{"id":2870,"date":"2023-09-14T19:21:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T19:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vrlowdown.com\/?p=2870"},"modified":"2023-09-14T19:21:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T19:21:36","slug":"pico-4-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vrlowdown.com\/pico-4-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Pico 4 Review (After One Year Of Use)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Pico 4 is a technically impressive headset, with specifications that exceed the Quest 2 in most ways. But with Quest 3 on the horizon, is Pico 4 still worth buying, or should you wait for something better? This Pico 4 review is going to cover my thoughts on the Pico 4, including how I\u2019ve found it over the last year, to help you decide whether it is a good headset to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"pico<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Overview Of The Pico 4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pico 4 was released in October 2022. I bought it on day one and I’ve been using it an awful lot over the last year. When I first got it, I was really impressed with the visual clarity due to the excellent, high-resolution display panels, pancake lenses, and reasonably good FOV.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a light headset and has a rear-mounted battery, resulting in even weight distribution on your head. It\u2019s got motorized IPD adjustment, but it does require you to manually set your own IPD. The default facial interface isn\u2019t particularly comfortable, and there is quite a lot of light leakage around the edges, but overall, the Pico 4 is an impressive bit of kit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst the specifications of the Pico 4 are very impressive and considerably better than the Meta Quest 2, there were some drawbacks that became increasingly apparent as I started using it over the next few weeks and months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main issue is that Pico is less experienced with building VR headsets than some of their competitors, and they have tried to go toe-to-toe with Meta, and their Quest headsets. However, at the time the Pico 4 was released, they just hadn\u2019t got the experience or had enough time to iron out all the issues and raise the quality of their offering to compete directly with Quest 2<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were multiple minor issues with their software, user interface, amount of content, controller tracking, and performance of PCVR wired and wireless streaming that left me feeling a little disappointed overall. It just felt like everything needed a little bit of polish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, time has passed, and Pico has slowly and steadily improved almost all of the deficiencies that were present at launch, with major improvements to the controller tracking, UI, PCVR streaming, and a huge increase in the amount of content on offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of September 2023, I really feel that Pico 4 is finally ready to go toe to toe with anyone, but is it too late for the Pico 4 to compete?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Pico<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Who Should Buy Pico 4?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for a VR headset to use largely for standalone VR, Pico 4 is a good choice, but it\u2019s still probably a worse choice than getting a Quest 3<\/a><\/strong>, which is due to release next month. The Meta ecosystem still has more content, and Quest 3 is going to have both VR and MR content available at launch, which will significantly improve the versatility of the type of experiences you can have.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Quest 3 is going to have pancake lenses, but will likely have very slightly worse screen resolution than Pico 4, although it will have considerably more processing power, thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor. It is going to be more expensive than Pico 4, with Quest 3 rumored to start at $499\/\u00a3499, and the Pico 4 currently being available at \u00a3349\/Euro409. The Pico 4 is even cheaper when you factor in buying a more robust head strap for the Quest 3 to improve comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re on a tight budget, you definitely won’t be disappointed at all with Pico 4, and I do think Pico is committed to the VR space, so it is highly likely that their content library and ecosystem will continue to expand. It\u2019s just a little riskier, in case they don\u2019t become a viable long-term participant in the consumer VR industry, or their competitors pull ahead in the future and you want to jump ship to a different platform in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a versatile headset that has good standalone functionality, but also want a capable PCVR headset<\/a><\/strong>, then the Pico 4 remains a terrific choice, and is probably one of the best options you can go for right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main advantage of Pico 4 is the versatility it brings. You can enjoy all of the goodness of PCVR experiences, with a headset that goes toe to toe with most other PCVR headsets, but you also get the option of wireless PCVR streaming and very solid standalone VR headset performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, if you\u2019re a hardcore PCVR simmer<\/a><\/strong>, you may prefer a dedicated PCVR headset that can offer better visual clarity, compression-free data transfer, and a wider FOV, without having to worry about the battery life of your headset.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those looking for a capable PCVR headset that can also function well as a standalone headset might find the Pico 4 a better choice than Quest 3, as much of the improvements that are due to come with Quest 3 are related to the mixed reality functionality, and if this isn\u2019t something you\u2019re particularly interested in, then you may be better avoiding it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s move on to look at some individual aspects of the Pico 4 and see how they have fared over the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pico 4 Review Video<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this article, I’ve also made a video sharing my thoughts on Pico 4 now I’ve been using it for a whole year. I discuss how it compares with other popular VR headsets and talk through who I think Pico 4 would be a good option for, and who should give it a miss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n