I got a rare demo of Sony’s new XR headset at CES 2024 and here’s what I learned

In one of many untidy corridors behind the Las Vegas Conference Middle — a few soccer subject’s distance away from the splashy, pristine Samsung and LG cubicles that outline CES — I slipped by a steel door that had a quickly-scribbled observe taped to it warning folks to not enter as a result of there was a media briefing in progress.  

On this non-descript room with a handful of folding chairs and tables, a projector display, and a high-powered laptop computer with a head-mounted show hooked up to an extended black USB-C cable, I acquired a personal demo of the product that was the most important shock of CES 2024. I additionally acquired a solo alternative to speak with a handful of proud workers concerned with the product. 

Additionally: CES 2024: What’s Subsequent in Tech

Sony’s XR headset burst on the scene on the opening keynote of CES 2024 on Monday evening, just some hours after Apple introduced availability and pre-order data for its long-anticipated Imaginative and prescient Professional headset. The Sony headset is the primary to make use of Qualcomm’s new XR2+ Gen 2 chip that was simply introduced final week and goals at enabling {hardware} makers to supply high-end XR gadgets to compete with Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. Most of those Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 2 headsets will probably be powered by Android, and Sony confirmed to ZDNET that its headset can also be working Android.  

The headset options an 8K show utilizing 4K OLED micro shows for every eye. It additionally features a pair of wearable controllers — a hoop and a pointer — that permit for exact choice and efficient manipulation of 3D objects in digital areas. The concept is to carry the pointer in your dominant hand and the ring in your different hand. It additionally encompasses a flip-up show so as to simply hop out of a session within the headset and hop again in — a characteristic I want each headset would provide. 

What it is for and the way it will work 

My interview with Sony and Siemens additionally confirmed that the headset is primarily targeted on two issues: 

Assist engineers, designers, and product leaders speed up product growth by creating “digital twins” (digital variations of real-world merchandise) to streamline creation, collaboration, and product approval Empower the following era of content material creators to construct immersive spatial experiences, together with 3D and XR leisure that may finally populate Imaginative and prescient Professional, Meta Quest, and different headsets and smartglasses 

The Sony headset does not even have an official identify but, and there is a good cause why.  

It won’t be offered as a standalone gadget, however as a part of a product bundle with Siemens NX Immersive Designer — software program organizations will use to create, collaborate, iterate, and manipulate product designs throughout international groups. That can probably save huge quantities of time and assets by changing lengthy flights for worker journey and mailing bodily prototypes world wide with collaboration on “digital twins” in digital areas. 

Additionally: Sony’s new XR headset is extra ‘professional’ than Imaginative and prescient Professional and has 2 options Apple wants

Sony may even produce other companions who will bundle their software program platforms with the headset to promote in particular verticals and industries. Sony emphasised the leisure trade as a spot the place it has deep roots and it plans to make use of the headset as a “spatial content material creation platform” that may put instruments into the palms of film makers, recreation creators, and different storytellers to construct a brand new wave of immersive content material. This may even embrace Sony’s proprietary movement seize system known as “mocopi,” which might do full physique monitoring. This makes it a strong platform for 3D pc graphics and animation. 

My first impressions of the Sony XR headset 

Once I slipped the headset on for the primary time, it was snug and really nicely balanced. The top pads weren’t fairly as mushy and cushion-y because the Imaginative and prescient Professional, however it wasn’t practically as heavy both. I instantly liked the flip-up show, simply as a lot because the one on the Lynx R1 (which Sony clearly drew inspiration from) and much more than the flip-up face straps like BoboVR on Meta Quest.  

The digital atmosphere that I hoped into felt just like the wing of a museum with columns and sculptures and a really pristine really feel to it. Floating in entrance of me had been about half a dozen objects — a digicam (Sony Alpha, in fact), a sheet of kind that seemed prefer it was from the web page of a big guide, {a photograph}, an artwork print, a web page of science equations with white kind on a black background, and a pair different issues. 

I used to be capable of seize the digicam, spin it round, and hit a button to take a photograph of something within the digital atmosphere. Then the photograph I captured would float above the digicam within the digital house. I may additionally seize the web page of textual content and browse it clearly from about 2 toes to about 6 inches away from my face. The textual content was completely sharp and clear. That is the place the 8K show confirmed its worth. 

Total, the constancy and determination of the display was stellar — very sharp, excessive distinction, good coloration, and it was extremely easy and fast-loading once I turned to take a look at various things. I’ve used a variety of completely different headsets and the standard and efficiency of Sony’s headset is matched solely by Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional and the Varjo XR4.  

Let’s discuss for a second in regards to the wearable controllers. The ring and pointer have very exact pointing accuracy in addition to intuitive buttons to pick issues. The distinction between utilizing them and utilizing hand monitoring feels prefer it’s a gross motor abilities vs. effective motor abilities situation. In different phrases, it is just like the distinction between choosing up an Apple and choosing up a penny. There are many issues folks will be capable of do with hand monitoring alone. However for extra exact makes use of, the ring and pointer make a variety of sense.  

One of many coolest issues I found was that the pointer slides over your finger and the primary a part of it sits in your palm once you’re utilizing it in XR. However once you change to utilizing a keyboard at your pc, the pointer slides round and may relaxation on the opposite aspect (the again) of your hand. That felt very pure and intuitive. My one small grievance was that I wanted that the ring was slightly looser and extra adjustable round my finger and I wanted the pointer match with slightly extra snugness round my index finger. 

One factor I did not anticipate was that the headset was additionally tethered to a laptop computer. Whereas the headset has its personal processor and runs Android, Sony stated it additionally wants the USB-C connection to a laptop computer to energy the Siemens NX Immersive Designer software program. Sony calls this “split-rendering” and says it balances the load between the headset and the pc and that permits for a secure rendering of hi-res 3D objects. 

Lastly, I’ll observe that this was a quick demo with only some easy situations. It wasn’t practically as in-depth, nor did it have as many numerous experiences because the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional demo I did at WWDC 2023. Nonetheless, the constancy and smoothness of the consumer expertise was fairly spectacular. And as I’ve already written, Imaginative and prescient Professional may study from what Sony’s created to raised accommodate professionals.