Two high-end VR headsets showcased by Pimax
At its Frontier 2024 event on YouTube, Pimax, a maker of virtual reality (VR) gear and a supplier of consumer VR devices with an ultra-wide field of vision (FOV) and high resolution, announced today the release of two new high-end VR headsets in addition to a wireless solution for VR games.
The first headset shown at the company’s presentation is the ultra-high-end Pimax Crystal Super, which has 29.5 million pixels and the first-ever interchangeable optical engine in the world, enabling users to switch between QLED and micro-OLED panels.
Since the Crystal Super offers a much greater number of pixels to allow a far bigger field of vision and higher pixels per degree (PPD) concurrently, Pimax said that it represented a substantial advancement over its Crystal headset.
The selection of displays is a crucial factor in user experience, in addition to FOV and PPD. Both QLED and micro-OLED screens have certain benefits of their own. Pimax thus gave consumers the option to choose both or to pick between the two when designing the Crystal Super. Pimax claims to have devised the world’s first replacement optical engine system, which integrates the displays and lenses into a single removable module, which accounts for the modular design and enhanced versatility. Glass aspheric lenses are replaceable with QLED engines, while glass pancake lenses are used with micro-OLED engines.
In addition, the headset has integrated audio, dynamic foveated rendering, eye-tracking for automated IPD (Inter-pupillary Distance) corrections, and sophisticated inside-out tracking using four cameras. Pimax said that the Crystal Super does not include a battery or Qualcomm’s XR2 processor as it is intended to be a pure PCVR headset.
The Pimax Crystal Super is expected to arrive in Q4 of this year, with a starting price of $1,799 USD (VAT excluded).
The Crystal Light, which starts at USD $699 (as opposed to the Crystal’s USD $1,599 price tag) and boasts the same 16.6 million pixels as the original Pimax Crystal device, was the second headset that Pimax introduced today.
The Crystal Light is a simplified version of the Pimax Crystal that has most of the Crystal’s features but eliminates those that aren’t as crucial to PCVR. That means that this new, more affordable variant is a pure PCVR headset—it has no XR2 CPU, no battery, and no independent features. Despite this, the headset still uses glass aspheric lenses and has a resolution of 2880 x 2880 pixels per eye with a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz.
However, the Crystal Light lacks eye tracking and variable lenses, in contrast to other Pimax headsets. But, Pimax has integrated their improved Fixed Foveated Rendering technology, which the firm claims will help make up for any GPU power constraints since it does not depend on eye tracking as Dynamic Foveated Rendering does.
According to Pimax, these changes have reduced the weight of the device by 30% overall, improving the ergonomics and comfort of the headset while also contributing to a significant drop in Crystal Light expenses.
Pimax is now able to offer the gadget for $699 USD as a starting price thanks to this. Preorders for the Crystal Light are being accepted right now, with delivery scheduled for May.
