.