Immersed, the startup behind the virtual monitors app, just announced an ultra high-end headset focused on productivity.
Immersed currently offers a free app for Meta Quest, Vive Focus 3, and Pico 4 that shows your PC monitors in VR and lets you spawn entirely virtual extra monitors, for up to 5 monitors in total.
The startup says it already sees users spending 40-50 hours per week working in Immersed, and claims it’s the “most used spatial computing software worldwide”.
But generalized standalone headsets like Quest and Pico are relatively heavy, have much lower angular resolution than real monitors, and run feature-packed system software that lengthens the time between putting on the headset and being in an app. So Immersed is now building its own headset, called Visor, specifically designed for its productivity use case.
Visor is the result of a “strategic collaboration” with Qualcomm on the device side, Intel on the PC side, and an “undisclosed AR/VR tech giant” that will be revealed later this year. It supports Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Immersed claims the headset is built for “all day” comfort, is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and weighs less than a typical smartphone.
The immediate comparison many will be making is to Bigscreen Beyond, another ultra compact headset being released by a startup that originally just made VR software. Like Beyond, Visor will also be custom built to match the lens spacing to each buyer’s interpupillary distance.
But Visor is technologically much more ambitious. While Bigscreen Beyond is cable tethered and requires SteamVR Tracking base stations, Visor has an onboard chipset and battery to support a wireless mode, and has integrated inside-out tracking from Qualcomm.
Visor also has “4K” OLED microdisplays per eye, whereas Beyond has 2.5K OLED microdisplays, and Visor has “HD” color passthrough to see the real world.
However, Visor is also more limited in scope. While Beyond is a general use SteamVR headset, Visor is specifically designed for using Immersed’s productivity software. This tailored hardware-software approach means your virtual workspace will be ready within “seconds” of your PC booting, Immersed claims, but also means this isn’t a product meant for VR gaming or social platforms.
Visor is slated to ship some time in 2024. Invitations to pre-order will be sent out later this year, with registration available now. Immersed isn’t announcing the price yet, but says it will be less than the $3500 Apple Vision Pro.
