PlayStation VR 2

PlayStation VR 2 Launching Early 2023, Sony Confirms

August 22, 2022 From roadtovr

Sony confirmed today that its latest VR headset, PSVR 2, will see a release date in 2023. The company’s brief announcement didn’t include a price for PlayStation VR 2, one of the last pieces of key info that’s still unknown.

Sony today shared one of the last but most important pieces of info regarding PlayStation VR 2… its launch window. The company confirmed today on Instagram (of all places) that the headset’s release date will come in early 2023, but shared absolutely no other info about the headset’s launch.

Granted, we know almost everything there is to know about PSVR 2 by this point, except for its price.

The early 2023 launch window (presumably Q1) is a curious move by Sony. The company has only ever launched major PlayStation hardware in Q3 or Q4, dating all the way back to the original PS1, and including the first PSVR headset.

Our best guess for the move is that Sony is expecting the ongoing global supply chain and inflation issues to cause chaos in the electronics market this holiday, and it doesn’t want to battle other consumer electronics makers on price. It’s even possible that the company wasn’t able to secure the components it needed for a Q4 2022 launch, forcing it to delay to Q1 2023.

In any case, we finally have an idea of when PlayStation VR 2 will launch… and it will be more than six years since the original headset’s release.

Sony is promising that PSVR 2 will offer an innovative VR experience with many features not currently found in other consumer headsets, like eye-tracking, HDR, head-haptics, and advanced trigger haptics. Check out our breakdown of PlayStation VR 2 specs to learn everything we know about the headset and how it compares to the original PSVR.

Import Records Reveal Sony Has Shipped Thousands of Dev Kits, Possibly PSVR 2

March 16, 2022 From roadtovr

United States import records from late 2021 onward show that Sony Interactive Entertainment has shipped thousands of boxes containing developer kits from Asia to the US. The exact contents of the boxes hasn’t been specified, however Sony’s next-gen PlayStation VR 2 headset is a very likely candidate.

As first reported by TweakTown, Sony has shipped 2,374 cartons containing “DEVELOPMENT KIT[s] FOR INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE,” starting back in October 2021.

Here’s the relevant data from TweakTown, sourced from import/export firm Import Genius and confirmed with Seair Exim Solutions:

January 2022 – 434 CTN (cartons), 4730 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA
December 2021 – 980 CTN, 8712 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA
November 2021 – 480 CTN, 5218 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA
October 2021 – 240 CTN, 2612 kg, Korea -> Oakland, CA
October 2021 – 240 CTN, 2612 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA

Granted, records don’t specify which dev kit is inside the box, however we can make a few educated guesses.

Platform holders like Sony typically distribute dev kits to a handful of select studios months before launch so they can properly target the new hardware. PSVR 2 is rumored to release in early 2023, so the clock is ticking for studios to make the best use of all the new tech packed into Sony’s next-gen headset, including eye-tracking, face haptics and its new Sense controllers.

PlayStation 5 released in November 2020 and continues to lag in production due to the global chip shortage, so it’s unlikely Sony is shipping additional PS5 consoles to developers at this late stage.

Sony also hasn’t announced any other console, like a PlayStation 5 Pro. Given the ongoing supply chain problem with microprocessors, a surprise PS5 Pro launch seems like a non-starter considering PS5 is still in high demand and relatively little supply.

Want to learn everything there is to know about PSVR 2? Check out specs and a breakdown of the tech in PSVR 2.

PlayStation VR 2 Finally Revealed in First Images

February 22, 2022 From roadtovr

Sony finally lifted the veil on PlayStation VR2 along with the final design image of the PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers.

Note: This news is breaking. We’re updating this piece as new information comes in.

We’ve been waiting for nearly a year now since Sony first revealed images of its PSVR 2 Sense controllers to finally catch a glimpse of PSVR 2.

The next-gen headset itself takes on a very PS5 aesthetic—which is no wonder, since it’s the official VR headset for PS5. The company also says the orb-like headset and matching controllers are supposed to represent “the 360-degree view that players feel when they enter the virtual reality world.”

Sony says it’s paid “very close attention to the ergonomics of the headset and conducted extensive testing to ensure a comfortable feel for a variety of head sizes.”

The company says it’s balanced the headset weight and included an adjustable headband that can be tweaked to fit the headset closer or further away from the face. So much is pretty standard for the original PSVR too, however Sony says new features a lens adjustment dial for more comfortable viewing, among other things.

“We also created a slimmer design with a slight weight reduction – even with the new added features such as the new built-in motor for the headset feedback,” says Hideaki Nishino, Sony Vice President of Platform Experience. “It was quite a challenge to create a slimmer design with new features added to improve upon our first headset, but our design and engineering teams proved this could be possible when we saw the final design!”

The headset is also said to include a new vent design for better air flow. And just like the PS5 and Dual Sense controller, the new PSVR 2 Sense controller and PSVR 2 headset will feature tiny PS symbols all throughout its design.

Sony first shared PSVR 2’s specs back in January. As you can see below, it’s set to be a substantial upgrade over the original PSVR, which was first unveiled in 2014 as Project Morpheus and later released as PSVR in 2016.

Yes, it has tethered design, although it features inside-out optical tracking that will do away with the positively ancient PlayStation Camera, as well as PS Move controllers. If you’re looking for a bigger breakdown than the chart below, check out our PSVR 2 spec comparison article for more.

PSVR vs. PSVR 2 Specs
	PSVR 2	PSVR
Resolution	2,000 × 2,040 (4.1MP) per-eye, OLED, HDR	960 × 1,080 (1.0MP) per-eye, RGB OLED
Refresh Rate	90Hz, 120Hz	90Hz, 120Hz
Lenses	unknown	Single element non-Fresnel
Field-of-view (claimed)	110° (diagonal presumed)	100° (diagonal presumed)
Optical Adjustments	IPD	Eye-relief
Connectors	USB-C (no breakout box)	USB, HDMI (breakout box)
Cable Length	unknown	4.4m
Tracking	Inside-out (no external beacons)	Outside-in (external camera)
On-board cameras	4x IR (external), 2x IR (internal)	None
Input	PSVR 2 Sense controllers (rechargable), eye-tracking	DualShock 4 (rechargeable), PS Move (rechargeable), PS Aim (rechargeable), voice
Audio	3.5mm aux output	3.5mm aux output
Microphone	Yes	Yes
Haptics	Controllers, headset	Controllers
Weight	unknown	600g
Release Date	Expected Q3/Q4 2022	2016
Console Compatibility	PS5 (backwards compatibility not expected)	PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5

There’s still no telling when PSVR 2 will release. We’ll be following this story in the coming days, so check back soon.

A Sony Patent Could Bring Next-gen Fresnel Lenses to PSVR 2

February 8, 2022 From roadtovr

We learned last week that PSVR 2 will use Fresnel lenses, which have a range of advantages over traditional lenses, but also come with a big downside: god rays. However, Sony may have a trick up its sleeve that could give the headset’s Fresnel lenses a big advantage over the competition.

As we explained last week with the revelation about PSVR 2’s lenses, every major consumer VR headset on the market has moved to Fresnel lenses, but they unfortunately come with one major downside and that is ‘god rays’. This is a visual artifact that’s especially prominent with high-contrast elements (like white text on a black background) which appears to show streaks of light radiating outward from the center of the lens. This is a lens-dependent issue; no matter how much resolution you pack into the display or what kind of display you’re using, the image will always be negatively impacted by god rays.

A comparison between a Fresnel lens (1) and a traditional lens (2). The Fresnel lens has the same overall curvature but in a more compact package.

The industry at large has leaned into Fresnel lenses seemingly because they offer greater flexibility for optical designs that are light and compact. High-end optical systems (like the lens of a DSLR) often stack multiple lens elements in a row to achieve the desired optical characteristics, but this has been largely avoided for VR headsets due to the additional cost, complexity, and size that can come with multi-element optics.

Are we forever doomed to suffer god rays in VR headsets with Fresnel lenses? Maybe not. And PlayStation 2 might be the first headset to truly address the problem.

A patent granted to Sony in 2020 proposes a “method of manufacturing the Fresnel lens which can suppress [god rays] […].”

The patent describes adding a “light absorbing portion” to the surfaces of the Fresnel lens that don’t actually contribute to the overall shape of the lens (the back-side of the ridges). This would, in theory, reduce god rays by preventing light from being scattered by those parts of the lens. The patent shows several arrangements for the light absorbing portion, both on the surface of the lens and embedded within it.

If you’ve ever seen a Fresnel lens in a modern VR headset then you know how tiny the ridges of the lens can be. Placing a light absorbing material only on those parts of the lens that are undesirably would understandably be difficult.

HP’s Reverb G2 headset; zoom way in to spot the tiny Fresnel ridges in the lens | Photo by Road to VR

Sony’s patent proposes several different methods for manufacturing such a lens. One of which involves applying a ‘mask’ (which blocks light) over the entire lens surface, and then, using some kind of exposure technique, removing only portion where light is desired to pass through.

Another method proposes starting with the light absorbing material already shaped and then forming the lens around it so that the ridges align just right with the light absorbing structure.

It’s an interesting idea and, to our knowledge, not one that’s been employed in a VR headset yet.

– – — – –

As ever, big companies like Sony file lots of patents and many of them never become products. There’s no telling whether the methods described are even practical for mass manufacturing. So it’s tough to say if this might end up in PSVR 2, but the option is on the table.

At a minimum we at least know that Sony filed the patent with VR headsets in mind. While this patent could easily apply to the company’s many other optics-related business interests—they make their own high-end cameras and lenses, after all— this patent was specifically filed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the division of the company responsible for PlayStation. What’s more, the patent specifically mentions using two Fresnel lenses in front of a display for use in a “head mounted display.”

It’s unlikely that we’ll get any more details on PSVR 2’s lenses before the company reveals the final design, which is expected sometime this year.

PSVR 2 Could Include Tech from the Biggest Name in Eye Tracking

February 7, 2022 From roadtovr

Tobii, a global leader in eye-tracking, announced it’s currently in talks with Sony to include its tech in the upcoming PlayStation VR2.

Tobii released a short press statement today confirming that negotiations are ongoing, additionally noting that it’s “not commenting on the financial impact of the deal at this time.”

It was first revealed that Sony would include eye-tracking in PSVR 2 back in May 2021, with the mention that it will provide foveated rendering for the next-gen VR headset. Foveated rendering allows the headset to render scenes in high detail exactly where you’re looking and not in your peripheral. That essentially lets PSVR 2 save precious compute power for more and better things.

Founded in 2001, Tobii has become well known in the industry for its eye-tracking hardware and software stacks. The Sweden-based firm has partnered with VR headset makers over the years and can be found in a number of devices, such as HTC Vive Pro Eye, HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition, Pico Neo 2 Eye, Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye, and a number of Qualcomm VRDK reference designs.

It’s still unclear when PSVR 2 is slated to arrive, although it may be positioned to become the first true commercial VR headset to feature eye-tracking—that’s if PSVR 2 isn’t beaten out by Project Cambria, the rumored ‘Quest Pro’ headset from Meta which is also said to include face and eye-tracking.

PSVR 2 Product Page Reveals New Details on Optics & Displays

February 5, 2022 From roadtovr

An official product page for PlayStation VR 2 confirms some new details on the headset’s optics and displays. Although the page signals that PSVR 2 is getting ever closer to becoming a reality, we still don’t have a release date or a look at the headset itself.

Last month Sony shared the first solid specs and info on PSVR 2, which we covered in-depth here. Now a new official website for PSVR 2 has sprung up and revealed a few new details.

Beyond what we already knew about the headset, the new page confirms that PlayStation VR 2 will use Fresnel lenses. This is a fairly big change compared to the aspheric non-Fresnel lens used in the original PSVR headset.

Fresnel lenses use concentric ridges to condense the geometry of a lens into a thinner package, thereby reducing size and weight. This can allow the lens to achieve optical characteristics which might otherwise result in an impractically large traditional lens. However, Fresnel lenses are also known to introduce additional artifacts like ‘god rays’ and edge glare.

The vast majority of VR headsets on the market have moved to Fresnel lenses, likely due to their flexibility for optical design, despite some of the negatives that come attached. The original PSVR is famously the only headsets on the market in its class that didn’t use Fresnel lenses, so it’s interesting to see PSVR 2 making the jump.

Beyond the use of Fresnel lenses, the PlayStation VR 2 product page also confirms that the headset will have two independent displays, one for each eye.

We already knew that the headset will have a 2,000 × 2,040 per-eye resolution, but it was previously unknown whether this would come in the form of a single 4,000 × 2,040 display, or two 2,000 × 2,040 displays.

It might seem like a minor detail, but splitting the display into two means more flexibility for the headset’s IPD adjustment (the distance between the lenses).

On headsets with a single display, like Quest 2, when you adjust the IPD you’re merely sliding the lenses along the display. This can leave some unused resolution on the table or make it easier to see the edges of the display depending upon what the IPD is set to.

In headsets with two displays, each lens is typically mounted directly to the display itself; when you adjust the IPD the display and the lens move together. This makes it easier for the headset to accomodate a wider IPD range without potentially revealing the edges of the display or giving up any resolution to account for the adjustment.

PSVR 1 display and housing | Photo courtesy iFixit (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

The original PSVR used a single display and didn’t include any IPD adjustment. PSVR 2 on the other hand will have two displays and an IPD adjustment, allowing users to dial the lenses into an ideal position. It’s been previously confirmed that the displays will be OLED and support up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

So far the IPD range for PSVR 2 is unknown, but the product page makes mention of an “adjustment dial” which suggests that the range will be continuous rather than discrete.

All the way at the bottom of the product page you can also choose to sign up to be notified for when PSVR 2 pre-orders go live. We still don’t have a release date or even pre-order date, but it’s increasingly looking like the headset will launch this year.

For a deeper dive on what’s known about PSVR 2 specs so far, check out our article comparing the new headset with the original.

PSVR vs. PSVR 2 – How Far Has PlayStation VR Come Since 2016?

January 11, 2022 From roadtovr

PlayStation VR 2 isn’t here quite yet, but at the very start of 2022 Sony revealed the first detailed specs for the headset. Comparing PSVR vs. PSVR 2 specs side-by-side shows us how much has changed since Sony’s first consumer headset released in 2016.

Among the major players in the VR space, Sony has bided its time on a follow-up to the original headset. Assuming the company’s next-gen VR headset is released this year, around the same time of year as the original, it will be six years between PSVR and PSVR 2.

The original PSVR was released about six months after the first major consumer VR headsets—HTC Vive and Oculus Rift—hit the market back in 2016. However, HTC, Oculus, and others have released many new headsets in the interim. To its credit, PSVR managed to feel competitive for many years after its release, but eventually began to feel dated as the rest of the pack charged ahead.

Now here we are in 2022 with PSVR 2 on PS5 set to bring new life to Sony’s VR ambitions. Let’s take a look at how PSVR and PSVR 2 specs compare:

PSVR vs. PSVR 2 Specs
	PSVR 2	PSVR
Resolution	2,000 × 2,040 (4.1MP) per-eye, OLED, HDR	960 × 1,080 (1.0MP) per-eye, RGB OLED
Refresh Rate	90Hz, 120Hz	90Hz, 120Hz
Lenses	unknown	Single element non-Fresnel
Field-of-view (claimed)	110° (diagonal presumed)	100° (diagonal presumed)
Optical Adjustments	IPD	Eye-relief
Connectors	USB-C (no breakout box)	USB, HDMI (breakout box)
Cable Length	unknown	4.4m
Tracking	Inside-out (no external beacons)	Outside-in (external camera)
On-board cameras	4x IR (external), 2x IR (internal)	None
Input	PSVR 2 Sense controllers (rechargable), eye-tracking	DualShock 4 (rechargeable), PS Move (rechargeable), PS Aim (rechargeable), voice
Audio	3.5mm aux output	3.5mm aux output
Microphone	Yes	Yes
Haptics	Controllers, headset	Controllers
Weight	unknown	600g
Release Date	Expected Q3/Q4 2022	2016
Console Compatibility	PS5 (backwards compatibility not expected)	PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5

PSVR 2 Specs – Beyond the Numbers

It’s easy to get lost in the numbers so let’s really break down the major changes between the headsets.

Resolution, Field-of-view, & HDR

For one, PSVR 2 has about four times the pixel count of PSVR. All things being equal, that means images inside the headset would look about four times sharper, which is a substantial improvement.

However, we know that all things won’t be equal. Sony quotes the field-of-view of PSVR 2 at 110° compared to 100° for PSVR 1. That means that while PSVR 2 has many more pixels, they’ll be stretched over a slightly wider area. Overall the sharpness of the headset should still be substantially better, but not quite as much as the sheer increase in pixels would suggest.

As for the field-of-view itself, 100° to 110° isn’t a huge leap, but you’d surely notice it if you compared the headsets side-by-side.

PSVR 1 had an eye-relief adjustment that allowed users to move the lenses closer to their eyes which helped to maximize the headset’s field-of-view. We don’t yet know if PSVR 2 will include an eye-relief adjustment; if it doesn’t then some users might not be able to utilize the headset’s full field-of-view because of how faces are shaped differently from person-to-person.

Unless a surprise headset beats it to the punch, PSVR 2 will be the first commercially available VR headset to launch with an HDR (high-dynamic range) display. That means it’s capable of a much wider range of brightness than a typical headset. Functionally this means the headset will be able to produce scenes with more life-like brightness which could improve immersive considerably.

Personally I’ve never seen an HDR display in a headset… nor do I know anyone who has (that’s allowed to talk about it). I’ve seen plenty of HDR TVs and phones, but because of the unique way that VR displays typically work (with things like low-persistence), it’s tough to know if HDR on PSVR 2 will be directly comparable. So at this point it’s unclear if HDR will be a ‘nice to have’ feature, or something that defines the headset compared to its contemporaries.

Lenses & IPD

PSVR 1 lens | Photo courtesy iFixit (BY-NC-SA)

We don’t know what kind of lenses PSVR 2 will use. The original headset is famously the only headsets on the market in its class that doesn’t use Fresnel lenses, which are known to cause glare (in exchange for other benefits).

The lenses in the original PSVR had a large enough eye-box that Sony didn’t feel the need to include an IPD adjustment (which adjusts the lenses to match the distance between your eyes). However, PSVR 2 does have an IPD adjustment, which suggests a significant change in the headset’s optics, but it’s difficult to say what that might entail.

Even if the lenses didn’t change, having an IPD adjustment is generally a good idea anyway, so we’re glad to see this change for PSVR 2.

Ease-of-use & Tracking

Even though this reads minimally on a spec sheet, this is a huge deal for PSVR 2—no more breakout box and no more external camera.

PSVR 1 setup diagram | image courtesy Sony

PSVR 1 ships with a large breakout box that accepts two plugs from the headset that run along a thick cable. The breakout box has to be connected to the host console by a USB cable and an HDMI cable (and also has to be plugged into the TV). And don’t forget that it needs its own power supply. That’s six… yes, six, individual plugs running into and out of the box.

Needless to say, the breakout box was a bit of a pain. Not only did it complicate the user’s A/V set up, in some cases it even created resolution and HDR issues for certain TVs; this was partly fixed with a revision to the PSVR hardware, but even so the breakout box was a hindrance to the overall experience.

Oh and don’t forget about the camera. PSVR 1 required the PS4 camera for tracking, which meant having another peripheral plugged into your console. Not only that, but the camera was never made for VR in the first place and it suffered from poor tracking accuracy and limited coverage.

Sony has identified and eliminated these issues for PSVR 2. The breakout box is completely gone; the company says the headset will plug into the PS5 with a single USB-C cable through the USB-C port conveniently placed right on the front of the PS5.

And the PS4 camera is gone too. Instead of using ‘outside-in’ tracking with a camera that sits on your TV, PSVR 2 has on-board cameras for ‘inside-out’ tracking. That means the cameras on the headset itself are used to track the player’s head movements. This eliminates another extra peripheral compared to PSVR 1.

But there’s a risk in Sony’s move to inside-out tracking. The quality of inside-out tracking varies greatly between headset makers. While the inside-out tracking on Quest 2, for instance, is very good, the inside-out tracking on Windows VR headsets leaves much to be desired. Only a handful of companies in the world have shown that they can deliver top-tier inside-out tracking for VR.

Granted, the bar is pretty low in this case. Tracking on PSVR 1 was arguably the worst among major headsets on the market, but it still sold very well regardless. Even if PSVR 2 has just ‘ok’ inside-out tracking, it could still be an improvement over the poor tracking of the original.

All that said, Sony tends to be pretty serious about VR, and I expect they’ll have a decent solution for inside-out tracking, if not a very good one.

Continue on Page 2: Eye-tracking, Controllers, Audio, & Headset Haptics »

Sony Announces PlayStation VR 2 Specs Including Eye-tracking, HDR, & 110° Field-of-view

January 5, 2022 From roadtovr

Today during Sony’s CES 2022 press conference the company revealed the first details on PlayStation VR 2, including eye-tracking, a “4K” HDR display, and a 110° Field-of-view.

For the first time today, Sony confirmed that its next-gen VR headset for PS5 will be called… *drumroll*… PlayStation VR 2. Although it’s not really much of a surprise, it’s the first time the company has officially revealed the headset’s name.

During the company’s CES 2022 press conference today Sony also confirmed a range of features and specs for PSVR 2. Here’s what we know so far:

PlayStation VR 2 Specs
Resolution	2,000 × 2,040 (4.1MP) per-eye, OLED, HDR
Refresh Rate	90Hz, 120Hz
Field-of-view (claimed)	110° (diagonal presumed)
Optical Adjustments	IPD
Connectors	USB-C
Tracking	Inside-out (no external beacons)
On-board cameras	4x IR (external), 2x IR (internal)
Input	Motion controllers (rechargeable battery), eye-tracking
Audio	3.5mm aux output
Microphone	Yes
Haptics	Controllers, headset

Sony said that the headset will include foveated rendering. This is a rendering technique which uses eye-tracking to render high detail only at the center of the user’s field-of-view (where the eye sees most of its detail), while reducing detail in the periphery. This allows for more detailed virtual scenes without giving up much performance.

Eye-tracking and foveated rendering tech has been available in high-end enterprise VR headsets for some time now, but so far no major consumer-class headset has adopted the technology. Unless another headset beats Sony to the punch, PSVR 2 will be the first in its category to adopt the technology.

Similarly, PSVR 2 will include HDR (high dynamic range) technology which has yet to be seen in commercial headsets, even among high-end enterprise devices. HDR allows for a much wider range of brightness which more closely mimics what your eye can see in the real world. Sony hasn’t specified exactly how bright the display can get, so it’s tough to know at this point how impressive the feature could be. Luckily the underlying display in PSVR 2 is based on OLED, which is generally a good sign for quality HDR capabilities.

Eye-tracking and HDR aren’t the only new technologies that Sony is embracing for PlayStation VR 2. The device will also be the first to include on-board haptic feedback on the headset itself. Sony says haptics on the headset will allow for greater immersion (and it could even combat motion sickness).

According to Sony, PSVR 2 will go a long way toward simplifying the VR setup compared to its predecessor. The new headset is ditching the PS camera (which was previously used to track the headset and controllers) in favor of inside-out tracking via cameras mounted on the headset itself. Four infrared cameras will look out at the real world to track the movement of the headset and also track the controllers when they are in view.

And beyond inside-out tracking, PlayStation VR 2 will connect to PS5 with a single USB-C cable. We don’t have the full details yet, but it sounds like there will be no breakout box between the headset and the console. That’s going to get a cheer from fans of the original headset who were used to dealing with a big VHS-sized breakout box which had multiple cables running in and out of it, and needed its own power supply.

Generally the specs on PSVR 2 seem very impressive except for one area… from the specs provided, it appears that the headset will not have on-board audio, instead expecting users to either use their TV speakers or attach their own headphones with a 3.5mm jack. Like the original headset, it’s possible that PSVR 2 will come with a pair of earbuds, though this isn’t an ideal solution for VR headset audio. These details are still early so we’re hoping there might be something we’re missing about audio on the headset that will be revealed once the company releases more info on the hardware.

Although Sony shared a decent set of specs and features today, the price and release date for PSVR 2 is still unannounced, and we still don’t actually know what the headset itself looks like.

Sony Reveals VR Headset Prototype with Display Tech That Could Wind Up in PSVR 2

December 7, 2021 From roadtovr

During an online showcase today, Sony revealed a VR headset prototype with a 4K OLED microdisplay. While it appears to be a wholly different project than the upcoming PSVR 2, the company says it expects the display itself to be “used in the entertainment field,” which could include other VR headsets.

Today during the Sony Technology Day showcase the company highlighted new technology from across its various businesses.

During the event the Sony Group R&D Center revealed a VR headset prototype which employs a 4K OLED microdisplay. The headset is shown connected to a PC and uses a hand-held form-factor rather than a headstrap. The prototype appears to only support rotation tracking for the time being.

The headset’s 4K OLED microdisplay is ostensibly Sony-made. It’s not only significantly higher resolution than what was in the original PSVR headset, (roughly 1MP vs. 16MP per-eye) it’s also much more compact. The exact specifications weren’t given but a 1-inch² size was suggested.

While the original PSVR used a single large display that spanned both eyes, the display shown in the prototype headset has a nearly square form-factor which makes it better for VR headsets since one display can be used for each eye (which improves design flexibility and pixel utilization).

Although the new display is more compact, it’s appears to be so small that zooming and focusing the image for an immersive field-of-view would necessitate more advanced optics than what’s in most consumer VR headsets today. Doing so could lead to a rather compact headset, though the presentation doesn’t offer a clear sense of the headset’s fundamental size, nor what kind of optics are used.

The prototype headset appears to be a totally different project than what Sony’s PlayStation group is working on with the upcoming PSVR 2, however it’s an intriguing possibility that PSVR 2 might make use of the same displays.

Although Sony is in the display business, the original PSVR actually used a Samsung-made OLED display. While many first-gen VR headsets similarly used OLED displays, second-gen headsets have largely moved to LCD for improvements in price, resolution, and brightness, at the cost of the rich colors and dark blacks that OLED displays are known for.

Sony has yet to release its second-gen headset and at this point it’s unclear if it will continue to opt for OLED in the next PSVR headset or move to LCD like most of its peers; rumors suggest it will be OLED, but possibly made by Samsung once again.

For Sony’s part, however, the company says it expects its 4K OLED microdisplay will be used in “industrial applications” as well as the “entertainment field.” This suggests that if PSVR 2 doesn’t use the display, we might ironically see it in other non-Sony VR headsets. The size suggests it might be best fit for compact VR headsets like Vive Flow.