Verdict
The Pico 4 Ultra is a superb headset with prominent trailing , not bad functionality across practical and mixed realism , and future - proof hardware . However , even though Pico has made huge strides in level the playing field in term of computer hardware , Meta still has the edge when it comes to offering high - profile and undivided games and experience in its store .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Pico has had a rough time lately . Despite being much the only noteworthy rival to Meta ’s monopoly in the VR blank , its last headset – thePico 4 – did n’t appear to fill parent ship’s company Bytedance ’s expectations .
Fans claim lacklustre sales figures and a lack of US availability were the driving force behind the cancellation of the Pico 5 ; the caller ’s next expected headset that , found on leak , was going to be a true powerhouse in the mid - range market .
Even with a fully - fledge replacement on glass , however , Pico is n’t prepared to take theMeta Quest 3‘s subsequent technical favorable position lying down , and in answer , we now have a follow - up to 2022 ’s Pico 4 in 2024 ’s Pico 4 Ultra .
As the name indicate , the Ultra builds on everything that made the Pico 4 what it was ; from its conversant design to a penny-pinching - very ocular stack . However , the Ultra raise the rest of the standard model ’s practical ( and mixed ) reality chops in every direction .
At the tenderness of it , the Pico 4 Ultra upgrades to the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip you ’ll find inside Meta ’s Quest 3 , which means way more big businessman than the received Pico 4 , mate with a class - contribute amount of RAM , to furnish a trivial future - proofing . revise controllers also look definitely Quest 3 - corresponding , having ditched the previous wraparound tracking rings for something much more succinct .
Beefy newfangled 32MP three-fold front cameras aid with improved spend - through , promise significant gains with sundry realism experience and even offer spatial still and TV seizure .
As a termination , the Pico 4 Ultra God Almighty over the stock good example ( and in many area , the Meta Quest 3 ) at a ironware point , but a fat message library ( with perhaps a few sole titles thrown in ) is what really create or breaks any modern VR organization .
So , does the Ultra take Pico from playing match - up to being catch up ?
Design and fit
The Ultra adopts a very alike design to the original Pico 4 , with a shiny mordant peak on the front ( prostrate to fingermark and smudges ) , set against a matte greyness plastic body , with a compromising over - the - head hook - and - loop shoulder strap for added support .
The barrage face pack is again arrange into the back of the head strap , which copulate with the near - perfect exercising weight distribution ( 304 grams in the front and 276 grams at the back ) means extended play seance are wholly accessible .
Adjusting the headset is painless too , with the shoulder strap hinging down over the back of your psyche and a double rack - and - quill ( similar to the admittedly less stablePlayStation VR 2 ) , allowing for easy tightening and release , with the twist of the telephone dial .
Once on , the cushioning around the lenses is becoming , however , the mellifluous spot for central limpidity and definition imply I usually had to reduce the headset with the cloth resting atop my cheekbones ( as opposed to a little further down my cheeks , which would have made the vesture experience less detectable ) .
The magnetically detachable material facial interface is well-situated , and Pico even hurl in a spacer for prescription lenses , but a PU alternative ( like the one included with the business - centric Pico 4 Ultra Enterprise Edition ) would n’t have hurt ; specially from a hygiene perspective , for those considering a headset as a fitness economic aid or when taking bout with friends .
speaker are fix into the arms of the pre - fitted shoulder strap and offer creditably clear and loud strait , with pleasant depth , particularly considering their size . This is just as well , though , as Pico still refuses to admit a physical headphone / mike larboard , so Bluetooth audio is your only other pick ( thankfully pairing is just the same as when connecting to a smartphone ) .
The innocuous chromed vent above and below the visor actually play boniface to a fan - motor cooling system that , while great at break off the lenses from fogging , also dries out your oculus after a while .
Controllers
As for the control , they ’ve get the way of the Meta Quest 3 with a decidedly Touch positive - like ringless design , and that means they ’re unaccented and less noticeable than the Pico 4 ’s were .
I would fence that despite their orotund name , the ‘ HyperSense broadband linear motors ’ at play are a little insipid , especially when they gyrate up in an attempt to reflect high action within whatever experience you ’re enjoying . I ’m span my finger for greater preciseness and range with succeeding passing , though .
It ’s otherwise a familiar layout : trigger and grip buttons around each handle , plus a thumbstick , A , boron ( on the veracious comptroller ) , X and Y ( on the left ) buttons and two additional smaller button ; one on each that lets you conceal all UI elements or chute back to the independent home interface and a screenshot button on the ripe comptroller , in demarcation to a menu clit on the left hand .
If you pre - ordered the 4 Ultra ( or you ’re uncoerced to fork out an additional £ 80 ) , you ’ll also have Pico ’s novel motion tracker to dally with . These small Zane Grey credit card pucks neatly attach to sprung , hinged USB - one C mounts that you attach to each mortise joint , using the mix stretchy hook - and - loop topology strap .
Once attached , they stay in position without too much tension and at 38.5 grams each ( you get two in a boxwood ) , are comfortable and unobtrusive enough to leave on throughout a drama session , even if you are n’t always play compatible game .
Specs and features
Although the Ultra resemble the received Pico 4 at a glance , one of the first divergence you ’ll likely notice is the new tv camera hardware , set into its black visor .
While the original had a unmarried 16MP RGB camera , the Ultra swing for a pair of higher fidelity 32MP RGB snappers ( accompanying the quartet of environment - tracking IR television camera ) . Marry that with an iToF astuteness - sensing camera ( for half - decent hand - tracking ) , and the qualifying - through and mixed realism fidelity can be considered well - in - course .
For comparison ’s sake , the Meta Quest 3 use a couplet of relatively lowly 4MP RGB cameras foritsstereoscopic crack - through . Even with the resolution bump though , it is worth noting that both system suffer from the same issue of circumscribed dynamic range ; meaning slip away - through uncloudedness ( and to a lesser extent tracking reliability ) can be touch on when using either headset in dimmer ( or overtly bright ) weather condition .
Even with the additional picture element , the 4 Ultra ’s pass - through lucidity was n’t as good as I ’d hop either , with the keys on my laptop computer ’s backlit keyboard and school text on my smartphone screen both prove difficult to readily discern .
get from 2D to 3D pass - through is a huge upgrade in its own right , make live with the Pico 4 Ultra – and navigate your surroundings without having to remove it – that much easy , but the jump to stereoscopic vision also fetch one other bonus : spatial capture .
Not only can you entrance spatial stillness and videos using the Ultra , bring home the bacon you ’re sign in on the same account on the Pico app for iOS , but you also gain the option to transfer spatial videos film on compatible iPhones or withApple Vision Proand look at it on the Ultra , using the headset ’s aboriginal Photos app ( these are of a much higher quality than what the headset itself can seize too ) . All that said , spatial capture on the Pico 4 Ultra is a head - turn over freshness , rather than a ground to corrupt .
The compounding of IR mark and Pico ’s proprietary ‘ Centaur multi - average algorithm ’ make for one heck of a duette , when it hail to track on the Ultra . The 6 DoF system proves very reliable when placing elements in 3D blank space when using motley realness and controller positioning , too , is almost unflappable .
In direct contrast , hand trailing takes a little more catch used to and I discover I had to angle my hands inwards so that the headset could more clearly ‘ see ’ what motion I was trying to execute , sometimes .
The additional gesture trackers are prosperous to setup and standardisation comes down to just looking down at your feet , but they had a hard time mirror my leg movements 1:1 . It ’s also distinguish that in all of Pico ’s marketing material , those sporting the trackers are in shorts , as you need to ensure there ’s no cloth ( such as pucker trouser legs ) blocking line of sight with the headset for optimum execution .
As such , while they ’re commodious for out - of - the - box use with experiences like VRChat and Tempo Club , I do n’t live if they add all that much .
The take in experience comes courtesy of a nigh - identical optic stack to the stock Pico 4 , which means it does lag behind the Meta Quest 3 in aspect like peak refresh charge per unit ( 90Hz compare to up to 120Hz on the Quest ) . Thankfully , you still get powered IPD modification ( 58 - 72 mm ) , a respectable 105 - grade FoV – even if that entail there ’s still an obvious framing to subject matter – while a solution of 2160 x 2160 per eye ensures frizzly visuals too .
I just care more game employed better anti - aliasing , as jaggy lines are n’t rare on the boundaries of component in some ( but not all ) form of address .
While the panel used is still an LCD , Pico has reportedly increased smartness by 25 % compared to the Pico 4 , and although I was n’t able to make a side - by - side comparison , optic quality – in terms of both colour and line – seriously impressed for the technical school , especially considering these are microLED and I ’ve test microOLED - toting headsets ( like the Apple Vision Pro ) that do n’t deliver an earth - shatteringly superior viewing experience , despite the obvious price disparity .
Beyond the screens , the most significant and necessary upgrade that the Pico 4 Ultra serve up is its use of Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset . It ’s the same silicon that gave the Quest 3 such a performance advantage over the base Pico 4 and reportedly delivers a 250 % bump in GPU carrying out over the XR2 Gen 1 , used by Pico ’s previous headset .
That also comes paired with a banging 12 GB of RAM on the Ultra ( the Quest 3 has 8 GB ) , which – consider the Quest rarely felt taxed – I can only assume is in the pursuit of future - proofing on Pico ’s part , as the Ultra also took every plot in its stride . It ’s also imposingly speedy at waking from sleep , so you may pop it on your head and be up and running in seconds .
While the Quest 3 comes in 128 Great Britain and 512 GB flavours , the Pico 4 Ultra splits the difference on the store front , with 256 GB of ( non - expandable ) space . I had about 30 experiences loaded onto my review equipment , about half of which were sizeable game , like Arizona Sunshine 2 and Red Matter 2 , and I ’d only take about a third of the Ultra ’s retentiveness .
App management is gentle enough , although more in - astuteness perceptiveness into how much storage each app occupies and what permissions they ’re using , would be appreciated added penetration .
Games and software
One of the big caution that came with commend the previous Pico 4 was its catalog , which paled in comparison to independent rival Meta ’s . In the intervening year , it ’s clean-cut the ship’s company has worked hard to expand its roster of apps , experience and games , resulting in a reported 650 VR apps and 40 MR apps on Pico Store in 2024 .
large titles , like the aforementioned ( and sensational ) Red Matter 2 , Demeo , Blade & Sorcery : Nomad , Job Simulator , Eleven Table Tennis and Angry Birds are all quick and waiting for Pico users to savour , but a quick glance at the Meta Horizon store reveals there are still big holes in its repertory , especially where popular IPs like Assassin ’s Creed , Beat Saber , Super Hot and Roblox are interest .
To rub salt in the wound , even despite its efforts , titles like the forthcoming Just Dance VR – which was originally slated as a Pico single – is now get along to the Meta Quest rather . It ’s perhaps a symptom of Meta ’s dominance in the outer space , that it can simply entice developers over with its expectant audience , or outright corrupt up studio apartment and produce large titles in - theatre in a way that Pico ca n’t , which means Pico ’s content offering will always fall poor .
With the brand ’s stock as a Chinese - based ship’s company ( now owned by Bytedance ) , there ’s a strange side to the substance on offer from the Pico Store and the Pico Video apps that might not come across with international audiences quite so well .
Among interesting 360 - point wildlife video recording and rollercoaster ride - alongs , it necessitate moments to get served ‘ Premium ’ video recording like ‘ Beautiful Russian Girls ’ . While the mental object in question is n’t incisively sordid , it does n’t really aline with the quality and timber of the rest of what ’s available to substance abuser , and at the very least should be gated behind eld restrictions ( Pico says its products and Service are suitable for age 13 and up ) .
I have no qualms with more adult - focused subject on VR as a platform , but I think access to it needs to be intentional ; users should n’t be capable to happen upon it within Pico ’s own first - party apps , without some forewarning , as I did .
Beyond content intake , you’re able to both share your stand with friends by casting to the Pico app , a TV or web web browser ( which work well even wirelessly , thanks to the headsets ’ latest WiFi 7 support ) , but Pico Connect is the expectant pot here .
Once you have the client installed and you ’re logged in on the same account , you’re able to view your electronic computer within mixed reality and contain it with your hands , controllers or your mouse and keyboard ( native mouse and keyboard supporting via the headset is come in a next OTA update ) .
As well as making your personal computer navigable on a resizeable floating window , you may also leap directly into Steam VR , greatly expanding Pico ’s access to high - timbre VR gambling . Wired connectivity is also on the board here for even lower latent period , but die - hards will lament that this connection run over USB 3.0 and not the superior DisplayPort standard .
Battery life
To follow the extra cameras and performance served up here , the Pico 4 Ultra boast a slightly larger battery than its 2022 forerunner , with a 5,700mAh cell ( versus 5,300mAh ) that at its best delivered around four hr of use on a burster , pipping the Quest 3 to the stake by an extra hour .
course , diagrammatically demanding play will more readily tax thing , compared to front at photos or streaming video , with acute play eating up charge in about half that prison term .
While users will always clamour for long bombardment life , the hard limit inflict here does coordinate well with when I ’d consider a healthy time to take a shift . In a headset as immersive as this , I found it all too easy to lose hour to game like Red Matter 2 . There is also a office saving mood , which lower image timbre , but I preferred running the Ultra down quicker , at its highest faithfulness .
As well as a heavy battery , the Ultra benefits from markedly quicker charging too ( 20W on the Pico 4 to 45W here ) . You ’ll demand to buy a Quick Charge compatible courser one by one , at which peak my test delivered a 71 % charger in 30 minute and a full tutelage in a silver over an hour . That ’s more than twice as tight as the Meta Quest 3 guide to shoot ( around 2.5 hours ) with its 30W charging speeds .
As for the controllers , while Pico ’s software does n’t give you a percentage , after two weeks of manipulation , they ’re still bear witness ‘ green ’ , which I ’m take to intend between 66 % and 100 % kick . This is made all the more telling by the fact that each controller is powered by a pair of humble AA stamp battery that slot into the sprung magazine within their handgrip .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
The Pico 4 Ultra does what it define out to do : out - perform its main challenger , the Meta Quest 3 on the hard
Pico has made pace in improve its software and gaming catalog but it stay second violin to Meta ’s .
Final Thoughts
All in all , the Pico 4 Ultra is an incredibly well - rounded VR headset , with everything you could want at this point , from future - proof operation , decent battery life with smashing degraded charging , exceptional positional and controller trailing , estimable optic and enough storage to bask all the substance you ’ll belike want to sink your teeth into .
It ’s depicted object that continue the prickle in Pico ’s side . While the catalogue available to the Pico 4 Ultra is a pronounced melioration on what you could get when its forerunner launched , there are just some establish brands , IPs and titles that Meta retains control over .
The Pico 4 Ultra underwrite everything you ’d require at this price tip , I just hope it sees enough success to push Pico to add more agiotage features into its heir . Perhaps a move to an OLED panel , eye tracking and foveated rendering ; all enfold up in an even lower - profile blueprint .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every VR headset we review thoroughly . We use industry - standard tests to compare feature the right way and we expend the phone as our main machine over the reexamination period . We ’ll always evidence you what we find and we never , ever , assume money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
No .
Yes . you could switch seamlessly from using the controllers to using your hand .
Yes , provided you buy a twain of Pico ’s compatible motion trackers .
Full Specs
