August 20 seems to only be the date for the China launch of Pico’s next headset.
Last week Pico announced a product launch event for August 20, with social media posts strongly suggesting it being a new headset. But new social media posts today suggest this will only be the China launch event, with a launch elsewhere coming at a later date.
The post refers to the headset as Pico 4 Ultra, a name which was also seen recently in an image leaked on Chinese social media. But it’s possible the headset might be named Pico 4S elsewhere. In March ByteDance trademarked “Pico 4S”, and icons of ringless “4S” controllers were found in the Pico Connect PC VR streaming software.
Prepare to be amazed by the PICO 4 Ultra!
The all-new PICO headset is here to transform the way you interact with technology. Save the date – August 20th – for the PICO 4 Ultra China Launch. pic.twitter.com/BM0eRR1qeu— PICO XR (@PICOXR) August 13, 2024
Regardless of what the headset is called, we’ve seen a number of leaks over the past year which may reveal some of its specifications.
As far back as last September images appearing to show new ringless Pico controllers were shared on Chinese social media.
The Information reported in December that Pico 5 was canceled because Pico 4 sales “fell far short of ByteDance’s expectations”, and the company planned to release a less ambitious refreshed version of Pico 4 instead.
The first leak of actual specs emerged in June, through a Geekbench result that strongly indicates it will use the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset as Meta Quest 3 but paired with 12GB RAM, compared to 8GB for Quest 3.
A few weeks later, South Korea’s National Radio Research Agency (RRA) certified a new Pico headset. The filing revealed that the headset has 6GHz Wi-Fi support, meaning it features either Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.
Finally, a few days ago multiple official-looking renders of the headset and its official carrying case accessory were leaked.
We’ll continue to keep a close eye on ByteDance in the coming weeks for any further hints or leaks about the next Pico headset, and we’ll bring you full coverage of the company’s China launch event on August 20.
Maria Malik is your guide to the immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR). With a passion for VR technology, she explores the latest VR headsets, applications, and experiences, providing readers with in-depth reviews, industry insights, and a glimpse into the future of virtual experiences.
