Pico launched its standalone VR headset Neo 3 Hyperlink this summer season, marking its first actual push to launch a shopper system outdoors of Asia. Now it’s on the point of ship the follow-up standalone Pico 4, and the corporate appears to be struggling to maintain up with demand in some areas.
Pico opened up pre-orders of Pico 4 in late September with the goal of initially releasing the headset at present throughout a number of areas, together with 13 European international locations, Japan, and Korea.
Be aware: there’s nonetheless no phrase on whether or not Pico 4 is coming to the US, though Pico Interactive, owned by TikTok guardian ByteDance, is increasing to the US to compete with Meta.
Pico says in a recent tweet nonetheless some European clients might even see delays in cargo as a consequence of excessive demand:
“Attributable to unprecedented world demand, there’ll sadly be delays in fulfilling some buyer pre-orders within the EU area. We’re working tirelessly to make sure that demand is happy by the tip of October,” Pico says.
Persevering with: “We strongly suggest that you simply maintain your again order in place at your most popular retailer as we will likely be prioritising current again orders first. If you’re affected, please settle for our sincerest apologies. We’re doing every thing we are able to to resolve it as rapidly as doable. Within the meantime, if you happen to can’t wait any longer to get your palms on a PICO headset, Neo 3 Hyperlink is accessible and in inventory proper now.”
In Europe, Pico 4 is strongly positioned to compete with Meta Quest 2. At €430 for the 128GB mannequin and €500 for the 256GB mannequin, Pico 4 not solely beats Quest 2 on pricing, but in addition goes toe-to-toe within the specs division whereas offering a slimmer profile due to the addition of pancake lenses.
Final month the corporate additionally introduced Pico 4 Professional, an enterprise-focused variant due out later this 12 months which provides three inside cameras for eye and face-tracking. Pricing and launch of that system continues to be unclear, though it might be trying to take market share away from the lately introduced Meta Quest Professional, which is priced at an eye-watering $1,500.