Virtual reality gaming can be show off best with devices like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, but you can also play VR games through mobile with the Samsung Gear VR, so long as you have a Samsung device. A new system from Pico VR called the Pico Neo wants to make mobile VR gaming even more accessible. The system (whose components are stuffed inside of the controller that pairs with the headset) is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor which means it also has the Adreno 530 GPU for the graphics, making this quite the contender for mobile gaming let alone mobile gaming in VR.
The system is also equipped with 4GB of RAM and has 32GB of onboard storage, which should be plenty, but if it ends up being too little there is always an option to toss a microSD card into the miroSD card slot which supports up to 128GB of expandable storage. The system also supports WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1, and a rear touchpad-enabled controller (think PS Vita) with physical buttons on the front reminiscent of an SNES controller which should make things feel right at home for those who grew up with the retro console from Nintendo. The controller also uses USB Type-C for a connection to the headset.
As for the headset, it features a 3.8-inch display on the inside using the AMOLED panel technology with a 102-degree field of view. The headset can also be used with a PC or another device, something which Pico designed intentionally so the headset could be purchased separately from the controller if the consumer wanted. The headset also supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 which means lightning fast recharge speeds, something which should be useful as the headset packs a 5000mAh battery inside. Both the headset and the controller will come in black and orange, and feature tracking beacons and tracking cameras that dock into the included tracking station, all which connect to and work with the headset for the experience. Consumers should be able to buy the system for $550 which comes with the controller, or without the controller for around $300, although no exact time frame was mentioned for a launch other than “late June.”
