Pico Interactive primarily targets enterprise users outside of China, however now the company has taken a significant step into European consumer market, as it’s officially launched its new Neo 3 variant there, Pico Neo 3 Link, which features both standalone and PC-tethered capability.
Update (May 25th, 2022): Pico announced the news in a tweet yesterday, seen below:
The headset is selling in Europe for €450, however the Neo 3 Link order page also indicates the device can be pre-ordered for shipment to the US, priced at $415, as well as other countries outside of Europe. We’ve reached out to Pico to see whether this pricing and availability is official, and will update here soon.
The original article follows below:
Original Article (April 13th, 2022): Called Neo 3 Link, the headset is aiming to straddle the PC VR and standalone headset segments by offering built-in PC streaming over either Wi-Fi 6, or tethered DisplayPort connection. It’s ostensibly the same hardware as the Pico Neo 3 Pro, albeit targeted at consumers.
For now, the company is pitching the headset as a kind of consumer beta, asking early adopters in Europe to help them improve the Pico Store, payment system, social… everything a company needs to compete with Meta in the realm of consumer standalone VR.
Pico says it’s launching pre-orders for Neo 3 Link starting April 15th in a number of European countries—coming first to Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands, priced at €450. Pre-orders end May 23rd.
Neo 3 Link is also coming to the UK starting in June at £400, with other European markets added at monthly intervals. That’s exact price parity with an equally equipped Meta Quest 2—not counting the ‘Elite’ style strap that Quest users have to buy extra.
“In Asia, Pico is already the leading provider of consumer VR headsets in China and will bring the beta program to new markets such as Japan and Korea. Pico will target VR fans and gamers with its new Link headset; users will participate in a unique beta program where feedback informs future product development,” Pico says in a press statement.
In addition to being able to play SteamVR titles over Wi-Fi 6 or tethered DisplayPort, the company says its native standalone Pico Store features over 200 VR apps such as SUPERHOT VR, Puzzling Places, After the Fall, Walkabout Mini Golf, Elven Table Tennis, and Demeo.
Pico Neo 3 Link Specs
- Display: 5.5-inch SFR TFT at 3,664 x 1,920 (773 PPI), refresh rate of up to 90Hz
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2
- Memory: 6GB RAM
- Storage: 256GB
- Connection: Wi-Fi 6, DisplayPort (DP Link cable included)
- Sensors: 4 room-scale 6DOF sensors
- Controllers: standard ‘Touch’ button layout, optically tracked
- Hygiene: replaceable PU face pad with antifouling coating