Updated September 23, 2022
After FCC filings for "Pico 4" and "Pico 4 pro" were
spotted in late July, a number of additional pieces of information about these two forthcoming VR headsets have been made public. Not official announcements, these leaks include some speculation but plenty of reliable details about the next generation of devices from ByteDance. Standalone devices expected to present Meta Quest 2 with some stiff competition. Pico 4 and Pico 4 Pro include a number of technological and design advancements that could even challenge Meta's forthcoming
Project Cambria device.
Leaked on WeChat by an anonymous analyst from China, the Pico 4 and Pico 4 Pro are revealed to utilize Pancake lenses. [Image: WeChat]
Running an Android OS and built around a Qualcomm processor,
Pico 4 and Pico 4 Pro will allegedly also include Pancake lenses that are both smaller and lighter than Quest 2's Fresnel lenses, a resolution of 1200 ppi, color passthrough, and an overall design that should be lighter and smaller than Quest 2. Along with the
recently revealed controllers assumed to be for the dual Pico 4 devices, these tech specs carry an obvious increase in manufacturing cost. To offset the cost to consumers, Pico is allegedly planning a subsidy program similar to Meta's initial subsidy geared at delivering sub-$300 Quest 2's to VR users.
Leaked images allegedly show Pico 4 and Pico 4 Pro's controllers. [Image: via SkarredGhost]
Stiff Competition is Good News
Such strong competition among VR hardware companies is likely to spur others to be more aggressive about bringing sleeker, faster, and more powerful devices to market. With VR entertainment of all kinds continuing to gain ground and popular branches like VR porn proved to spur on hardware and software development, the VR market in late 2022 and 2023 could be red hot. Although Meta has four new devices lined up for release over the next few years, its best-selling
Quest 2 still dominates the VR hardware market. Perhaps more than any other competitor, Pico could be giving Meta a real run for their money.
Pico 4 Revealed
The final design of Pico 4 was revealed on September 22. [Image: Pico]
ByteDance has revealed
full details of Pico 4, including price and availability. The standalone headset sees Pico shift focus from enterprise to consumer use and will, as predicted, give Meta Quest 2 some serious competition in the European and Asian markets. No plans for a US release have yet been provided.
The lightweight Pico 4 in use. [Image: Pico]
While Pico 4 poses a threat to Quest 2’s market dominance on a hardware level, it will still have to compete with Meta’s huge content range. To that end, Pico has announced four major titles coming to its new device: Ultimechs, Demeo, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, and Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom. To compete with Meta’s ambitious VR social networking agenda, Pico will also be launching Pico Worlds, a social VR platform, in 2023.
Little is yet known about the forthcoming Pico Worlds social VR platform. [Image: Pico]
As Meta gears up to release its
Meta Quest Pro, so too will Pico be adding a higher-end version of its latest device to its product catalog. Pico 4 Pro will include eye and face tracking and is headed for Chinese and enterprise markets. The release date of Pico 4 Pro is still unknown.
