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2023 is undoubtedly an important year for i VR or AR headsets. Not only did Meta decide to invest a ton of money designing and also producing his new one Meta Quest Pro but, according to rumors, this will be the year in which Apple will also present his personal viewer, the Reality Pro, which could actually outperform the current competition for specifications and above all for that ecosystem that has always excelled over all. At the moment, however, there are many VR viewers on the market that allow for decidedly interesting performances and perhaps many are not as well known as Meta’s Quests are.
Let’s clearly talk about Pic 4 that is, a virtual reality viewer that is in direct competition with Meta’s Quest 2, costs less but still has characteristics and functions that are in some ways better or practically on par, and we will see it in the course of the review. In the meantime, know that Pico 4 a so-called ”stand-alone” AR viewer that is, it does not need to be connected to any PC or smartphone since it integrates everything needed for its operation directly into the viewer itself. And don’t think that this compromises usability, perhaps due to an excessive weight because Byte Dancethe company that made it and that also owns TikTok, managed to put everything inside the shell of the viewer which weighs only 586 grams.
Here we find everything from the processor to the motherboard to move on to the components relating to the motion sensors or even the battery modules and the ports to connect it with the charging socket (simple USB-C). All without the use of wires, strange connections or other accessories other than the paddles that we will use with our hands to operate the controls once the virtual reality has started. How does it work specifically this Pico 4 e what are the advantages or disadvantages compared to other competitors? Find out with us in this review.
Pico 4: a comfortable and futuristic design
We start as always from design which in this product could be quite important especially in the concept of wearability. It is useless not to agree on the fact that the Pico 4 is a VR viewer that refers to the design of other devices of this kind and above all to the design of Meta’s Quest 2. The shape is that of a classic viewer with a finish and a body completely in good quality rigid polycarbonate in white. THE edges are smooth and curved but we find a glossy black front which allows you to give a sense of identity to the Pico 4, making it even a little more futuristic and beautiful than others.
As mentioned a VR viewer must above all be comfortable once worn. Pico 4 has this characteristic on its side, i.e. its 586 grams are not felt too much once placed on the head thanks also to a studied balance of the internal components and the string that fixes it on the head. Yes, because like any self-respecting viewer, the Pico 4 is worn placing the main body of the viewer in front of the eyes, then it must be adjusted with a comfortable lace on the top of the head and it is still necessary to apply force on the integrated adjustment wheel in the back of it.
Not to be underestimated ability to use the Pico 4 VR headset even if you wear eyeglasses. In this case it is possible to use a specific shell to be applied to the internal part of the viewer, allowing the user to feel no discomfort even after long use. Not only because there is also a small accessory to be applied to the nasal part of the viewer in case it is not possible to obtain complete darkness inside the lenses once worn. It works even if without difficulty we have observed light entering from the sides, a symptom of the ergonomic construction goodness of the viewer.
Then there are the controllers, that is, small sleeves equipped with buttons and triggers that allow you to have full control of the virtual world. They are perhaps a bit small for those who, like me, have large hands but after a few tens of minutes of use we got a good feeling above all we were able to use the buttons by heart without errors.
On a technical level we can consider these controllers as something in between those of PSVR2 and those of Quest PRO: small but enveloping and solid. In this case, tracking is also excellent, which can easily be compared to that of other standalone viewers on the market. Too bad perhaps for the presence of two AA batteries per controller since the competition does better with a single battery per controller.
Pico 4: Can it really compete with Meta Quest 2?
Let’s start right away by saying that the lenses of Pico 4 allow you to have a higher yield than that of Meta Quest 2. The screen image is in fact good and this is certainly due to the fact that in Pico 4 there are pancake lenses and not fresnel and this involves the resolution of bugs or nuisances that had instead created problems previously. The panel in this case still remains an LCD and therefore the blacks will not be so deep and clear that in general the lack of an OLED is felt even if clearly in this case we are talking about a completely different product especially for the price.
On a technical level, know that we are in the presence of a 2.56″ x 2 display with a resolution of 4,320 x 2,160 pixels with PPI at 1200 and frequency of refresh up to 90Hz. And it is important to underline the Possibility here with Pico 4 to adjust the IPD i.e. the distance between the lenses via software by moving a slider that clearly acts on the lens system allowing for real-time adjustment on the screen. In this case the minimum distance equal to 62mm mind the maximum equal to 72mm.
In terms of performance, the idea that we have made in these weeks of use is that we have a product that is certainly at the levels of Meta Quest 2 and perhaps even better in some respects. Yes, because Pico 4 allows you to run your content library quickly, accurately and without lag. The games tested are fluid with short loading times certainly the result of presence of 8GB of LPDDR4X type RAM but also of a truly optimal optimization and capable of making the viewer appear Byte Dance definitely a winner in this one. The framerate is maintained well even with long use and above all observing reduced loading times compared to the competition can only please us especially in this category of stand-alone viewers where the opponents do not seem to have made so many steps forward unlike Pico 4 .
At the software level it is clear that the ecosystem of Pico 4 it cannot yet be considered as equal to that of Meta. In recent months, many interesting titles such as Demeo or even After the Fall have arrived and are arriving on the Pico platform, but it is clear that the conversion of the most interesting titles is arriving now, i.e. months later than the competition.
A more than normal consequence given that the company behind Pico 4 is relatively young and has recently made its way compared to giants such as Meta. There is clearly a lack of excellent exclusives which instead we can find on Quest 2 but in fact in the Pico 4 catalog we will find for example the famous one Ubisoft’s Just Dance VRwhich has become a real workhorse, and still Immortal Legacy: The Jade Cypher which actually works well. Time will certainly benefit Pico 4 and we are certain that the company will do everything to be able to improve the already good ecosystem.
The Pico 4 operating system is a relatively new operating system it is therefore normal to find some problem or something that still needs to be finalized. But know that there is everything you need for a VR viewer operating system even if perhaps some menus or some other settings could be arranged in an easier and more intuitive way to find. Not bad because we are sure Pico will work on it perhaps also taking a cue from the competition which is doing better in this, for the moment.
We didn’t like the audio instead of Pico 4. Yes, here the company will have to work really hard to improve it in the next generations. As for others, here too there are isolated speakers hidden inside the side band of the viewer but unfortunately the volume that is externalized by them is really low compared to what one might expect from such a product. Furthermore, there is no physical jack for classic headphones and the lack of such support does not allow you to truly fully enjoy the qualities of this Pico 4 especially with immersive games. Clearly with a bluetooth adapter all this can be bypassed but why spend more money (even if a few euros) to have to adapt to a lack of this type?
And then there is the lack of a dedicated Display Port connection. Yes, with Pico 4 it will not be possible to play it by connecting it to the PC. A connection of this type would certainly have caused a sensation among users and would have certainly made a device like this perfect, capable of being able to fully exploit the potential of a PC rather than the limited ones of the viewer. You can use the so-called Virtual Desktop Mode, i.e. an app that allows streaming content to be transmitted to the viewer at a higher resolution than its rival Meta Quest 2, for example, can do (here, depending on the PC, , even 3160x3160p). In fact, however, there are still some problems in use such as too many artifacts or a not very clean vision, which would not happen with a wired connection to the PC.
Finally the battery and above all the autonomy. Pico 4 in fact has a considerable battery of 5,300 mAh which is positioned in the back of the head. Clearly, even if the battery is important, the use of the VR system allows you to get at most a couple of hours of continuous use which is still a good result if we consider the technical specifications of the product and above all the optimal performance of the display with Pancake lenses. There will certainly be improvement on this front but let’s admit that we consider this autonomy more or less in line with other viewers of this type.
Pic 4: conclusions
Pico 4 a VR viewer to be taken into serious consideration. The goodness of its technical specifications but also of its hardware and its components only makes it very attractive especially given the construction and the ability of aexcellent wearability. Yes, because it’s not always easy to find a headset on the market that can be worn continuously for more than an hour without feeling particularly tired or sore. Moreover we like its construction, robust and well made as we are also the distribution of the various components that make the Pico 4 in the head a strongly balanced viewer.
There are clearly some points still to be ironed out such as the lack of an important portfolio of titles, above all due to the absence of some exclusive impact. not only there Definitely need to improve the audio which does not allow you to fully enjoy the goodness of the device especially due to the lack of a classic headphone jack which could definitely be useful. Apart from this the Display Port is missing which does not allow you to wire the Pico 4 to a PC in order to take advantage of VR with greater power even if there is a wireless connection which in some situations is perhaps a little immature and not completely satisfactory. Pico 4 plays with Meta Quest 2 and it does it without too many problems and with something even in its favor.
The price? Pico 4 you can take it home in two different versions with 128GB of storage or with 256GB for the top-of-the-range model, respectively at 429 or 499. And you can find it directly on Amazon.
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