What you need to know
- The upcoming Pico OS 6 completely redesigns the OS, including a new spatial rendering engine, brand new UI design, powerful new open SDKs built on Android Studio, and more.
- Project Swan is a high-end XR headset featuring custom silicon, 40-45PPD resolution, and a new design, launching globally sometime in Q2.
- Pico, owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will be bringing its headsets and software to North American consumers for the first time this year, marking the end of an era of restrictive releases.
In a special developer event, Pico announced its biggest OS update yet, coming alongside a massive redesign and powerful new development tools. The 15-minute-long presentation was tightly packed with information, with no time wasted to highlight the advantages of the new OS and the problems Pico aims to solve.
Additionally, Pico announced a new headset, currently called Project Swan, which is scheduled to come to the U.S. for the first time, likely sometime in Q2 of this year. Project Swan marks a huge step forward for Pico, which is owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, as it will finally debut consumer products in the U.S. for the first time. To date, Pico’s U.S. presence has been limited to enterprise customers.
Project Swan aims to be the first headset that can “fully replace your monitors,” according to the keynote presentation, by delivering 40-45 pixels per degree (PPD) resolution, a first for a consumer VR headset. High-end headsets, like Galaxy XR, only sport 35 PPD.
This is achieved through a combination of new, higher-density micro-OLED displays with 4000 ppi resolution (not a typo), which is 10x the density of modern smartphones. Additionally, Pico has developed its own lenses and custom silicon to drive the best visuals and performance needed to achieve these goals.
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Pico says its custom chipset is 2x the CPU and GPU power of existing Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processors, which power the latest Meta Quest headsets and the Samsung Galaxy XR. It’s not known if Project Swan will ship with controllers or if it’ll be designed more for productivity and entertainment, like Galaxy XR.
Ahead of the official launch, Pico is conducting a global test of the new Pico OS 6 and will be sending out a Project Swan headset to a few lucky individuals to test. You can sign up for the beta here. Pico OS 6 aims to solve several problems with existing XR OS’s, including an advanced rendering pipeline that can run standard Android apps “directly in immersive layers” rather than separate 2D windows.
This is likely a direct call out to Meta, which has traditionally organized its OS in a layered fashion. Pico says this new paradigm will result in proper interaction between 2D and 3D elements, including remote avatar interaction with virtual and physical worlds. Pico says its new OS “supports a diverse range of app ecosystems, including Spatial apps, OpenXR, WebXR, Android apps, Web apps, and PC VR streaming.”
Android Central’s take
It seems ByteDance may be celebrating the victory of the TikTok U.S. deal by trying its hand at another major pillar of the company’s vision. ByteDance acquired Pico back in 2021 when it was clear the Oculus Quest 2 was selling gangbusters, but failed to capitalize on that growth immediately because it wasn’t able to roll out new headsets in key markets like North America.
Now, this new headset, which is almost certainly going to be expensive, has the chance to be a true competitor to the upcoming Meta Project Phoenix in more ways than one. Given Pico’s open-source stance and unwavering commitment to VR over the years, there’s a real chance the company could have an excellent foothold in the market and become the real competitor to Meta that the market has sorely needed.
