PICO 4

Overview

PICO 4 is a standalone headset from PICO, the VR brand owned by ByteDance. PICO announced it on September 22, 2022, and it went on sale on October 18, 2022 in thirteen European countries, starting at €429 (£379) for 128 GB and €499 for 256 GB. Japan, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia followed. PICO never sold it in the United States, so it has no US launch price. The PICO 4 Ultra replaced it in 2024, and PICO no longer lists the PICO 4 among its current products.

Display and optics

Two 2.56-inch fast-switching LCD panels show 2160 × 2160 pixels per eye at 1,200 PPI, and they run at 72 or 90 Hz. Pancake lenses give a 105-degree field of view and about 20.6 pixels per degree. Lens spacing is motorized and set from the settings menu, covering IPDs from 62 to 72 mm. A glasses spacer comes in the box.

Comfort and design

The front unit weighs 295 g without the strap, and PICO puts the full headset at 586 g with the strap. The 5,300 mAh battery sits at the back as a counterweight, gives up to three hours of play by PICO's figures and supports 20 W fast charging. Inside is a Snapdragon XR2 with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB or 256 GB of storage, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

Tracking and controllers

Four SLAM cameras around the frame handle inside-out tracking. A 16-megapixel RGB camera behind the front cover provides full-color passthrough, and hand tracking is supported. There is no eye tracking. The controllers have a rotating arc ring with infrared sensors, a HyperSense broadband motor for haptics and run on two AA batteries each.

Software and apps

Apps and games come from the PICO Store, which covers games, fitness, video and social apps, and the built-in browser can open WebXR content. PICO's streaming software connects the headset to a PC over Wi-Fi or a USB cable, so it can also play SteamVR games.

Who it is for

PICO 4 was a lighter, cheaper rival to the Quest 2 for players in Europe and Asia. Today it is mainly a second-hand buy. Its successor, the PICO 4 Ultra, adds a newer chip, more memory and sharper passthrough cameras, and the Meta Quest 3 offers a larger game library.