Pimax seems assured in its Imaginative and prescient Skilled-like Dream Air VR headset. Me? Not lots
One amongst my favorite VR headsets of 2024 was the Pimax Crystal, which we reviewed in July. Whereas its 4-star Laptop computer pc Journal analysis is commendable, it suggests there are a few factors however to be solved by Pimax, notably when compared with the 4-and-a-half-star score we gave to the Meta Quest 3S in October.
So take into consideration my shock when Pimax made an unlimited announcement sooner than January’s CES 2025, unveiling an all-new VR headset known as the Dream Air. The Dream Air appears to be like a particularly premium VR headset and solves various of the issues I encountered whereas reviewing the premium Pimax Crystal.
It’s lighter, easier to rearrange, thinner, ditches the barren stand-alone mode, supplies hand and eye monitoring, micro-OLED reveals with pancake lenses, and a further cozy head strap.
It’s a compelling sequence of wins on paper, so why am I not sharing Pimax’s enthusiasm for the upcoming PCVR headset?
Pimax Dream Air: A Imaginative and prescient Skilled-like PCVR headset
“It’s the world’s smallest full-feature 8K resolution VR headset,” claims Pimax all through the agency’s pre-CES “Frontier” presentation. “A small variety difficulty with extreme effectivity and full choices to really go the place no one has gone sooner than.”
The Pimax Dream Air choices micro-OLED pancake optics at a 3840 x 3553 per eye resolution, eye-tracking, improved ringless controllers that mirror the Meta Quest Contact Plus peripherals, built-in spatial audio, a straightforward Kind-C DisplayPort connection, and a far more refined slim and slender design that’s further visor than headset.
By the use of specs and value, Pimax’s new headset sits snugly between the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Imaginative and prescient Skilled (by about $1,500 each methodology) whereas offering the perfect per-eye resolution the overall suite of eye, hand, and inside-out monitoring, and the underside weight. Sadly, the Dream Air suffers in refresh worth, capping at merely 90Hz.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Meta Quest 3 | Pimax Dream Air | Apple Imaginative and prescient Skilled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $499 | $1,991 | $3,499 |
| Optics | Pancake | Pancake | Pancake |
| Present | LCD | micro-OLED | micro-OLED |
| Determination (per eye) | 2064 x 2208 | 3840 x 3553 | 3660 x 3200 |
| FoV (Horizontal) | 110 ranges | 102 ranges | 100 degress (Est.) |
| Pixels-per-degree (PPD) | 25.2 PPD | Unknown | 34 (Est.) |
| Refresh worth | 120Hz | 90Hz | 100Hz |
| Eye-tracking | No | Positive | Positive |
| Hand monitoring | Positive | Positive | Positive |
| Inside out monitoring | Positive | Positive | No |
| Weight | 515 grams | 600-650 grams |
Sadly for Pimax, this middle ground has been chased sooner than, even by Meta. The Meta Quest Skilled was presupposed to bridge the outlet between shopper affordability and high-end enterprise instruments.
Nonetheless, the attractiveness of the Quest 2’s ticket was its undoing, and evaluating the specs, the overwhelming majority of non-enthusiasts are unlikely to be swayed by Pimax’s headset based on its micro-OLED panels and eye-tracking alone.
The bigger draw back: too many irons inside the hearth
Of the varied points you can probably say about VR headset maker Pimax, having an absence of ambition is just not thought of one in every of them. Nonetheless, Pimax’s newest swap to quantity may end up affecting its top quality.
The company has been a unbroken presence on the doorway traces of cutting-edge present tech in its Crystal headsets for years now, nevertheless it does have a bit little bit of a difficulty when it comes to asserting grand plans for headsets solely to get distracted by others alongside the way in which wherein.
Working instance, Pimax’s 12K QLED headset, certain, a really groundbreaking twin 6K present VR headset very good for followers and sim-lovers to completely immerse themselves inside the movement like in no way sooner than. Nonetheless, after being launched in October 2021, the headset has nonetheless however to make it to market, totally skipping its This autumn 2023 launch window, with Pimax’s web page nonetheless claiming that work on certifying the headset is at 70%.
In relation to the Dream Air, I’m nervous we could even see the 12K QLED story repeat itself. All we have now seen of Pimax’s upcoming Dream Air headset is a poorly put-together render that has obvious seams seen. We’re however to see a working prototype of the headset, to not point out the final word working product, and Pimax believes that it’s going to probably ship in time for May 2025.
Pimax has a bit little bit of a rocky historic previous of following by means of on points promptly, with the company’s prospects pointing as lots out inside the comment sections of its new Frontier presentation, in X reply threads, and on Reddit.
What’s subsequent?
All that talked about, the Dream Air is one factor very new for the Pimax crew, and this shift in focus may unfold previous merely the {{hardware}} at hand.
Whereas it does look like a lofty promise, and Pimax undoubtedly has an uphill battle on its fingers to make good on its product in time for a May 2025 launch, there is no wish to put in writing Pimax off from the get-go.
Giving Pimax the benefit of the doubt, for the company, this could be a model new yr, new headset, and a model new leaf.
