Pico’s new mixed reality and VR headset beats Meta on specs
The Pico 4 Ultra has more storage and memory - plus official body trackers for more immersive gaming
They don’t arrive as thick and fast as smartphones or laptops, so it’s always an occasion when a new virtual reality headset drops. The Pico 4 Ultra isn’t looking to be an also-ran, either: it has the hardware and focus on mixed reality to take the fight to Meta’s latest hero headset.
Stuff was lukewarm on the Meta Quest 3, which didn’t feel like an essential upgrade over the previous version, but Pico has pushed the boat out for its new Ultra headset. It’s rocking a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset than the regular Pico 4, along with a more generous 12GB of memory (which is also faster to boot) and 256GB of on-board storage as standard. At £529, those are also beefier specs than the £499 Quest 3.
It goes big on mixed reality, with twin 32MP cameras and a time-of-flight cam for sensing depth. That’ll make for much more convincing passthrough than the Pico 4, which made do with a single 16MP camera. It’ll also let you record spatial video files for a lot less cash than an Apple Vision Pro / iPhone 15 Pro combo.
The optics haven’t changed from the Pico 4, meaning a 2160×2160 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate LCD for each eye. A 105-degree field of view and motorised inter-pupillary distance (IPD) adjustment also make the cut.
Battery life has increased to 5700mAh, up from 5300mAh on the Pico 4, and the Ultra charges at double the speed too. Pico doesn’t stick a power brick in the box, though.
Pico is also launching an official body tracker, for more immersive movement in games and apps like VRchat and Tempo Club. You wear ’em on your arms or legs, and get two in each £79 pack.
Right now it seems Meta still has the edge on software exclusives, but given the company behind Pico is also the one that owns TikTok, it’s not short on funds to secure a few key titles of its own later down the line.
The Pico 4 Ultra is launching on the 20th of September, for £529 from retailers like Amazon, Argos, Very and Currys. Pre-order between the 6th an d 19th and Pico will throw in a pair of motion trackers, plus four big-name games: Blade & Sorcery Nomad, Infinite Inside, Let’s Get Fit VR and FootPool.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
