I didn't think your explanation could be right, since VR headsets are very close to your eyes. Try closing one eye and putting a finger close to the other. You

I didn't think your explanation could be right, since VR headsets are very close to your eyes. Try closing one eye and putting a finger close to the other. You can't see it in focus even if you don't look out in the distance. The bit I was missing is that VR headsets use lenses to adjust the angle of the incoming image to simulate the image being farther away (this is completely different from the depth perception created by sending different images to each eye). This video is a great explanation: https://vr-lens-lab.com/lenses-for-virtual-reality-headsets/ https://vr-lens-lab.com/lenses-for-virtual-reality-headsets/ This does make AR much more difficult, since a lens that adjusts the simulated image would also adjust the real image behind it, but I don't think it makes it impossible. There may be a way to simulate a Fresnel lens just for the simulated image or use miniature one-way mirrors to do so. Edit: I think hololens actually accomplishes this, but its very complicated: http://www.imaginativeuniversal.com/blog/2015/10/18/how-hololens-displays-work/ http://www.imaginativeuniversal.com/blog/2015/10/18/how-holo...