Pico Neo 4 (Pro): Launch in September, aggressive pricing - report
Pico 4 and Pico 4 Pro will reportedly launch worldwide next month and will compete with Quest 2 and Quest Pro.
If the reports of the last weeks and months are to be believed, Meta competitor and TikTok owner Bytedance could soon shake up the virtual reality market.
The rumors were fueled by a Chinese analyst close to Goertek, who has been reporting about developments in the supply chain on WeChat under the alias Blacksheriff008 for quite some time.
Goertek is the world's largest manufacturer of VR hardware and is responsible for the mass production of the Meta Quest 2, Quest Pro (Project Cambria), Playstation VR 2, and all Pico devices. The Chinese company was originally owned by Goertek and changed hands to Bytedance in August 2021.
Pico plans global launch
The analyst expects Pico to launch two new headsets at once in September, the Pico 4 and Pico 4 Pro. The main difference, he said, is that the latter supports eye-tracking. Both are said to have pancake lenses built in, allowing for a slimmer form factor and lighter weight.
There is talk of a worldwide launch. Before the Bytedance acquisition, Pico was pursuing different strategies for the Western and Eastern markets.
The naming was said to be inconsistent: in some countries, the VR headset would launch under the name Pico Neo 4 (Pro), while in others it would simply be called Pico 4 (Pro).
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This is necessary if Pico wants to break into the price segment of the Meta Quest 2. The Pico 4 is primarily intended to compete with Meta's budget headset, while the Pico 4 Pro will challenge the Meta Quest Pro, the analyst said. Both headsets are currently being mass-produced under full load, he added.
Evidence of new Pico headsets has been mounting in recent weeks: FCC filings of the headsets have surfaced, as have images of the new VR controllers. Pico also expanded its US location and started collaborating with VR studios, which should benefit its app portfolio.
The aforementioned Goertek analyst predicted in April that Pico has new VR products in the works that will be released before the Quest Pro. If the previous predictions are correct, Pico should soon create facts.
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