PICO let us have hands-on with PICO 4 and I have been using it for more than a week. This is the first time I’m trying VR and a VR headset.
Just last month, we covered the news that PICO is releasing a VR headset worldwide and they said it will be coming to Malaysia later this year. Well, it is finally here. This is going to be my first impression of the latest VR headset from PICO.
Before we begin, let us recap the specs. The PICO 4 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip with 8GB of RAM, and has a resolution of 2,160 x 2,160 pixels per eye. It comes in two storage sizes, 128GB and 256GB.
There’s a 5,300mAh battery that provides up to three hours of use included in the rear strap of the headset to keep it balanced and it supports 20W fast charging.
The VR headset support 72Hz and 90Hz refresh rate. It has pancake lens that support 105-degree field of view and for audio, it has and integrated high fidelity speaker and dual microphones. There’s also a motorised interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment range from 62mm to 72mm.
For connectivity, the PICO 4 supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. The headset weighs 295 grams without the strap and 586 grams with it. It can be used as a standalone device or you can connect it to a PC wirelessly to play PCVR games.
The VR comes in a big rectangular box, and on it, you can find some written information about what games are available to buy and what is included in the box.
Inside the box, you can find:
- The VR Headset
- Two Controllers
- Four AA Batteries
- A Glasses Spacer (if you are wearing glasses)
- A Nose Pad (to prevent light from bleeding in)
- Two Controller Lanyards (so you wouldn’t fling your controller across the room)
- A USB-C 20W Power Adapter
- A USB-C to C 2.0 Cable
- Some written guides to get you started
A Solid and Lightweight VR Headset
Plastic was used in the headset’s construction. They must keep it as light as possible, so players won’t be bothered by it. It doesn’t, however, feel cheap. Everything is well constructed, and I have no trouble wearing it for an hour because you hardly notice its weight. Although, I can feel the backside of the headset is a bit heavier because the 5,300mAh battery sits inside there and the battery is not removable.
The headset comes with a head strap if you want a more secure fit. There’s a knob on the back of the headset that allows you to adjust how tight and secure you want it to be. I have adjusted it to be as tight and secure as possible to avoid any light bleeding in from the outside.
The face cushion padding on the headset, around the lenses, is removable, but the one on the back of your head is not. It was made out of this soft fabric-like material, PICO said it is skin-friendly. Because of this, I don’t feel like something hard is clamping down on my head, and after some time, I’ve become accustomed to it. Overall, I would say that after getting used to it, it is fairly comfortable.
There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack and there’s only one USB-C port for charging. You can use a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle or just use wireless earbuds.
The Controllers
It feels good on my hand. The buttons are responsive and the tracking is very accurate as well. The company representative said the batteries inside the controllers will last up to a month if you are playing every day. The vibration and haptic feedback is good as well. I have no qualms about it.
The Software Is Okay
The PICO OS 5.0 is based on Android and the company heavily customized it for VR. Before you start using the headset, it is recommended that you download PICO VR Assistant app first, register an account and then login using the account on the headset.
On first impression, everything looks sharp and clear. I was amazed by how easily I could read the texts and see the images. The OS is quite easy to use and navigate. There are no hiccups or apps suddenly closing on themselves. But the PICO Store is a little bit hard to navigate and find the games that you own or want to buy. There’s also a browser included. It is functional; nothing fancy about it.
I tried playing some games on it, such as After The Fall, In Death: Unchained and All-In-One Sports VR. All the games work fantastically, but sometimes I just want to keep playing without stopping.
I’m Going To Spend More Time With It
Overall, I would say the PICO 4 is giving some positive impressions. But of course, I have to use and play with it for a longer period of time before I can conclusively say whether it is worth buying or not.
So, stay tuned to my review in the next couple of weeks. You can get your hands on PICO 4 as well. They costs RM1,699 for 128GB and RM1,999 for 256GB. PICO just launched the VR headset in Malaysia today.
