PICO 4

Not to be confused with Sega Pico or PICO-8.

PICO 4 is a virtual reality headset developed by ByteDance.^[6] It is designed for virtual reality games and is only available in Europe and East Asia (China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore).^[7][8] It is currently not available in the United States.^[9] PICO 4 is a competitor of Quest 2.^[10][11]

PICO 4

PICO 4 headset
Developer	ByteDance
Type	Virtual reality headset
Release date	October 18, 2022
Introductory price	PICO 4: €429 (128 GB) €499 (256 GB)[1][2] PICO 4 Ultra: €549 (256 GB)
Operating system	Pico system software, based on Android 10 source code
System on a chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2[1]
Memory	8 GB LPDDR4[1]
Storage	128 GB 256 GB[1]
Display	LCD 2160 x 2160 per eye @ 90 Hz[1]
Graphics	Adreno 650 @ 587 MHz (Up to 902 GFLOPS FP32)[3][4][5]
Connectivity	USB-C Bluetooth 5.1 Wi-Fi 6[1]
Power	Lithium-ion battery 5300 mAh
Weight	586 g
Website	Official website

Specifications

The PICO 4 uses pancake lenses in combination with two small LCD displays,^[12] one for each eye, in the head-mounted display. This technology allows for a lighter headset with an increased image resolution.
The pancake lenses have some drawbacks introduced by the light bouncing between the lens layers, but are generally considered to have fewer artifacts than the previously used Fresnel lens.^[13]
There are a few features that have been introduced in this product: real-time hand tracking and a see-through mode in low resolution.

Images

• 
  PICO 4 top view
• 
  View of hand tracking in PICO 4
• 
  Screenshot of the control panel in PICO 4

PICO 4 Ultra

On September 2, 2024 ByteDance released the PICO 4 Ultra. It has the new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip (same as in the Meta Quest 3), 12 GB of RAM, 45W charging speed and spatial video capture.^[14]

Reception

PC Gamer writer Katie Wickens noted that PICO 4 has sharp visual quality, lower price compared to Meta Quest 2 while still retaining similar or higher performance than the Quest 2, accurate tracking, easy IPD and headset adjustment, and good color passthrough. They also pointed out that the headset is slightly front-weighted and also struggled to stream wirelessly. Finally, they mentioned that getting a PICO 4 headset may be difficult for citizens in the U.S.^[15]

IGN Southeast Asia writer Syazwan Bahri claims that the PICO 4 headset “blew his socks away,” adding that the headset offers comfort with balanced weight, since the headset has its battery embedded in the strap adjuster of the headband while all the other hardware is stored in the goggle. The writer also mentions that the padded foam helped secure the headset firmly without feeling restrictive. However, the writer stated that PICO 4 lacked content in the store and also mentions the company’s efforts in growing the store. He also mentioned that although battery was not as much of an issue, battery life could have some room for improvement.^[16]

References

1. "vr-compare.com". November 1, 2022.
2. Feng, Coco (October 23, 2022). "ByteDance sells 46,000 Pico 4 VR headsets online in China since launching sales last month". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022.
3. "vr-compare". www.vr-compare.com.
4. "GPU GFLOPS Calculation". azcalculator.com.
5. "What does Meta Quest 2's performance boost mean for VR games?". www.mixed-news.com.
6. "Pico 4: Full Specification". VRcompare. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
7. Where can I buy PICO products?
8. Heaney, David (September 22, 2022). "Pico 4 Ships October 18 To Europe, Japan & South Korea For €429". UploadVR. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
9. McMillan, Malcolm (September 22, 2022). "Meta Quest 2 just got a new rival with the PICO 4 VR". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
10. Stein, Scott (October 18, 2022). "Pico 4 VR Headset Review: Meta Quest 2 Has Competition". CNET. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
11. Robertson, Adi (September 22, 2022). "ByteDance's new Pico headset is a Quest 2 competitor for Europe and Asia". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
12. "'Breakthrough' Pancake Lenses Could Bring Compact Headsets". June 17, 2021.
13. Pawluczuk, Mat (February 20, 2023). "Pico 4 Versus Meta Quest 2". AR/VR Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
14. "Pico 4 Ultra Launches In China With Specs Superior To Quest 3", www.uploadvr.com
15. Wickens, Katie (May 19, 2023). "Pico 4 VR headset". pcgamer. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
16. Bahri, Syazwan (November 14, 2022). "Does The Budget-Friendly PICO 4 VR Headset Live Up To The Hype? Let's Find Out". IGN Southeast Asia. Retrieved October 14, 2024.