Breakdown
- Pimax has revealed two new VR headsets, a budget-friendly Crystal Light, and a premium Crystal Super option
- The latter has a switchable display from QLED and OLED, offering different resolutions and refresh rates
- Both headsets remove the standalone capabilities, with the company seemingly focusing on the PCVR market
Pimax has announced two new Crystal VR headsets recently, with the Crystal Super looking like an upgrade from the standard Crystal headset, as well as a budget-friendly Crystal Light. However, there's a huge catch - neither of these are standalone, and we think that's a great move.
Pimax is making an attempt to take a high place in the best VR headsets list, especially with the Crystal Super which looks to be delivering something that can rival the PSVR 2 once it gets PC support. The Crystal Light, however, will give players a cheaper option of the company's Crystal headset, without breaking the bank.
Let's start with the Pimax Crystal Super. Firstly, the Super holds a very unique feature, as you can switch from QLED & mini-LED at 120Hz, and micro-OLED at 90Hz. This means for more intense and action-packed games, the QLED display can deliver a higher refresh rate and vibrant colours, while the micro-OLED will be great for horrors or games with lots of dark spaces.
Both have impressive resolutions, with the QLED offering 3840 x 3840px resolution per eye, while the OLED features 4K resolution per eye.
The Crystal Super retains the eye-tracking and automatic IPD adjustment that the original Crystal offers, while also coming in at a lower weight and reduced size. If you're hoping to purchase one, you can buy the two displays in a bundle with the headset for $2399, but the sole QLED and micro-OLED options will set you back $1799 and $1999 respectively.
Alternatively, if you're on a budget but want a Pimax headset, you can get the Crystal Light. This is a smaller, less hefty Crystal that removes the standalone capabilities, the Snapdragon chipset, and the eye-tracking making it a remarkably cheaper option at $700, down from Crystal's $1600 starting price.
However, both headsets remove the ability for standalone. Considering Meta Quest's boost in Steam hardware surveys, as well as the Quest 2 dropping in price again, and a potential Quest 3 Lite on the way, it's no surprise Pimax would focus on the PCVR market. Meta's market share on VR headsets is, unsurprisingly, huge. And it seems Pimax is focusing its efforts on creating brilliant PCVR headsets over trying to take some audience from Meta.
Interestingly, the company has also shared some more information on the 60G Airlink system, that will let Crystal users wirelessly connect to their PCVR setup without being tangled in wires. Considering that the chipset has been removed from the Crystal Super and Light, this Airlink system won't work with the upcoming headsets.
The Crystal Super has a broad release date of Q4 2024, while pre-orders for the Crystal Light can be made now, and the headset will start shipping next month. You can pre-order both headsets on the Pimax website now.