Known for its high-end virtual reality headsets for professionals, Varjo has just launched a new mixed reality headset. This is in direct competition with the Apple Vision Pro announced at the beginning of the year.
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Finnish company Varjo has just announced its latest mixed and virtual reality headset, the XR-4. Although the brand is less known to the general public, it is a reference in the market of high-end headsets for professional use. At 3,990 euros, it is actually not a competitor to the new Meta Quest 3 (sales price: 549 euros), but rather competes with the Apple Vision Pro, which is announced for next year for 3,499 dollars. Still, it’s a significant price drop, as it’s only half the price of its predecessor, the XR-3.
Just like Apple, Varjo relies on mixed reality, i.e. the ability to integrate virtual elements into the real world. The XR-4 integrates two 20-megapixel cameras for passthrough, i.e. the representation of the real world on the display in the helmet, i.e. 33 pixels per degree (PPD). It is also equipped with lidar, which allows it to measure the distance of objects and thus analyze the world in 3D.
Presentation of the Varjo XR-4 with a session to answer questions from Internet users. (In English, enable automatic translation of subtitles.) © Varjo
The headset is already available… for businesses
The headset integrates two mini-LED displays, one for each eye, each with a resolution of 3,840 x 3,744 pixels, a refresh rate of 90 Hertz and a brightness of 200 nits. Aspherical lenses offer a 120 x 105 degree field of view and provide a sharper and brighter image than pancake lenses, according to Varjo. The headset integrates eye tracking with a refresh rate of 200 Hz, which allows automatic adjustment of the interpupillary distance and is intended to enable foveal representation (the image is of better quality where the user looks). However, with a total weight of more than 1 kilo (665 g for the naked helmet and 356 g for the strap), the Varjo XR-4 is one of the heaviest helmets.
Varjo also offers a high-end version with a passthrough of 51 PPD and autofocus with eye tracking. It will still cost 9,999 euros… Note that, unlike the Apple Vision Pro, the Varjo XR-4 does not have autonomous operation. It is therefore essential that you have a computer with a powerful graphics card, which quickly increases the price. It is compatible with Windows 10 and 11, as well as Steam VR, which should enable the use of games. Companies can already order the headset, and Varjo announces delivery within one to two months. The company has not yet announced an availability date for the general public.