Sony quietly announced the HMZ-T2 head mounted display / VR headset back at the end of August. The unit is now available in several regions (though notably still not in the US). In the UK you can buy the HMZ-T2 for a rather absurdly expensive £999 (~$1610 USD). Elsewhere the HMZ-T2 can be found cheaper but not by much.
An update to the HMZ-T1 that came before it, the HMZ-T2 really doesn’t change much aside from ergonomics. It’s still using the same great OLED displays with 45 degree HFoV, though Sony claims they are “sharper” despite having the same 1280×700 resolution as before (in my testing of the HMZ-T1 I didn’t notice any issues with the sharpness of the displays so I’m doubting the T2 will be significantly different in fidelity). Sony shaved down much of the unit to reduce weight. The former headphones were replaced with earbuds for the same purpose (and now you can unplug the earbuds if you want to use your own headphones). Sony managed to bring the weight down to 330 grams (more than 20% less than the T1).
Few other changes were made except for some features that only cinema buffs would care about, such as the ability to watch films at 24 frames per second (a 1 FPS difference over normal 25 FPS playback).
You can find an HMZ-T2 gallery here, and full HMZ-T2 specs in our HMD comparison chart.
Sony HMZ-T2 Regional Prices
Though I had expected to see the HMZ-T2 VR headset hit the same $799 price point as the original, Sony UK has the HMZ-T2 HMD for sale for a staggering £999 (~$1610)! This does include a 20% tax, but even without it you’re still looking at £833 (~$1344).
Sony Germany has the same pricing on the HMZ-T2 but in Euros which cuts the cost a bit; €999 (~$1295). That also includes 19% tax so it’s more like €840 (~$1089) which is still really pricey and far above the original.
Sony Japan has the best pricing I’ve seen and the closest to the original launch price of the HMZ-T1. You can buy the HMZ-T2 from Sony Japan for ¥69800 (~$870). As far as I can tell this includes 5% tax so the real price is ¥66477 (~$828).
For those looking for the HMZ-T2 in the US, I’m afraid things aren’t looking good. There’s no mention of the HMD / VR headset on any Sony US sites. It’s possible that Sony decided to deprecate the HMZ line in the US market due to underperformance. A quick check with a local Sony store says the HMZ-T1 is still being sold for the original $799 MSRP. Importing from elsewhere seems to be your only option for now if you want the HMZ-T2 in the US.
