Pico today announced the Pico 4 standalone VR headset, with price and content aspirations that make it clear the company hopes to directly compete with Quest 2. The headset will launch in October from Europe and select Asian regions , with no plans to launch in the United States. just now.
Pico has been making VR headsets for years, though the company has primarily served the enterprise market so far. More recently the company was acquired by ByteDance and earlier this year took its first serious step into the consumer VR space with the release of the Pico Neo 3 Link, a standalone VR headset that also has the ability to connect to a desktop computer for PC VR games. .
Less than a year later, the company is almost ready to release the Pico 4, and this time around it’s hoping to get a leg up on Meta’s Quest 2 headset in price and features, while looking to also be competitive on content.
Pico 4 revealed
Pico 4 will start at €430 for the 128GB model and €500 for the 256GB model (that’s €20 and €50 less than the Quest 2 equivalents), clearly indicating that the company is hoping to lower the price of Meta, which may have been more difficult without Meta raising the price of the headset just a few months ago.
While both headsets are built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 processor, Pico 4 will bring 8GB of RAM to the Quest 2’s 6GB. Additionally, the Pico 4 aims to be more compact than the Quest 2 with the addition of a “crepe optic” which should reduce the bulk of the helmet thanks to a folded optical path. Additionally, the Pico 4 sports a slightly higher resolution at 2,160×2,160 (4.7 MP) per eye compared to the Quest 2’s 1,832×1,920 (3.5 MP).
With a rear mounted battery on Pico 4, these are the main hardware differences. Here is a complete overview of the helmet comparison on paper:
Specs of Pico 4 vs Quest 2 |
||
| Peak 4 | Quest 2 | |
| Resolution | 2160 × 2160 (4.7 MP) per eye, LCD (2x) | 1832 × 1920 (3.5 MP) per eye, LCD (1x) |
| Refresh rate | 72Hz, 90Hz | 60Hz, 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz |
| Lenses | Crepe | Single Element Fresnel |
| Field of view (claimed) | 105° | ~90° |
| Optical adjustments | IPD (motorized) | IPD, eye relief (via included spacer) |
| IPD adjustment range | 62-72mm | 58mm, 63mm, 68mm |
| Processor | Snapdragon XR2 | Snapdragon XR2 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB / 256 GB | 64 GB / 128 GB / 256 GB |
| Connectors | unknown | USB-C |
| Battery life (claimed) | 2.5-3 hours (5300mAh) | 2-3 hours |
| Followed | Inside-out (no external beacons) | Inside-out (no external beacons) |
| On-board cameras | 4x (external), 1x 16MP RGB | 4x IR (external) |
| To input | Pico 4 motion controllers | Oculus Touch v3 (1x AA battery), hand tracking, voice |
| audio | In-head speakers | In-head speakers, 3.5mm auxiliary output |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Direct view | unknown | Yes |
| MSRP | €430 (128 GB), €500 (256 GB) | €450 (128 GB), €550 (256 GB) |
Pico 4 price and release date
Starting at €430 for the 128GB model and €500 for the 256GB model, Pico 4 will begin consumer pre-orders in October; those who have purchased the Neo 3 Link will be able to pre-order it tomorrow. Pico 4 will be released on October 18 in 13 European countries as well as Japan and Korea, with plans to launch in Singapore and Malaysia later this year and possibly China. The company has not revealed plans to launch Pico 4 in the United States.
Pico 4 Accessories
In addition to the headset, Pico has announced plans to launch three proprietary accessories for the Pico 4 in 2023. All priced at €50, they include a fitness tracker for more accurate fitness tracking, a wireless dongle for Wireless VR PC and a carrying case.
Pico 4 Content Library
Even if Pico 4 manages to compete with Quest 2 on the hardware side, there is still a serious challenge to get a comparable amount of quality content on the headset.
To that end, Pico has announced that some fresh and upcoming VR games will be available on the headset, such as Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom, Ultimechs, Demooand The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners.
The company also aims to start curating fitness content for the headset, including Les Mills Body Combat, All-in-one VR summer sportsand Just Dance VR.
We reached out to Pico for a more comprehensive list of content that should be available on the headset.
The company also announces its intention to launch its own Pico World social virtual reality platform in 2023 and will release a series of exclusive Discovery Channel documentaries.