46 PICO 4 VR Headset

PICO 4: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY The Pico 4 headset costs £380 (around $430 / AU$680) for a model with 128GB of storage and £450 (around $510 / AU$810) for 250GB. That’s £20 and £40 cheaper respectively than the equivalent Oculus Quest 2 models. That said, if you factor in that Meta’s Quest 2 comes with a free £23 game (Beat Saber) for now, then the price for the headsets is a bit closer. The Pico 4 controllers (Image credit: Future) Unfortunately, the Pico 4 is only available in the UK, Europe, and parts of Asia, so those outside of those territories are unable to buy one without importing it. Pico has told us it’s looking to expand into other markets but hasn’t provided any firm details about its plans. However, given that some of the biggest Pico 4 leaks came from FCC filings we wouldn’t be surprised if at least a US expansion was on the card...

PICO 4: DESIGN Weight is well balanced Intuitive controls No headphone jack We really like the design of the Pico 4. While it’s not quite as comfy as the Meta Quest Pro it is a huge step up from the Oculus Quest 2 as it doesn't use the same front-loaded design. Instead, like the Meta Quest Pro, the Pico 4 spreads its weight across the headset – the display and main processor are on the front and its battery is placed at the back as part of the strap. Along with its pancake lens optical setup – which is thinner than what the Quest 2 uses – we found that even though the Pico 4 is heavier than its Meta rival – coming in at 586g compared to 503g – it generally looks and feels less bulky. The design isn’t quite perfect, though. The first negative we noticed was that the face padding is covered in fabric rather than silicone – which is what the Quest 2 comes with. If you tend to work up a sweat in VR t...

PICO 4: SPECS AND FEATURES Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip and 8GB of RAM Full-color passthrough 2,160 x 2,160 pixel per eye resolution The Pico 4 has some pretty solid components under the hood. It starts with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip as the Quest 2 but soups it up with 8GB RAM compared with its rival’s 6GB. It also comes with a 5300mAh battery that helps it last for two-and-a-half to three hours, as well as support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. It doesn’t just have more raw power, the Pico 4 has a higher resolution display too, with its single 4,320 x 2,160 pixel screen that provides 2,160 x 2,160 per eye ( up from the Quest 2’s 1,832 x 1,920 pixels). It also provides players with a wider field of view at 105 degrees, meaning you can see more of the virtual world by moving your eyes rather than having to turn your whole head. Where the screen falls down is its max refresh rate of 90Hz, the minimum most people requ...

PICO 4: SOFTWARE Solid line up of games No standout exclusives right now Mixed reality features not put to good use yet What’s the point of having a great VR headset if you’ve got nothing to play on it? Thankfully, the Pico 4’s digital store has a wide selection of titles that include some of the best VR games out there, like Walkabout Mini Golf. You can enjoy the Pico 4 sat down or standing up (Image credit: ByteDance) Unfortunately for Pico players, a few great VR games – like the hugely popular Beat Saber and Resident Evil 4 VR – aren’t available on the platform. Beat Saber may launch on Pico (it is Meta-owned but its Steam port gets updates as regularly as its Quest version) but Resident Evil 4 and upcoming titles like Ghostbusters VR and GTA San Andreas VR will likely never launch on a non-Meta Quest system. Pico has sa...

PICO 4 VR Headset Essential tips Starting on the basic end of the spectrum, we'd say these few things are just about essential for any Pico 4 owner. Firstly, you should make sure that you fit the nose flap, it's included in the box, but, strangely, it's not fitted as standard. Without it, you get tonnes of light-leak which ruins the immersion. Fitting it is pretty simple and involves removing the faceplate and slotting it into position. There are detailed instructions on page 9 of the user manual if you get stuck. While you're doing this, you may also want to add the glasses spacer. This is also included in the box and will allow you to wear glasses underneath the headset, should you need them. Another very basic but very important tip is keeping a lens cloth handy. Clean optics are crucial for getting the best visual fidelity, so make sure that the lenses are free from smudges and fingerprints. You should also ...

How to recentre your screen PICO 4 VR Headset  Often times you will find that a game initializes in the wrong place, usually if you were moving around while the game was loading. To fix the orientation, stand in the area where you want to play, facing the correct direction. Then, press and hold the button on your controller with a circle on it. It's purple on the right controller and orange on the left, either one will work. You should then see the world pop into the correct orientation and you can play to your heart's content. This method works in both the home environment and within most games and apps. How to change your home environment If you're not so keen on outer space, there are a few different home environments that you can choose from. To switch, simply go to Settings, then General, and select Virtual Environment. There aren't too many options at the moment, but the mountain ho...

How to screenshot and record gameplay clips PICO 4 VR Headset  Capturing VR moments on the Pico 4 is super easy. There's a dedicated button on the right controller with a picture of a camera on it. Pressing the button once will take a snapshot, and holding the button down will start a video recording. If you visit Settings, then General and choose "Screencasting & Recording" you can adjust recording settings such as resolution and whether the video will include your microphone audio. You can access your saved images and recordings by going to File Manager on the home screen. If you wish to share these recordings elsewhere, the easiest way is via the Pico VR app on your smartphone. So long as the phone and headset are logged into the same account, and on the same wi-fi network, you can access the files in the app by visiting the Devices tab and then selecting Media. Alternatively, you can plug the headset int...

How to screencast your gameplay PICO 4 VR Headset  Playing VR with friends is a great time, but it's a lot less fun if you can't see what's happening in-game. Thankfully, the Pico 4 has some great screencasting options built right into the OS. To start screencasting, visit the quick settings menu and then choose Screencast. From here, you have three options, you can cast to a smart TV, cast to a web browser or cast to a smartphone. The best option for you will depend on your equipment, but they're all fairly easy to set up, and instructions are provided within the menus. Most people will be looking to cast to the big screen, but you'll only be able to cast to a smart TV if it runs an Android operating system. If you don't have an Android-based TV, there are some workarounds you can try. You could cast to a smartphone, and then mirror your phone's screen to the TV or cast to a laptop, via the web brow...

How to change the quick settings PICO 4 VR Headset The quick settings menu gets a lot of use on the Pico 4, but if you like, you can change what appears in this menu to further tailor your experience. Go to Settings, then General, and select Shortcuts. In this menu, you'll see your current quick settings options as well as others that you can add. We like to add Power options to our quick settings menu, as it provides a fast and easy way to reboot the headset or fully power it down at the end of a session. https://www.pocket-lint.com/

How to activate hand tracking PICO 4 VR Headset Not many people know that the Pico 4 has hand-tracking support, but you can try it out right now without downloading anything additional. This one's not quite ready for the primetime, it's a little buggy and could use some refinement, so it's currently hidden in a developer menu. To activate it, you'll first need to enable developer mode. Go to Settings, General, then About and scroll down to Software Version. You'll need to click Software Version seven times in quick succession to become a developer (the same method is used to activate developer mode on an Android phone, FYI.) Then, you'll see a new option in the Settings menu called Developer. Here, you can select Hand Tracking and enable it. On-screen animations will show you the basic gestures for clicking, grabbing...

Pico 4 Review in a nutshell Many advantages of the Pico 4 only exist on paper. The higher resolution and the larger field of view are hardly noticeable in practice. On the other hand, some kind of smearing or ghosting and reflections in areas with high contrast plague the image. The screen-door effect is clearly visible, partly because of some kind of "bubbles" or "holes" that appear quite irregularly in the pixel grid. The image generally appears quite dark with washed-out colors. God-rays, on the other hand, are mostly gone. The smaller form factor and the significantly lower weight are positives. However, a suboptimal head strap design immediately negates any comfort gain from the lower weight. Tracking and the new VR controllers work very well. The Pico Store grows very slowly, but Wi-Fi streaming and streaming via USB-C cable from Steam worked well enough for me - if there are no bugs like broken sound transmission. ...

PICO 4 VR Headset Setup, configuration, and battery Setup is easy... ...but the user account and WLAN cannot be configured via the app. The battery lasts for about two hours. Setting up the Pico 4 is still almost the same as setting up a Quest 2 (review). Supported by videos and step-by-step instructions, the VR headset including the gaming area is quickly set up. Setup requires logging into a Pico account. This is not possible via the app, and neither is setting the Wi-Fi network. At least I do not have to know my payment details by heart - I store them in the VR Assistant app. Battery performance is on par with Pico Neo 3 Link or Quest 2, lasting about two hours before needing a charge. Unfortunately, Pico only supplied me with a British plug for the novel charger, so I can't say anything about the supposedly fast charging time. It still takes around one-and-a-half to two hours with a normal charger. Resolution, colors, refresh rate, and...

Pico 4: Wearing comfort The Pico 4's visor is about 40% lighter than the Quest 2's VR goggle front... ...but this is negated by the poor fit stability of the head mount. I criticized it in my previous tests of the Pico Neo 3 Link and Pico Neo 3 Pro as well: The Pico VR headsets leave a lot to be desired when it comes to comfort. This is even more true for the Pico 4, I would even go so far as to say it is the most uncomfortable VR headset Pico has made so far. Pico 4 (left) and Quest 2 (right): The difference in form factor looks significant, but makes less of a difference in practice than hoped. | Image: Pico / Meta / MIXED From my perspective, the reason lies in the manufacturers' tunnel vision. While the 40 percent lower weight due to the new pancake lenses on the visor (i.e., the front part of the headset) ensures noticeably less pressure on the face, the fitting stability is entirely ignored. The sa...

PICO 4 VR Headset (Hand) Tracking and VR controller Tracking of the VR headset and VR controllers is excellent. Hand tracking is currently not worth mentioning. Tracking is once again exquisite, and I can hardly notice any differences compared to Quest 2. Even during fast movements in VR games, the controllers track precisely. The new VR controllers only have a minor drawback due to the new tracking brackets that run over the thumb toward the end of the VR controller. These tracking points can sometimes be easily covered, for example, when I simply let my hands hang with the controllers. Then a large part of the bracket is very close to the body and blocked from tracking. The tracking stops, and the VR controllers start to "float". Fortunately, this happens rarely. The VR controllers of the Pico 4 work perfectly. The comfort of the headset, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. | Image: MIXED The advantage of the...