Those looking for a capable PCVR headset that can also function well as a standalone headset might find the Pico 4 a better choice than Quest 3, as much of the improvements that are due to come with Quest 3 are related to the mixed reality functionality, and if this isn’t something you’re particularly interested in, then you may be better avoiding it. It’s a big step up visually at first glance, but there’s a major caveat. Pico 4’s passthrough isn’t depth-correct, like the original Oculus Quest until a software update it received 5 months after launch. Interestingly, Meta’s CTO was right: the field of view being taller is actually more impactful than it being wider. Ironically, Quest Pro’s field of view is as wide as Pico 4 but not as tall. I haven’t yet received a Quest Pro review unit, but based on my initial impressions I suspect Pico 4 will be my wireless PC VR driver due to the vertical field of view alone. Quest 2 just feels claustrophobic in comparison.

I think that anyone buying a Pico 4 today is likely to have a headset that they can use for at least a few years without it being significantly superseded by superior headsets for the same price. When I wear it, it moves the pressure off my face but still allows me to get very close to the lens. As you can see I'm right up in there. The FOV improvement is excellent. I'm getting around 11 degrees extra horizontal FOV (87 to 98). It makes a big difference to me.I almost exclusively use a wireless connection as I have a Wi-Fi 6 router located in the same room as I use my VR headsets, providing a direct line of sight, resulting in a very low latency connection. Even for fast-paced games, I can barely detect any latency, and it certainly doesn’t impact my performance or enjoyment. The system software inside VR is very similar to Quest. It’s clearly “inspired”, in the same sense as many Chinese Android brands are “inspired” by iOS. If you’ve tried a Quest and liked the interface, you’ll probably like Pico’s. If you didn’t, you probably won’t like this either. The battery life on Pico 4’s controllers seemed roughly on par with Quest 2’s, though they require 2 AA batteries each compared to 1. So barring a major software update, don’t expect Pico 4 to deliver the mixed reality experiences you’ll find on Quest Pro. Pico is pitching this as a virtual reality headset, and it’s a quarter of the price. Controllers

That’s not to say it’s completely monoscopic. There is a different perspective delivered to each eye. But this stereoscopy is faked from the single color camera in the center. The scale of the image delivered isn’t true to life and exhibits distortion over the entire view, a much worse experience than the depth-correct passthrough on Quest Pro which can exhibit distortion on specific objects in 3D space. To keep up with the changes and meet the trend for extended gaming sessions, we have developed more customer driven solutions in the form of wipeable foams, passively ventilated facial interfaces, washable covers and more. The main issue is that Pico is less experienced with building VR headsets than some of their competitors, and they have tried to go toe-to-toe with Meta, and their Quest headsets. However, at the time the Pico 4 was released, they just hadn’t got the experience or had enough time to iron out all the issues and raise the quality of their offering to compete directly with Quest 2. On the other hand, if you’re a hardcore PCVR simmer, you may prefer a dedicated PCVR headset that can offer better visual clarity, compression-free data transfer, and a wider FOV, without having to worry about the battery life of your headset.Pico 4 has the ability to function as a PCVR headset by connecting it via USB cable to a VR-ready PC, but can also connect wirelessly to your computer via Wi-Fi. Both methods function well, and I have seen consistent improvement in performance over the past year.

In addition to this article, I’ve also made a video sharing my thoughts on Pico 4 now I’ve been using it for a whole year. I discuss how it compares with other popular VR headsets and talk through who I think Pico 4 would be a good option for, and who should give it a miss. Comparison Table: Pico 4 vs Meta Quest 2 Feature/Specification This does mean i still have peripheral vision like with a quest pro. But I'm actually coming around to this. For beat saber i prefer being able to see a little bit. However it was a little distracting in dark scenesin half life alyx. Pico 4’s app store is slowly but surely filling up with many of the top Quest titles. You’ll find games like Superhot VR, Blade & Sorcery Nomad, Demeo, After the Fall, Arizona Sunshine, Eleven Table Tennis, Walkabout Mini Golf, Space Pirate Trainer, and GORN. Here’s a full list.Then I bent this big Meccano beam into a U, and used double side tape to attach a piece of foam (I think this was from a bobovr quest strap). Finally added some more tape to hide the steel.

Pico is no newcomer to VR – it revealed its first headset in 2016 . Last year it was acquired by ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant behind TikTok. Pico has always sold to Chinese consumers but focused on businesses elsewhere. This changed earlier this year with the launch of Pico Neo 3 Link to European consumers. But it was pitched as a “beta program” with the company teasing a successor by offering a discount on it to Neo 3 Link buyers. That successor is Pico 4. The Pico 4 controllers feel great to use and the build quality is excellent. They probably aren’t quite as ergonomically pleasant to hold as the Quest 2 controllers, but overall Pico has done an excellent job, and I’ve had no complaints. Much of the discussion so far about Pico 4 has centered on the on-paper technical specs. We have a rundown of those with a comparison to Quest 2 already. But in this review, I’m going to talk about the experience those specs create when they all come together, what the device is like in real usage, and whether or not you should actually buy one instead of a Quest 2. Comfort & IPDThe problem with Pico 4’s higher resolution and larger field of view is that it’s powered by the same old Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 chipset used in Quest 2. The result of asking the same chip to render more pixels and more geometry each frame is somewhat predictable: performance issues. The right Pico controller has a dedicated screenshot button, and you can hold it down to start a recording. For content creators and developers this is genuinely useful – it’s a massive time saver. The downside is it’s right beside the system menu button, so you’ll find yourself accidentally pressing the wrong one from time to time. If you own a gaming PC though, you can play Beat Saber and Onward as well as PC VR exclusives like Half-Life: Alyx and Skyrim VR via SteamVR. Like Quest, Pico 4 has built-in wired and wireless PC VR streaming. It doesn’t work quite as well as Air Link, with more noticeable occasional stutters. But thankfully Virtual Desktop is also available on the Pico store, and it works just as well as on Quest. Conclusions So yeah, the lenses are so big they crush the nose of people with a narrow IPD. But their size also delivers my favorite aspect of Pico 4: the field of view. It’s both wider and taller than Quest 2, and it’s instantly noticeable.