PC VR News & Reviews

Pimax announced Dream Air last December, aiming to take on the emerging segment of compact high-end PC VR headsets, such as Bigscreen Beyond and Shiftall MaganeX Superlight 8K. And before the company has even released Dream Air, Pimax revealed it’s also producing a cheaper version: Dream Air SE.

Previously expected to release in May, the company announced during its Pimax Connect event that Dream Air has been delayed to August-September 2025, as the company says it’s waiting on high-end Sony micro-OLED panels, 3,840 × 3,552 per-eye.

“Sony’s micro-OLED panels are top-tier, also used by Apple and Google,” says Pimax European Marketing Director Martin Lammi. “They have an excellent quality consistency across all panels and their visual effect is better. This is because the brightness is higher and the pixels have a wider view angle or ‘chief ray angle’, up from 15 degrees to 20 degrees.”

Other updates to Dream Air include a more balanced split-cable design, which was revealed in March, as well as an optional flip-up style halo headstrap, and support for third-party head straps, such as HTC’s Deluxe Audio Strap.

In the meantime, Pimax revealed Dream Air SE, which includes many of the same features of Dream Air, including micro-OLED panels, integrated audio, self-adjusting strap, pancake lenses, hand-tracking, and Tobii eye-tracking. The standout difference though is Dream Air SE’s 2,560 × 2,560 resolution micro-OLEDs and lower price.

Dream Air SE starts at $899 for the Lighthouse version, appealing to those with existing SteamVR base stations and controllers. The SLAM version, priced at $1,199, includes controllers and inside-out tracking. You can find them both available for pre-order on Pimax’s website.

Like Pimax’s other headsets, users pay an upfront cost for the headset which comes with a 14-day trial period. Afterwards, if users want to keep the headset, they then pay a Pimax Prime software membership for continued access. Here’s how that breaks down:

• Dream Air SE – SLAM Version: $699 upfront + $500 Prime = $1,199 total
• Dream Air SE – Lighthouse Version (no controllers or basestation): $599 upfront + $300 Prime = $899 total

For comparison, Dream Air Lighthouse version starts at $1,899 ($1,199 upfront + $700 Prime), with the Dream Air SLAM version priced at $2,199 ($1,399 upfront + $800 Prime).

Check out the Pimax Connect announcement below:

Wide sweeping tariffs levied by US President Donald Trump have led to uncertainty in just how the XR hardware industry will react. Now, Bigscreen says its recently announced Beyond 2 PC VR headset will not see a price increase as a result.

Bigscreen released a statement on X wherein the company maintains its Beyond 2 headset, priced at $1,019, isn’t getting a price bump despite increased tariffs applied to many goods manufactured in China.

According to Bigscreen, the company sources Beyond 2 components and assemblies from a variety of regions, including China, Japan and Europe. While “significant final assembly and testing” take place at its Los Angeles-based factory, many of the most expensive components and assemblies are made outside the US, which have “dramatically increased […] costs.”

“We expect to absorb all costs of the tariffs, trade war, and supply chain disruptions. We will not be increasing prices in any form for the foreseeable future,” Bigscreen says. “Customers will not pay any further shipping fees, tariffs, import duties, taxes, or VAT,” the company adds, noting that the final checkout amount includes no hidden fees.

While the company says it “expected this may happen long before we announced Bigscreen Beyond 2,” the United States’ Harmonized Tariff Schedule is still evolving.

President Trump issued an executive order last week exempting many electronics, such as smartphones, monitors, and laptops, from the combined 145% reciprocal tariff rate.

Although not specifically named, VR headsets are expected benefit from the exemption, as UploadVR notes, however these devices will still be subject to a 20% tariff which was put in place in March 2025.

Prior to the exemption, Shanghai-based PC VR headset creator Pimax was the first to address tariffs with the announcement it would offload some of the pressure to its ‘Pimax Prime’ software subscription, keeping the final ‘all-in’ price of flagship Crystal Super at parity to the same ~$1,690 pre-tariff pricing, albeit with the inclusion of a $95 US-only surcharge.

China-based PC VR headset creator Pimax has issued a statement addressing the impact of the recent US–China trade war on its operations, particularly concerning its Crystal Super VR headset. It’s going to be slightly more expensive for US-based customers, but Pimax’s recent subscription-based payment structure seems to be offsetting much of the costs.

Announced back in April 2024, Crystal Super is the company’s next flagship PC VR headset, offering a base 57 PPD version with QLED panels that features a resolution of 3,840 x 3,840 pixels per eye and a 120-degree field-of-view (FOV). It’s still only available in pre-order, although shipping is expected to start soon.

At the time of this writing, the US has levied a 145% tariff on all goods manufactured in China. This is bad news for XR headset creators the world over, as China is by far the segment’s largest manufacturing hub. And Shanghai-based Pimax is seemingly the first of the bunch to announce price changes in response.

Pimax released a blogpost wherein it describes just what’s happening to US-based customers in relation to new tariffs. And it’s not as bad as you’d think.

The company says all US orders of Crystal Super placed before February 4th, 2025 will not include any extra tariff costs, however they may face a delay of about 20 days due to bulk shipments to US-based warehouses.

Orders placed between February 4th and April 10th will include a $75 ‘Regional Surcharge’ however, which Pimax says partially offsets increased shipping and logistics costs.

Moreover, starting April 10th, all new US orders will carry a $95 surcharge, with shipments expected to begin in June. Pimax says it’s also establishing a factory in Delaware to handle final assembly.

That said, the overall price of Crystal Super isn’t really changing. Pimax has now updated its pricing structure, and although it’s become less straight forward following the rollout of its subscription-based software pricing, it’s actually helping to offset tariff-related costs.

Now, the base price of Pimax Crystal Super has been lowered to $799, with the remaining $885 payable later through Pimax Play with Prime—a total cost $1,684 (excl. US-only $95 surcharge).

For everyone else around the globe, it’s essentially a nominal change. Previously, Crystal Super was priced at $999 with the remaining Prime subscription costing $696—total cost $1,695. You’ll now see that local pricing has be updated to reflect the lower upfront cost.

Notably, the company highlights that its 14-day trial period is still in place. For users outside the US, this could make Crystal Super slightly more attractive than before, as it requires less upfront money down—still refundable if you send it back before the trial period ends and you need Prime to continue using it.

That said, Pimax is in a unique position to rebalance its costs by leveraging its expensive, but now extremely useful subscription model. The same can’t be said for platform holders like Meta, which already subsidize hardware in effort to make software more attractive.

While Meta hasn’t announced any price hikes, the company has actually raised headsets prices in the past, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the company to temporarily raise the price of Quest 2 from $300 to $400 back in 2022. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.

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We’ll be following the effects of US-China trade war tariffs on XR hardware closely, so check back soon for more.

Bigscreen launched orders for its upcoming Beyond 2 PC VR headset yesterday, which is boosting field-of-view and clarity thanks to the inclusion of a new pancake lens design. Now, the company says that within a mere 10 hours of sales going live, Beyond 2 has already outsold the original Beyond by a significant margin.

In a series of updates on X, Bigscreen revealed just how well Beyond 2 was doing among PC VR enthusiasts.

“In just the first 25 minutes, Beyond 2 outsold the first day of Beyond 1 sales. In the first hour, we’ve doubled Beyond 1 launch day sales.” Bigscreen said early yesterday.

As the day went on, the company released more info on sales performance of Beyond 2 and its eye-tracking variant, Beyond 2e. And the most recent stat is pretty staggering.

“Within 10 hours of launch…Beyond 2 has sold more than the first FOUR MONTHS of Beyond 1 sales.”

At the time of this writing, Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e are now quoted to ship in June 2025, already blowing past the first shipment batches, which were planned for April and May respectively.

But why the hype for Beyond 2? While you can read more about Beyond 2 here, including specs, it may come down to the easy upgrade pathway laid out by Bigscreen. Not only can Beyond 1 users purchase at a discount—$849 for Beyond 2 and $1049 for Beyond 2e—but it’s also backwards compatible with most Beyond 1 accessories, including the custom facial interface that’s required for Beyond 1.

Moreover, Beyond 2 packs in a new pancake lens design, offering up a wider 116-degree diagonal FOV, an adjustable IPD mechanism, and a lighter 107g design, with the 2e model adding AI-powered eye-tracking. It still has the same dual 1-inch 2,560 × 2,560 micro-OLED displays as the original Beyond, although its new lenses boast better clarity and FOV over the original.

Beyond 2 and 2e are priced at $1,019 and $1,219 respectively (or discounted for Beyond 1 owners). It was also unveiled alongside a new halo-style mount and Lightblocker facial interface, which is set to arrive in Q3 2025.

You can find all of that available for purchase over on the Bigscreen website.

Bigscreen today announced its next-gen Beyond PC VR headset, promising a big boost in field-of-view (FOV) and clarity thanks to the inclusion of new pancake lenses. Bigscreen is also making the slim and light headset more attractive to at-home and enterprise users too thanks to its new adjustable interpupillary distance (IPD) and a universal Lightseal facial interface.

Bigscreen is releasing two versions of its next headset—Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e. Unlike the ‘e’ naming scheme seen in Apple’s recent iPhone 16e, the ‘e’ in Beyond 2e denotes the inclusion of eye-tracking.

Beyond 2e contains everything Beyond 2 does, albeit with a very small eye-tracking suite, which is said to feature AI-powered computer vision for low-latency, privacy-focused tracking, and integrated with SteamVR, OpenXR, and platforms like VRChat, with a beta program launching in Summer 2025.

The headsets are priced at $1,019 (Beyond 2) and $1,219 (Beyond 2e), although Bigscreen is discounting that for previous owners of the original Beyond, bringing them to $849 and $1049 respectively.

The company says the first batches are slated to launch in April, with an optional halo-style strap mount targeting a Q3 2025 release. Both Beyond 2 models will be available in three colorways: Carbon Black, Crystal Clear, and Nuclear Orange.

Like Beyond 1, the slim and light PC VR headset uses the SteamVR tracking standard, which includes support for SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 base stations, as well as the usual cadre of SteamVR accessories, such as body trackers, and controller like Valve’s Index controllers (aka ‘Knuckles’).

Of course, you’ll need a VR-ready PC to use Bigscreen Beyond 2 and the required base stations. Click here to find out if your PC is ready.

While we’re not getting a resolution bump with Beyond 2, since they contain the same dual 1-inch 2,560 × 2,560 micro-OLED displays as the original Beyond (2023), Beyond 2’s biggest improvement is undoubtedly the inclusion of new pancake lenses. The new lens design is said to boost FOV to a reported 116-degree diagonal over the original’s 102-degree diagonal FOV.

It’s also lighter too, weighing 16% less than the original Beyond, now at only 107 grams—notably lighter than standalone headsets like Meta Quest 3 (515g) or Apple Vision Pro (650g), as well as other PC VR headsets in the slim and light category, such as the upcoming MaganeX superlight 8K (179g).

Unchanged displays notwithstanding, Bigscreen says Beyond 2 has improved brightness and reduced glare by a good margin; the new pancake lens design features “dramatic improvements over Beyond 1 with total edge-to-edge clarity and a very large sweet spot,” the company says.

And for the first time, Beyond 2 is introducing an adjustable IPD mechanism, which can be modified with an included tool. Visible markings on the inside of the headset show the current IPD setting in millimeters for both lenses, so users can dial in each lens independently for the best viewing clarity.

The company calls the new IPD mechanism “a major improvement” over Beyond 1’s fixed IPD system, which required selecting from 18 different sizes, and required users to scan their faces with an iPhone for the required custom facial interface.

And what about accessories? While Beyond 2 supports the same custom-fit cushions as Beyond 1, the headset is shipping with a universal-fit Lightseal interface, all of which ostensibly makes Beyond 2 more attractive to at-home users looking for better shareability as well as enterprise users.

To boot, many of the original Beyond’s accessories are said to work with Beyond 2, including its five-meter fiver optic cable, link box, Audio Strap, and soft stap. Notably, prescription lens inserts manufactured before 2025 for Beyond 1 will work with Beyond 2, however they won’t fit Beyond 2e. Prescription lens inserts manufactured in 2025 and onwards are compatible with Beyond 1, 2, and 2e, Bigscreen says.

The headset ships with an included soft strap, however Bigscreen is also launching a newly announced halo-style mount, shipping in Q3 2025, which the company says was inspired by night vision goggles.

The halo mount features fine-tuned controls for tilt and eye relief and supports multiple configurations, including with the headset’s included lightseal, Beyond’s original custom facial interfaces, or none at all.

As a mount, and not a whole strap unit as such, the accessory is compatible with various strap solutions, including the included soft strap, Bigscreen’s Audio Strap, as well as third-party options. There’s no pricing yet, although we’re sure to learn more closer to its Q3 2025 launch.

Bigscreen Beyond 2 will be taking orders over on its website, which will ship from its Los Angeles, California factory to customers in the US, Canada, Japan, UK, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. The company says it’s also planning to expand to countries such as South Korea, Mexico, Israel, and UAE sometime later this year.

Specifications

• Field of View: 116° diagonal
• Weight: 107 grams
• IPD: Adjustable, 48mm to 75mm (55mm to 70mm physically)
• Resolution: 2,560 × 2,560 per-eye
• Refresh Rate: 90Hz, 75Hz
• 6DOF Tracking: SteamVR tracking
• Tracking Requirements: SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 Base Stations (not included)
• Eye Tracking: Yes, on Beyond 2e
• Full-body Tracking: Compatible with SteamVR trackers such as HTC Vive Trackers, Tundra Trackers (not included)
• Controllers: Compatible with SteamVR controllers such as Valve Index Controllers (not included)

PC Requirements

• Audio Input: Dual microphone array
• Audio Output: Built-in on-ear speakers with the Audio Strap (not included)
• Accessory Ports: 1 × USB-C
• Cable: 5-meter fiber optic cable
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 2070 or AMD RX 5700 XT or newer (DisplayPort 1.4 and DSC required)
• CPU: Quad-core Intel or AMD
• Ports: 1 × DisplayPort 1.4, 2 × USB 3.0 ports
• OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11

Varjo, the Finland-based maker of high-end XR headsets, announced they’re releasing a new paid licensing structure next month which will include some of XR-4’s previously free software features.

Many of Varjo’s headsets over the years have required a subscription of some sort, such as its fleet of enterprise-focused XR-3 headsets released in 2020. The company’s latest line of XR-4 headsets released in late 2023 without the need for a subscription however.

Now, Varjo says it’s introducing a new subscription affecting all new XR-4 and XR-4 Focal Edition headsets purchased after March 25th, which will kick off with two new tiers: ‘Varjo Base’ and the ‘Varjo Base Pro’ paid subscription.

Varjo Base is the free software suite, which includes core virtual reality and tracking features. Varjo Base Pro on the other hand is a paid subscription priced at $2,500 annually, or $5,000 for perpetual use.

Varjo Base Pro is packages to include more advanced mixed reality capabilities, such as chroma key, 3D reconstruction, and video post-processing, along with expanded tracking support, programmatic controls, and multi-app functionality. Notably, all XR-4 Secure Edition headsets purchased after March 25th will include a Pro license.

Granted, at $5,990 and $9,990 respectively, both XR-4 and XR-4 Focal Edition really only appeal to the highest-end PC VR prosumers and enterprise customers—which makes the price restructuring a little less of a blunt force trauma. Anyone who already owns the headset doesn’t need to pay for advanced features, with the ‘Pro’ price hike essentially only affecting deep pocketed enterprise users moving forward.

Here’s a breakdown, courtesy Varjo:

	Varjo Base (free)	Varjo Base Pro (paid)
Virtual reality	Virtual reality rendering
Mixed reality	– Video pass-through with Alpha mask – Depth occlusion Integrated microphone and speakers with DTS spatial audio – Autofocus cameras (with Focal Edition)	– Chroma key – Blend-control mask – Video pass-through data stream – Video post-process shader – Environment cubemap for HDR lightning – 3D reconstruction – Programmatic control for camera settings
Tracking technologies	– Varjo inside-out tracking – SteamVR Tracking (depending on version) – Varjo Controller tracking – Varjo Markers – Eye tracking for foveated rendering – Automatic IPD adjustment – Varjo Hand tracking	– Support for 3rd party tracking plugins – Support for motion platforms – Eye tracking for analytics and research – Programmatic control for IPD adjustment
Productivity	– Varjo Base desktop application – Varjo Workspace	– Disable Varjo UIs and branding
Compatibility	– OpenVR, OpenXR, Microsoft DirectX 11, DirectX 12, OpenGL, Vulkan	– Multi-app support