Pimax announced two new PC VR headsets today—both said to be launching this year—but it’s more than a year behind schedule on other products.
“Pimax has never been short on ambition, but its execution hasn’t always kept up.”
That’s a line from my article published on October 26th, 2021, in which Pimax announced three major products:
- The Pimax Reality “12K” headset with a monstrous resolution estimated at 18.6MP (5,760 x 3,240) per-eye and a massive 240° diagonal field-of-view
- A 60GHz wireless add-on for streaming PC VR
- A console-like ‘Pimax VR Station’ for streaming PC VR content to its headsets
Pimax had said at the time that it planned to launch the $2,400 headset in Q4 of 2022. Presumably the 60Ghz wireless add-on and Pimax VR Station would launch roughly around the same time.
Today during its announcement of the new Crystal Light and Crystal Super headsets, there was but a brief mention of the Reality “12K” headset in the 38 minute presentation:”
The Reality 12K is also still under development, and we’ll release an update on the blog soon.”
But hey, the company did at least give an update on the 60GHz wireless add-on. It’s now priced at $300 and the company is taking reservations with plans to launch in Q3 of 2024.
As for the Pimax VR Station? It went entirely unmentioned. At this point we’re unsure if the company still plans to make the device, though we’ve reached out for more info.
Our original article about the “12K” announcement concluded, “this new headset, and all that’s planned to come with it, is a chance for the company to show it has left its growing pains behind.”
Two and a half years later, it’s clear to see that the growing pains remain.
Note: We put the “12K” part of the headset’s name in quotes because Pimax isn’t referring to the same 12K that is often used to describe TVs and monitors. The headset’s total horizontal resolution is near 12K, but this is split across each eye. Additionally, the resolution height is just half the height of what one would expect from a 12K TV. When referring to the headset’s name, we put “12K” in quotes to help our readers understand that it’s being used differently than they might expect.
