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VR Headset Pico 4 Ultra Is a Real Alternative to Meta Quest 3

The Pico 4 Ultra brings a breath of fresh air to the VR headset market
The Pico 4 Ultra brings a breath of fresh air to the VR headset market Photo: TECHBOOK

December 22, 2024, 9:37 am | Read time: 5 minutes

With the Pico 4 Ultra, the manufacturer is launching a VR headset that is intended to take on the well-known competition from Meta. And it succeeds – but only to a limited extent. TECHBOOK has tested the device.

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Meta is currently the dominant player in the VR market. This may limit options for some consumers, yet competition is generally beneficial for the market. Pico has taken note and repeatedly attempts to challenge the industry leader. The latest model, the Pico 4 Ultra, boasts a range of features. However, the question remains whether these features are sufficient to compete effectively.

Pico as an Alternative to Meta?

Important for transparency: Pico is backed by the Chinese Bytedance Group, which also owns a share of TikTok. Both the video platform and Bytedance have recently come under fire. The EU classified Bytedance as a so-called gatekeeper, which has a special role according to legislation due to its market power but which must, therefore, also comply with special regulations. Bytedance’s legal challenge to this designation was unsuccessful. In addition, there are repeated conflicts with the US; the US government even demanded that the app be sold to a US company, but the app would be banned in the US. The background to this is that the USA has expressed concerns that China could obtain user data via the platform and exert political influence.

This only affects Pico indirectly but is important for the economic context. Pico is the leader in the large Chinese market with just over 50 percent, whereas the US company Meta dominates most other markets. As early as 2022, the company aimed to position the Pico 4 as an alternative to the Meta Quest 2, though it achieved limited success outside of China. The Pico 4 Ultra is now set to do better. One thing in particular stands out: motion tracking.

Motion Tracking and Wearing Comfort

In addition to the controllers, the VR headset also comes with elastic straps with a tracker for the legs. Both are lightweight and did not impede movement during testing. Pairing is done via the app. This is a real plus point, especially for games where movement is important. This feature represents a significant enhancement for the Pico 4 Ultra.

Apart from that, the headset itself offers good comfort when worn and does not press uncomfortably on the sides, even if you wear glasses. At this point, however, it is important to mention that the comfort of VR headsets is, of course, very subjective. The head size of the overall very sturdy plastic ring can be adjusted using a dial. An elastic strap with a Velcro fastener is attached to the top for a better fit.

Technical Specifications of the Pico 4 Ultra

Otherwise, the Pico 4 Ultra offers a resolution of 2,160 x 2,160 and, therefore, very similar values to the Meta Quest 3. In contrast to Valve, for example, it uses pancake lenses rather than Fresnel lenses. The advantage of this design is that it is a smaller and lighter headset. This is not only more comfortable but also improves the VR experience, as there is significantly less weight on the head. Testing of the Pico 4 Ultra reaffirmed this advantage.

Some compromises have to be made in terms of edge-to-edge clarity. The image itself is good and sharp on the Pico device. However, it sometimes appeared distorted at the edges. In practice, this means that you have to move your head more to fathom the edges. This was less of a problem in games but more of a problem in office applications.

Like most other VR headsets, the Pico 4 Ultra also comes with a passthrough mode. This allows you to see your surroundings via the camera. The Pico headset uses two cameras with 8 MP each. In our test, the result was flawless, with the exception of the occasional curvature, which is quite common. The good combinability was a real plus. It was also possible to use mixed reality applications in passthrough mode without any problems.

The Pico 4 Ultra offers an internal memory of 256 GB and a full 12 GB of RAM. Incidentally, the same chip is used as in the Quest 3: the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2. However, the refresh rate of 90 Hz is slightly lower than Meta’s 120 Hz. The battery is charged via USB-C and lasts a decent amount of time in the test, although the runtime naturally depends heavily on the activities. However, two and a half to three hours of moderate use were certainly possible. Another advantage of the USB-C port: as with the Meta Quest 3, the Pico 4 Ultra can be connected to a PC. This should be of particular interest to fans of VR games.

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Is the Pico 4 Ultra Worth It?

Speaking of Meta, the user interface and general usability seem to have been inspired by its US competitor. This should make it easy for newcomers to find their way around. However, the software as a whole still looks a little less finished than Meta’s. This is also due to the fact that Pico’s operating system is designed for the Chinese market, including in terms of language. Time and again, individual elements were displayed in Chinese. However, these were isolated cases.

Otherwise, Pico has filled up its app store properly. Of course, the range cannot keep up with that of Meta. However, the selection is decent and offers all the essentials. The Pico 4 Ultra is priced at 599 euros at launch, a competitive rate in the market.

Overall, the Pico 4 Ultra delivers a solid performance in testing, with some minor drawbacks, particularly regarding edge-to-edge clarity and the operating system. However, the passthrough mode, the battery, and technical details such as the availability of WiFi 7 score points.

The German original of this article was published in October 2024.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.

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