[CNET] Varjo's Auto-Focus XR-4 Mixed-Reality Headset Boasts Specs to Rival Apple Vision Pro

[anonpuffs]

article link

The Finnish startup's latest hardware pushes the boundary on how external cameras might mix reality, but in a PC-tethered design.

Varjo's newest industrial VR/AR headset promises display and passthrough camera quality so high you won't be able to tell the difference between them.
Varjo

Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset pushes the boundaries on headset resolution and camera quality for AR and VR, but some headsets are already looking beyond Apple's headset. Varjo, a Finnish tech startup, has a new industrial mixed-reality headset for PCs that promises even higher headset resolution, and a multifocal passthrough camera that Varjo claims makes mixed reality and actual reality feel indistinguishable. But before you get too excited, the Varjo XR-4, available in December, is for industrial use.

I haven't tried the Varjo XR-4 yet, but based on my previous experiences with Varjo headsets, I have little reason to doubt the claims. Earlier headsets have been jaw-dropping and demonstrated many of the "retina level" display quality and high-end passthrough camera-based mixed reality features Apple is now shooting for with Vision Pro. Varjo's hardware is also a component of OpenBCI's sensor-studded Galea headset.

Varjo's new headset isn't standalone and requires tethering to a powerful PC to make its software work. However, the newest Varjo XR-4 makes that process easier than before. The new headset finally has its own packed-in controllers co-developed by Razer, and the lidar-equipped headset's outer cameras can now do all full motion 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) tracking without needing any external Steam VR base stations like the previous versions.


The headset has its own controllers this time, and tracks motion in the headset with its cameras, but still needs a PC for tethering.
Varjo
The XR-4's specs sound wild. The field of view is bigger than before, adding a lot more vertical field of view than is normally standard: 120 degrees horizontal, and 105 degrees vertical. The pixel resolution is about 4K per eye (3,840x3,744 pixels per eye), with a density of 51 pixels per degree. (For reference, the human eye sees 60 pixels per degree in the fovea.) Varjo is using a single display panel per eye, instead of multiple panels used in previous headsets. The displays use Mini-LED, with 200 nits of maximum brightness.

Varjo's lidar sensors, which handle depth sensing similar to how Apple's AR tech works, are ramped up to a promised 8x resolution, which could mean better scanning of objects or hands into VR, and layering mixed reality into captures of the real world with more accuracy. The cameras are also improved, using dual 20-megapixel image sensors.

A more expensive Focal Edition adds a completely new idea – autofocus controlled by the headset's built-in eye tracking to focus on things in the real world and layer virtual objects on top of them in a way that could feel even more like everyday focus-based vision. This isn't varifocal VR like companies such as Meta have been exploring, but it could lead to a varifocal-like mixed reality feeling.

Varjo's hardware and software are used for training and design, in situations like designing cars with Volvo – one of Varjo's clients – or creating flight simulators with the US Department of Defense. This powerful, pro hardware is expensive, too: $3,990 for the regular XR-4, and $9,990 for the auto-focus Focal Edition -- and that doesn't even include the PC needed to run it. It makes the Apple Vision Pro seem affordable by comparison. But Varjo's technology looks to be a counterpoint to a new landscape of ultrahigh-end mixed-reality headsets that could define what future, more affordable consumer devices will be capable of. I'll get to try one out soon and report on how it feels versus the Vision Pro.

-$3990 MSRP or $9990 (lol) for a version with better passthrough
-200 nit miniLED display with 4Kx4K per eye resolution, >50ppd density
-requires tethering to a fairly beefy PC
-90hz refresh
-200hz eye tracking

 

[JAHGamer]

"to Rival Apple Vision Pro"

 

[anonpuffs]

"to Rival Apple Vision Pro"

hardware-wise it probably does. apple is the king of integrated software, though, so it'll be pretty behind with that.

 

[JAHGamer]

hardware-wise it probably does. apple is the king of integrated software, though, so it'll be pretty behind with that.

how when it requires tethering to a PC while the AVP has an M2 built in as well as another processor?

 

[anonpuffs]

how when it requires tethering to a PC while the AVP has an M2 built in as well as another processor?

Apple vision pro uses OLED which is good for color contrast but weak in light output intensity, but it also uses pancake lenses which need very bright screens to make full use of. Varjo XR4 uses miniLED which are bright as fuck and aspherical lenses which are a step up in quality from pancakes. This means that while the AVP will probably have slightly better black levels, the Varjo will have much better HDR in terms of actually hitting bright highlights.

AVP has a horizontal FOV of somewhere between 100-110*. Varjo has a FOV of 120*, which is massive. It also has 25% more pixels (over 28mil vs AVP 23m).

Also while the Varjo requires tethering, the apple vision pro only has 2 hours of battery life. Also the M2 is not really a good gaming chip (it's only 10 cores, for reference the actual "gaming" chip is the M2 max at 38 cores). I'm not sure if you can tether the AVP to like an actual macbook pro or anything to get extra performance.

Finally, the Varjo has haptics. AVP doesn't.

spec comparison

 

[JAHGamer]

Apple vision pro uses OLED which is good for color contrast but weak in light output intensity, but it also uses pancake lenses which need very bright screens to make full use of. Varjo XR4 uses miniLED which are bright as fuck and aspherical lenses which are a step up in quality from pancakes. This means that while the AVP will probably have slightly better black levels, the Varjo will have much better HDR in terms of actually hitting bright highlights.

AVP has a horizontal FOV of somewhere between 100-110*. Varjo has a FOV of 120*, which is massive. It also has 25% more pixels (over 28mil vs AVP 23m).

Also while the Varjo requires tethering, the apple vision pro only has 2 hours of battery life. Also the M2 is not really a good gaming chip (it's only 10 cores, for reference the actual "gaming" chip is the M2 max at 38 cores). I'm not sure if you can tether the AVP to like an actual macbook pro or anything to get extra performance.

Finally, the Varjo has haptics. AVP doesn't.

spec comparison

It’s not using OLED, it’s using Micro OLED… it will decimate the Varjo when it comes to display.

The AVP isn’t a gaming headset but the M2 definitely isn’t weak. Add in FOVeated rendering and it could be a capable gaming headset if that’s what Apple wanted it to be.

You should know by now when it comes to Apple that the spec sheet means less than nothing. Everything just works

This honestly isn’t even a fair match up for the AVP

Edit: another thing I forgot to add, you mentioned haptics. Idk if the headset has built in haptics but it’s already confirmed that the DualSense will be supported for AR gaming. And there are rumors that the PSVR2 controllers will be supported if VR gaming becomes a thing. Wouldn’t surprise me since Sony is supplying so many of the components. Apple and Sony

 

[anonpuffs]

It’s not using OLED, it’s using Micro OLED… it will decimate the Varjo when it comes to display.

The AVP isn’t a gaming headset but the M2 definitely isn’t weak. Add in FOVeated rendering and it could be a capable gaming headset if that’s what Apple wanted it to be.

You should know by now when it comes to Apple that the spec sheet means less than nothing. Everything just works

This honestly isn’t even a fair match up for the AVP

We will see. Micro OLED is just oled with smaller pixels; the pancake lenses are what really kills oled - they make the screen a whole lot dimmer. Yes Micro OLED gets brighter than regular OLED due to pixel density but you have to remember that OLED is still OLED and putting too much voltage (aka making them too bright/hot) causes burn-in. Also the Varjo has foveated rendering as well. And yes, like I said, Apple has a big advantage in software integration so in the end it will vastly outsell the Varjo.