At GDC this week Qualcomm announced an update to their VR845 reference design which allows it to also wirelessly connect to a gaming PC. The first headset to be based off this design and using its technology is the Pico Neo 2.
The Neo 2 will launch in the second half of this year. They aren’t announcing price just yet, but the Neo 1 was $749 and the Qualcomm VR845 development kit is $1600 so don’t expect it to be cheap.
In standalone mode the headset will have access to Viveport M– HTC’s mobile store used on the Vive Focus Plus. That means you’re not going to be getting access to the same level of games as Oculus Quest. But if you’re using your PC for games, standalone mode should be sufficient for media viewing.
In wireless PC mode it will work with HTC’s Viveport PC store, but it will likely work with SteamVR also thanks to that platform’s open driver model. Yes that’s right, you should be able to play SteamVR games wirelessly on this headset.
The wireless connection to the PC uses 60 GHz technology, just like the HTC Vive wireless adapter and TPCast. That allows for significantly higher bandwidth than WiFi and for low compression with low latency, but has to be within line of sight of the headset and needs a dedicated transmitter- not your router. This will likely add significantly to the cost, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the transmitter is included or sold separately.
There are no images of the Neo 2 or further details yet, but we’ll keep you updated as soon as Pico provides further information.
