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PlayStation VR2: Sony FINALLY unveils PS VR2 headset design

At long last, we’ve caught a glimpse of Sony's new PlayStation VR2 headset

PlayStation VR2 is here. After revealing everything but the design of the new PSVR headset during its CES 2022 keynote presentation, Sony has finally provided the final piece of the puzzle in a blog post over on the official PlayStation website

As you can see, PS VR2 looks a lot like a VR headset. There are a few small points to note, however, the first of which is that Sony is sticking with the halo headband rather than going down the fabric strap route like Oculus. You can see the size adjustment dial in the image below. 

The second thing worth pointing out is the four cameras mounted on the HMD. These facilitate inside-out tracking (doing away with the need for a PlayStation Eye camera) and potentially a passthrough mode so you can view your surroundings mid-game. What we can’t see in the images is the interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustor dial or 3.5mm headphone jack.

The blog post also draws attention to a small vent on the top edge of the HMD itself that’s designed to improve airflow and reduce the likelihood of the PS VR2’s lenses fogging up. The cross, diamond, circle and square pattern found on the PS5 console and DualSense controller makes a comeback on the front and rear panelling, too, if that was important to you.

Alas, that’s all Sony shared in the blog post – but it’s not all we know so far.

The original January announcement made it quite clear that the PS VR2 headset itself is a serious step up from the current PSVR model. The screen uses OLED panel technology (increasingly uncommon in the VR space) and has a resolution of 2,000 x 2,040 per eye for a 4,000 x 2,040 total. The panel refreshes adaptively at 90Hz or 120Hz, presumably depending on what you’re running.

We don’t know much about the type of lenses being used, but we do know that PS VR2 offers a 110-degree field of view and supports manual adjustment of the distance between the two lenses – to account for different interpupillary distances. 

PS VR2 has a large number of built-in sensors: a three-axis gyroscope for tracking your movements around a single point, plus a three-axis accelerometer for tracking your movements around the room you’re playing in. It even has an infra-red proximity sensor, perhaps for the controllers.

That’s not all. Like the Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro 2, the PlayStation VR2 also tracks your eye movement within the HMD, which allows it to leverage foveated rendering technology to reduce image quality in your peripheral vision (and thereby reduce the strain on your PS5’s processors). Then there’s the built-in rumble motor, which serves a dual purpose: both to increase immersion and – reputedly – mitigate the effects of motion sickness a tad. 

PS VR2 is a wired VR headset, but it uses a single USB-C cable and requires no external units. It has a built-in microphone and a headphone jack for audio duties, although seemingly no built-in speakers.

The PS VR2 Sense controllers, meanwhile, have the same set of movement sensors as the headset, plus a familiar array of PlayStation buttons and the same adaptive rear triggers as the DualSense PS5 controller. The specs sheet also mentions capacitive touch, although we’re currently unsure what that refers to.

There’s no word yet on a release date or price. We’ll keep you updated as we find out more.

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