PICO 4 Ultra

Overview

PICO 4 Ultra is the mixed reality headset from PICO, the VR brand owned by ByteDance. It launched in China on September 2, 2024. General sales in Europe began on September 20, 2024 at €599 (£529 in the UK), and it is also sold in parts of Asia. PICO does not sell it in the United States. It follows the PICO 4 and adds a newer chip, more memory and color passthrough for mixed reality.

Display and optics

Two 2.56-inch LCD panels show 2160 × 2160 pixels per eye at 90 Hz. Pancake lenses give a 105-degree field of view, and lens spacing adjusts from 58 to 72 mm. PICO rates the optics at about 20.6 pixels per degree on average.

Comfort and design

The headset weighs about 580 g. PICO splits this between the front (about 304 g) and the battery at the back of the strap (about 276 g), so the load sits more evenly than on front-heavy designs. The 5,700 mAh battery charges at up to 45 W. Inside is a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and Wi-Fi 7 is built in.

Tracking and controllers

Four environment cameras handle inside-out tracking. An iToF depth sensor maps the room, and two 32-megapixel color cameras produce the passthrough view. Hand tracking is supported, and there is no eye tracking. The included controllers have no tracking rings and run on AA batteries. PICO also sells small Motion Trackers for full-body tracking, which can be worn on the ankles or waist in supported games and fitness apps.

Software and apps

Apps and games come from the PICO Store. The built-in browser can run WebXR experiences. For PC VR, PICO's streaming software, PICO Connect, works over a USB cable or wirelessly, so the headset can also play SteamVR games from a gaming PC.

Who it is for

PICO 4 Ultra suits players in Europe and Asia who want a standalone headset with pancake lenses and sharp color passthrough, plus PC VR streaming. It also appeals to people interested in body tracking for fitness or social apps. Buyers should compare the PICO Store library against the titles they want, since some popular games are released on other platforms only.