This new Meta Quest 3 rival has pancake lenses and a 4K display, but there's a catch

The Meta Quest 3 seems to have a stranglehold on the VR gaming market at the moment. It's cheaper than the Apple Vision Pro, it's more versatile than PSVR 2, and it has some truly impressive standalone specs for its price. That much has been true since October last year, but it could be about to change.

The Pico 4 Ultra has just been revealed, and it launches on September 20th in the UK and Europe for £549, touting 4K specs, identical lenses, and a load of the same features as the Quest 3. Its name might suggest a half-step over the Pico 4 headset, but it'll easily give any of the best VR headsets a run for their money.

Frustratingly, there's a catch. Pico has chosen to forgo the US consumer market with this headset once again, despite cries for the brand's previous Meta Quest alternative to come to the region. The consumer version of the Pico 4 Ultra won't launch in US markets, although its enterprise version aimed at businesses and professionals will. This is hardly a workaround for your everyday shopper, but with corporations being able to secure their own units, maybe a wider supply of stock will arrive in the US later.

For VR enthusiasts in the UK and EU though, pre-orders for the Pico 4 Ultra go live on Friday, September 6, and you'll be able to grab one at Argos, Currys, Very, and Amazon. Alongside your headset, a pre-order will secure you a free set of PICO Motion Trackers (pried at £79) and four games: Blade & Sorcery, Nomad, Infinite Inside, Let’s Get Fit VR and FootPool.

The Pico 4 Ultra sports a Qualcomm XR2 Gen2 processor, as well as 12GB LPDDR5 memory. 256GB of storage slots it right between the 128GB and 512GB models of the Quest 3, which complements its price point in the UK. All of these internal specs power a 2.56-inch LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate which you'll be able to enjoy with a 105° field of view.

In terms of visual fidelity, the resolution per eye is 2160 x 2160, and through Pancake Lenses that increase the area of focus for wearers, that's a crystal clear experience that will easily go toe-to-toe with the Meta Quest 3 . As if the raw specs weren't enough, the upgraded 5700mAh battery in this device from the Pico 4 will surely provide some quality-of-life updates.

Of course, standalone XR headsets are more than the sum of their specs these days, and Pico has an impressive store full of 20+ games at launch, as well as full SteamVR compatibility. Moreover, there are allowances for Spatial Video here as well, if that's your thing. 34MP frontal cameras provide some great passthrough clarity, and a depth sensor helps to integrate your content into your surroundings as if they were really there.

Should you buy the Pico 4 Ultra?

If you're at all interested in VR gaming, you'll definitely have heard of Meta's Quest devices. You'll probably have heard of the Apple Vision Pro, and if you're really keen on standalone devices, you may have even heard about HTC's Vive XR Elite. Pico has long been one of my favorite underdogs in the market, however. Even if they neglect US consumers, its headsets are a viable alternative to Zuck's headsets that come in cheaper.

If, like me, you're not the biggest fan of the Metaverse, or surrendering more of your data to Meta's algorithms, then Pico is a solid choice for VR gaming. If, like me, you couldn't afford an Apple Vision Pro without selling all your worldly possessions, then you've got Spatial Computing allowances here for *checks notes* £3,000 less.

I have to say, as someone who believes wholeheartedly that Blade and Sorcery should be on every VR platform, I love the pre-order bundle on offer too. To me, that signals that there's a commitment to fan-favorite VR games on the platform. However, if the games included in Pico's digital store aren't enough, SteamVR support makes it another viable option for PC gamers, just like PSVR 2.

All of this is enough for me to think that the Pico 4 Ultra could be a real thorn in the paw of the Quest 3, and I look forward to sharing more thoughts about it in a review soon.

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