Eye on the Metaverse: TikTok company launches new Virtual Reality goggles
ByteDance's subsidiary, Pico, is expanding its Mixed Reality (MR) offering today. The company just announced the new Pico 4, its lightest all-in-one VR headset to date. The wearable from the parent company of TikTok is accompanied by new controllers and VR content.
TL;DR
- Pico 4 is announced as the company's lightest VR headset.
- It is powered by Snapdragon XR2 and features 4K+ LCD display.
- The Pico 4 is priced €429 (around $425) in Europe and ships in October.
The Pico 4 gets a completely redesigned headset compared to the Pico Neo Link 3. Its front resembles a futuristic ski goggle with a visible set of cameras and sensors. Speaking of cameras, you have four fish eye snappers and a 16MP main RGB sensor. According to the company, the Pico 4 is the lightest VR device they've made, as it only weighs 295 grams without the strap.
Behind the front glass we have a dual 4K+ LCD display with equivalent 72/90Hz refresh rate and 1200 ppi per eye. These are accompanied by pancake lens that offer 105-degree field of view. In addition, the displays get TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification like most VR headsets that have been launched this year.
Pico 4 operating system and chipset
The Pico 4 runs on Pico's OS based on Android and is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon XR2 chipset with Adreno 650 graphics, 8 GB RAM, and up to 256 GB storage. The device has 5,300 mAh rear-mounted battery that acts as a counterweight. This amount of juice lasts 3 hours between charges. Pico didn't specify the actual charging speed, but the company is generous enough to include a Quick Charge 3.0.
Introduced along the Pico 4 are a pair of controllers that feature rotating arc column design. Each support 6DoF (degree-of-freedom) and is supplied by AA batteries. These also boast Hypersense motor for haptic output on top of the infrared sensors for spatial awareness and hit detection. Lastly, Pico is planned to ship Pico Worlds with realistic interaction and more content in 2023.
Pico 4 VR availability and pricing
The Pico 4 comes with all the bells and whistles you can imagine from a capable VR device in 2022. But what stands out most is the pricing of the headset. It starts at €429 in Europe or £379 in the UK and is available for pre-orders on September 23. The headset is planned to be released to other markets like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia later.
