Pimax Headsets: Eating GPUs for Breakfast

[HiFlyer 9,359]

Very detailed article that I think is worth a read for anyone really interested in these headsets:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pimax-5k-m2-headset-vr,5818.html

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The first wave of the current generation of virtual reality (VR) hardware hit the market roughly two-and-a-half years ago, and those headsets have served the early adopters well. But their time is running out. The second generation of VR headsets should be just around the corner, and Pimax wants to be at the forefront of that next era of consumer VR with its ultra-wide Pimax 8K and Pimax 5K headsets. Many people are banking on the success of the company, including thousands of Kickstarter backers, but we’re not so sure that Pimax’s headsets are true second generation devices. The Pimax 5K+ feels more like a mid-generation upgrade.

Last September, Pimax gained worldwide attention when it launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the final stages of development of an ambitious ultra-wide, high-resolution VR headset called the Pimax 8K. In two short months, Pimax’s campaign eclipsed Oculus’s Rift DK1 Kickstarter,to become the highest grossing VR project on the crowdfunding platform. Following the fundraiser, Pimax had no fewer than 5,946 fans with money on the line and many people rooting for stronger competition in the headset market.

The Pimax 8K, a 200-degree field of view (FOV) dual 4K display headset was supposed to be the first “next-generation” VR headset, and it was supposed to arrive in January 2018. However, Pimax’s ambition was greater than the company’s ability to realize its vision, and it ran into several setbacks that triggered cascading delays.

We had a chance to test an early prototype of the Pimax 8K before the Kickstarter campaign ended, and while the company clearly had work to do, we were satisfied with the early stage of development. But in January, the company’s progress seemed to have taken a step back. Following harsh criticism from CES attendees, Pimax went back to the drawing board and redesigned its lenses for better image clarity. It took Pimax three more attempts to get to the final design we see today.

Even now, the company has more than lens issues to surmount. The Pimax headsets are nice for enthusiasts who will appreciate the wider FOV, but the company isn't going to put HTC and Oculus out of business any time soon. We don’t yet have a production model of the Pimax 8K, but the company sent a pre-production Pimax 5K+ M2 headset to evaluate. Let’s take a look.