Sony teases a mixed reality headset called XYN
Sony has announced a new brand of mixed reality hardware and software called XYN.
At CES 2025, Sony unveiled a new brand dedicated to XR products, a range of hardware and software solutions for creating spatial content under the name "XYN".
These products are developed by another division than Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is responsible for Playstation VR 2. The XYN brand focuses on productive applications rather than entertainment.
According to the official website, XYN includes the following products:
- XYN Headset: A mixed reality headset
- XYN Motion Studio: A solution for capturing human motion data.
- XYN Spatial Capture Solution: A solution for the 3D digitization of objects and spaces.
- Spatial Reality Display: A 3D display that does not require a headset
- Mocopi: Sony's body tracker
The XYN headset and the XYN Spatial Capture Solution were only teased by Sony in videos (see below) and are grayed out on the official website, while the XYN Motion Studio was introduced in a press release. XYN Motion Studio is a PC application that uses up to 12 Mocopi sensors to capture human motion data to create low-cost animations for games and movies. XYN Motion Studio is scheduled for release in March 2025. More information can be found in the corresponding blog post.
Lots of questions
Exactly one year ago, Sony unveiled an unnamed mixed reality prototype developed in collaboration with Siemens. The device uses Qualcomm's premium Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset, high-resolution OLED microdisplays, passthrough, and two unusual controllers.
The XYN headset seems to be a more advanced version of this headset. The new headset is now black instead of gray and the teaser video only shows hand tracking instead of controllers. Sony presented a hand tracking implementation for the Playstation VR 2 shortly before the end of 2024.
The mixed reality headset shown at the beginning of 2024. | Image: Sony
However, the XYN headset may be a separate product. The official XYN website lists both the new and the old headset (the latter as "XR Headset-Mounted Display") separately. This is as strange a move as announcing software before the actual hardware.
Presumably, XYN is being developed by a small team that doesn't really know what direction the project will take. I'm curious to see if Sony's plans will become clearer in the next few days.
Interested in VR and AR? Then follow us on Facebook or X or share your experience in the comments. For feedback, topic suggestions, or other ideas, please email us at hello@mixed-news.com.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
