Pico Neo 4 vs. Meta Quest 2

Recently Pico announced its latest generation VR Glasses: the Pico Neo 4. This Headset promises to rival with the hugely popular Meta Quest 2. But does the Pico Neo 4 have the right specifications to become a real competitor to Meta? And perhaps more importantly, how are with Pico's software and games faring? In this blog we list the similarities and differences between the Pico Neo 4 and the Meta Quest 2 and give advice on the best VR Glasses.

Specifications

Weight and design

On paper, the specifications of the Pico Neo 4 and the Meta Quest 2 look very similar, but when the headsets are placed next to each other, a few things immediately stand out. For example, the Pico Neo 4 is a lot smaller and narrower than the Meta Quest 2. This has to do with with the separate lenses used in the Pico Neo 4. These so-called 'pancake' lenses take up less space than the fresnel lenses normally used in All-In-One VR Glasses. Because of this smaller form factor, the Pico Neo 4 immediately looks a lot more streamlined than the Quest 2.

But this is not the only thing the Pico Neo 4 has over the Quest 2. For example, the battery of the Pico Neo 4 is hidden at the back of the Headset headband. As a result, the weight of the Headset is better distributed over the entire headband and forms less pressure against the face. With the Quest 2 it can sometimes happen that the weight of the glasses feels 'top heavy' and after you take off the Headset there are red stripes on the face. This will be less the case with the Pico Neo 4. In addition, the overall weight of the Headset also makes a big difference. The Meta Quest 2 weighs 470 grams (without headband) and the Pico Neo 4 weighs only 295 grams (without headband).

Resolution and Field of View

The Quest 2 has an image resolution of 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye, has 1 LCD screen and uses Fresnel lenses. The Pico Neo 4 has a resolution of 2160 x 2160 pixels per eye, has 2 LCD screens and uses Pancake lenses. As indicated earlier in this comparison, the Pancake lenses of the Pico Neo 4 take up less space than the Fresnel lenses used in the Quest 2. In addition, the Pico Neo 4 has a higher image resolution than the Quest 2.

Meta does not give an official number of degrees for the Quest 2 for the field of view, but it is usually measured at about 98 degrees. Pico indicates that the field of view of the Pico Neo 4 is 105 degrees. This means that you see with the Pico slightly more in sight than with the Quest 2, although the (approximately) 5 degrees difference will not make much difference in practice.

Passthrough options

Passthrough allows you to see through the cameras on the front of the Headset. As a user you see the real physical environment around you. This is mainly used when you want to set the playing space, for example, but also very handy when you have to go back to the 'real world'. The Quest 2 features a grey-scale Passthrough camera. This means that the image you see with the cameras will be black and gray. If you intend to use this Passthrough only for setting the room, this is not a problem, but for other things it is nice to add some color. The Passthrough cameras of the Pico Neo 4 do have color this time. Although the quality of the cameras is not yet at the level of 'human eye resolution' (as, for example, the Varjo XR-3 has), it is still a major improvement compared to the Quest 2.

Comfort

The Pico 4 comes standard with a reinforced headband and a battery on the back of the Headset. As many people know, the Quest 2 comes standard with with an elastic band and an Elite Strap (with or without battery) can be ordered optionally. However, the new design of the Pico 4 does have some comments.

• With an IPD smaller than 62mm, those lenses will press against your nose, which turns out to be quite annoying.
• The optical system is mediocre, there are performance issues because the Pico 4 renders more pixels with the same XR2 chip as the Pico 3.
• The positional tracking is still not good, this was also a problem with the Pico 2 and 3. Users even recommend that if you are sensitive to tracking quality you better wait for software updates that will hopefully fix this in the future.
• Users also indicate that they have suffered from motion sickness. This is probably related to the with performance issues and the tracking.

The Quest 2 also has its problems, which are largely due to its weight. The Headset can therefore hang a bit from your forehead. If you solve this by tightening the headstrap a bit, you run the risk of getting a headache with long use. On the other hand, there are many accessories available for the Quest 2 that make the Headset very comfortable. look at the Meta Quest 2 accessories.

Controllers

In addition to the different design of the headsets, the Pico Neo 4 also has a new type Controllers. Where the Controllers of the Quest 2 have a design that we actually already know, Pico has developed Controllers that in appearance is reminiscent of a combination between the Quest and [[MD5_93 ]] Index Controllers. These 'knuckle style' Controllers have a kind of band around the hands that provide better tracking of the hands and fingers. In addition, the Controllers are designed in such a way that they can come close to each other without any problems. Many VR Controllers (including Quest 2 and HP Reverb G2) have the problem that when the Controllers are too close together, the top of the Controllers collide. Because of the smart new design, you will not have this problem with the Pico Neo 4 Controllers so quickly.

A disadvantage of this new type Controllers is that there are still relatively few accessories available for it. Because the Quest 2 Controllers have been around for a long time, there are many cases and other useful accessories available for. But who knows, new accessories for the Pico Neo 4 Controllers will be released soon - and will of course be available at Unbound XR!

Processor, PC Link streaming and App Store

The built-in processor in both glasses is the same. Both the Quest 2 and the Pico Neo 4 use the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 (this chip is also used in the VIVE Focus 3). The Snapdragon XR2 is a powerful processor that makes it possible to play many games at high quality. Another important part of any game console is the availability of games. Meta has developed its own Oculus app store with a wide range of VR games and applications. Until now, this was Pico's biggest breaking point: because they offered relatively few games themselves, it was not a logical choice for Consumers to choose Pico (business users can load their own applications). Fortunately, the Pico Neo 4 changes this. The game library has expanded considerably and now has almost as many games as Oculus available (with even some exclusive VR games, such as Just Dance VR).

with the Meta Quest 2 is it possible to send the Headset via a Oculus Link cable with to connect a Computer and use the computing power and games. With the Pico Neo 4 it is not possible to use an external cable. Pico relies entirely on the wireless PC VR streaming for this. It is therefore with the Pico Neo 4 possible to use PC VR games, but this will be somewhat less reliable than if you with the Quest 2 in combination with [[ MD5_140]] an Oculus Link cable.

Conclusion

The Pico Neo 4 and Meta Quest 2 are both good All-In-One VR Glasses. The best choice for you depends on your needs and what you are going to use the glasses for. The Quest 2 is available from €449 and the Pico Neo 4 is available from €429. The biggest difference between the headsets is that the Quest 2 with can be connected to the PC with a cable. with with the Pico Neo 4 it is only possible to do this via WiFi streaming (which gives a somewhat lesser image quality). In addition, the Quest 2 currently still has a much larger library of with wide choices of (exclusive) games, making the Quest 2 still the best choice for the gamer. Finally, the Quest 2 is more comfortable to wear and the with accessories are easier to expand and it is less likely to cause nausea for sensitive users.

Relevant blogs and products on this topic

• Meta Quest 2 128GB
• Meta Quest 2 vs. Pico Neo 3 Link: What are the differences?
• Oculus Quest 2 vs. Pico Neo 2: Which VR Headset is better?