VR startup Pimax is redesigning Portal's headset design

Startup Pimax is reportedly redesigning a VR headset for its Portal handheld gaming console.

Pimax is a China-based startup best known for its 2017 Kickstarter project, an ultra-wide field of view PC VR headset. Pimax has since launched a range of products, but has been plagued by long shipping delays, inconsistent quality, software issues and customer service issues. While its ultra-wide field of view is intriguing, its three most popular models are used by fewer than 0.3% of VR users on Steam.

Portal和Portal View是在去年11月宣布的，当时Pimax发起了一个Kickstarter众筹活动来支持它们的开发。Portal拥有4K显示屏，可以运行安卓手机游戏，但在持续性性能和物理控制方面具有优势，适用于支持这些功能的游戏。它采用与Meta Quest 2和PICO 4相同的高通骁龙XR2芯片组。

However, as we pointed out at the time of the Portal Kickstarter launch, Pimax often fails to deliver earlier promised products on time before launching new ones. For example, in May of this year, Pimax began shipping its new PC VR headset, the Crystal, which was announced long before Portal, but was delayed by nine months and lacked features like a standalone mode and eye tracking. important function.

In the Portal Kickstarter, the shipping month is listed as January, but we tried the Portal View ourselves that month and found that positional tracking had little functionality, and controller sleeves were unavailable, so Pimax had to use the Crystal controller for the demo.

In April, Pimax told backers they had "completed the final design of the hardware" and that "mass production is starting," and said it would ship both the handheld and the VR headset later that month. But now, three months later, the handheld is shipping, but the company is delaying and redesigning the headset.

According to Pimax, the original design didn't have enough weight distribution for user comfort, and it performed "a bit weakly if the user gets rough on the device with rough lessons."

The new design was inspired by other Pimax headsets. The company says it will offer two versions, one with a rear battery pack and one without.

Pimax claims that the redesigned headset is "expected" to ship to more than 600 backers in the third quarter (July-September), but for Pimax, this is only a rough target, not accurate estimate.