High-end VR headset Dream Air: Pimax answers the most important questions

Discover Pimax's sleek new Dream Air VR headset and how it compares to the Crystal Super — all questions answered!

Last week, Pimax introduced the Dream Air, which MIXED covered here. Now Pimax is back to answer the most important questions from the online community.

• Pre-order or reserve the Pimax Dream Air here 
• Watch the full Frontier presentation here

Pimax Dream Air: Release, Strategy & Development

Why is this headset announced so fast after the Crystal Super? 

• Several reasons. We announced the Dream Air now because we don't want to announce this after the Super starts shipping, and then have users feel they would have ordered this one if they knew. We already see this remark now in our Discord, but actually — customers can still change their pre-order from the Super to the Dream Air if they wish.
• Another reason is the scarcity of micro-OLED panels. Currently, in the market of micro-OLED panels, demand firmly outnumbers supply, so the delivery times for when we place an order is long, several months. We open up pre-orders to get a better idea of how many headsets our users want, and also to place the order for the panels for the Dream Air to be shipped in May. This order needs to be placed before or in early January, as suppliers also take holidays during Chinese New Year.
• The long wait time for micro-OLED panels isn't unique to Pimax. We also see similar products from competitors with the same issue, and therefore they don't offer refundable pre-orders.
• That said, our pre-orders are refundable before shipping (and users also have a trade-in window once the headset arrives), and we have added a 1 USD reservation option.

Any more headsets coming from Pimax?

We'll update some old models, but there are no more headsets coming that are more advanced in specs than the Dream Air and Crystal Super, except for the 12K.

What do you say to people who feel Pimax should just focus on one single VR headset?

• We have a strong ambition to be a multi-SKU company, as VR headsets are also quickly diversifying. Our focus is always on providing the ultimate experience, and for different use cases, we'll have the Crystal line, as well as the new Dream line.
• That said, all our headsets share a lot of the same core technology, from software to hardware. All headsets are focused firmly on PCVR. We have learned from the past (e.g. Portal, which wasn't PCVR.)
• Pimax has a 9 years history of making VR headsets, we own two R&D offices and are opening our second assembly line to support this multi-SKU strategy.
• To provide multi-SKU using shared technology allows us to pour more resources into developing technology that benefits all headsets. It also prevents us from having just one huge sales peak in the year, and it spreads out orders across a whole year more evenly, which makes supply and production resources easier to manage (we own our own factory with our own staff). Peaks are generally really bad for efficiency. 

Is the Pimax Dream Air a totally new headset?

No. Actually, the Crystal Super micro-OLED and the Dream Air are 99% the same headset internally. It's basically the optical engine of the micro-OLED of Super in a small form factor.

Can we see Pimax Dream Air running HorizonOS or AndroidXR in the future?

There are no plans for this. Internally, it's exactly the same headset as the micro-OLED optical engine of the Crystal Super, and so it runs with Pimax Play as a PCVR headset (also with OpenXR/OpenVR runtime and with SteamVR.)

Why not aspheric lenses? I actually liked having no glare. Pancake lenses are a huge downgrade, I believe.

If you wish for aspheric lenses with a wide FOV, we recommend the Crystal Super. It's 50 and 57 PPD optical engines are built around — and for — aspheric lenses, coupled with larger QLED panels.

How far is the development of the Dream Air?

• On the internals of the headset are fully designed, and we're testing with a fully working optical engine, and software wise, everything is shared with the Crystal Super, including SLAM tracking of the headset and the controllers, eye-tracking, hand-tracking, and all settings in Pimax Play.
• On the exterior: We are currently testing and developing this in the Crystal Super housing (micro-OLED optical engine), while we’re developing the Dream Air’s exterior housing.

This is an old prototype:

In this video, we show the latest one:

Shipping & Pre-orders of the Pimax Dream Air

How realistic is the shipping date in May?

• Internally, we've been developing the Crystal Super micro-OLED and Dream Air for over a year now (internally, they're largely the same headset). We have a fully working optical engine, and think the remaining time to May is enough to get the rest done, similar to the timeframe of the Crystal Super's development of the past year.
• The Dream Air utilizes the same optical engine solution as the Crystal Super, along with its underlying technologies, but in a new form-factor design. You can read here more about how the Dream Air and the Crystal Super micro-OLED have the same technical components: Dream Air & Crystal Super micro-OLED's shared technology
• The main challenge is the supply of micro-OLED panels, and perhaps the ringless controllers. (We currently think that the first batches of the headset may ship with ringed controllers as on the Crystal/Light/Super, which we can exchange for ringless controllers later).
• We're confident of shipping around 200 to 300 headsets in May. This is also why we had to announce the headset now. (Several reasons addressed below.)

Can I change my reservation or pre-order of the Super for the Dream Air?

Yes, just contact our customer support with your reservation number.

Does the discount for OG Crystal owners and the partial 12K Trade-in program apply to the Dream Air?

• Yes, but like with the Crystal Super, this discount cannot be both used at the same time.
• So OG Crystal owners can get $399 USD discount taken off Prime, But every Crystal (serial number + order number) can only be used once.
• The same for the 12K Trade-In program. You can use up to 50% of your headset's trade-in value for the Super, up to 399 USD, and keep the remaining trade-in value for the 12K. Like that discount, this will be taken off Prime, not the base price of the Crystal Super.

What are the detailed product specs of the Dream Air?

Physical Features

• Weight: <200 grams

Connection:

• DP 1.4 to the PC, and USB 3.0 Type C on the headset
• Microphone * 2
• Type-C *2 (The left Type-C port is used to transmit video signals between the PC and the headset, and the right Type-C port is for users to connect their own accessories such as audio devices.)

Interaction

• Buttons on the headset:
  • Tighten strap
  • Loosen strap
  • Volume up
  • Volume down
• Tracking
  • Pimax SLAM tracking default, using 4x tracking camera
  • Headset tracking
  • Controller tracking
  • Hand tracking
  • Lighthouse optional
• Integrated audio (speakers sound tube)

Display

• Panels: 2 * 1.35 inch Micro-OLED
• Resolution: 3840 * 3552
• MTP latency: 15ms
• Refresh rate: 72Hz/90Hz
• Color Gamut: DCI-P3 100%
• Contrast Ratio: 100000:1

Optics

• Lens: Pancake * 2
• Weight: 20 grams (per lens)
• Field of view: 102°(horizontal)
• IPD(Auto): 58mm-72mm
• Eye Relief: 14mm
• Customized Diopter: -300~900 degrees for near and far vision (sold separately)
• Integrated eye-tracking

Cable

• DP to Type-C
• Length: 5 meters
• Outer diameter: 5mm

Controllers

• Buttons:
  • A(X)
  • B(Y)
  • Home
  • Pimax Key
  • Trigger
  • Grip
  • Joystick
• Tracking via headset
• Battery Life: 4-5 hours
• Capacity: 600mAH
• Charging: USB-C
• Weight: 126g
• Other features:
  • Capsense
  • Five Finger Tracking
  • Strap

Pimax Dream Air: Head strap & Comfort

What safety mechanisms are in place to ensure the auto-tightening head strap can’t be dangerous if it malfunctions?

The main thing is that it's strong enough to hold the lightweight headset, but not strong enough to hurt anyone. The internal straps are made of elastic rubber. (Also this is not new technology, the same is used in self-lacing shoes such as the Nike Auto Adapt.)

Can the head straps be replaced, and how?

Yes. The head strap can be taken off at the stems.

There will be different opinions about what feels like an ideal fit. Will you make the head strap tightness adjustable with user preference control?

Yes, there will be buttons for manually adjusting the strength of the fit.

Hand tracking, Eye tracking & Controllers

Can eye tracking be used to navigate the user interface? I know it’s still early, but will gaze-based control be part of Pimax software?

Yes, we're exploring these functions (and also learning from competitors who are further on this than us).

Do the controllers work with Super?

Because the Dream Air is very compact, we think the ringless controllers are more suitable for the Dream Air. But the controllers are based on the same technology and all compatible with headsets in the Crystal series.

Does Crystal Super also have hand tracking?

Yes, but perhaps not on release date. This is why we did not put that into the Crystal Super announcement. We are working on hand tracking without the need for a hand tracking module. But this has been a goal from the start, and this is why the position of the cameras has been slightly changed compared to the Crystal Light.

Does this support base station tracking?

Not natively, but with a click-on Lighthouse faceplate, yes.

Are the controllers also lighthouse-compatible?

No. The controllers are identical to those of the Crystal and Crystal Light, and Crystal Super, with the exception that now they're ringless.

Does Pimax Dream Air’s eye tracking work with UEVR and Luke Ross VR mods?

The eye tracking and DFR is exactly the same as on the Crystal and Crystal Super, meaning it'll work with those supported games. But currently, it seems most of the UEVR and Luke Ross games do not support this.

I didn’t see down-facing cameras? How will they do hand tracking without them?

The cameras are ultra-wide angles, and we are currently testing the hand tracking algorithm with these. This is a similar solution to the Meta Quest 3.

Pimax Dream Air: Passthrough & Wireless options

Is the Pimax Dream Air wireless?

The Dream Air is a wired PC VR headset. There is also no battery, although Cobb will function as a battery later (essentially turning it into a wireless headset).

Is there a wireless option? I know that’s asking a lot, but I wonder if an accessory like Cobb might allow further capabilities.

We are exploring this with Cobb, but we did not share it because we're not yet sure if we can achieve this, or how.

Does Dream Air have any passthrough cameras?

It's essentially the same headset as the micro-OLED optical engine of the Crystal Super, so there will be black-and-white passthroughs. We are still considering adding a full-color passthrough.

Pimax Cobb: Shipping and Launch

Will Cobb ship in 2025?

We have no exact ETA on Cobb yet. Cobb is an add-on for the Dream Air, and we still want to add some features that we did not communicate in our Frontier announcement.

Will Cobb launch at the same time as Dream Air, or will it come later?

Cobb will be released later.

What do you think of the Pimax Dream Air? Follow us on Facebook or X or share your experience and questsions in the comments.

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