Bytedance, the owner of TikTok, is dead set on competing with Meta Quest 2.
It’s clearer than ever.
Before Bytedance acquired Pico last year, their headsets were only available for businesses-only
or in Asia.
They’ve now released a consumer headset in Europe: the Pico Neo 3 Link, which is almost
identical to Quest 2.
They are also getting ready to enter the US market; several job listings on the West Coast
reveal that.
And according to this well-established VR developer: They are putting much more money
into this than you realize.
A lot of VR indie game devs are getting decent money for ports to their ecosystem now.
Do not underestimate them.
Yes, Bytedance seems to be in it for the long haul, which can be really good for the VR
industry.
Pico sent me the Neo 3 Link to check out, and I can already tell you it’s interesting.
It’s not only similar to the Quest 2 in design and specs and has the same standalone
games, but there’s even one feature not available on Quest, which by itself could
be a reason to buy this headset.
However, Pico is also missing something huge that will decide the fate of these headsets.
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One thing.
Pico released this headset in beta, meaning the software is still heavily developed.
So if you buy this headset now, you become a beta tester who can provide feedback and
actively influence the development of Pico software.
This also means whatever I show you today could be different if you watch this at a
later time.
From the outside, the Pico is basically a copy of the Quest 2.
The only difference here, and I like this one, is that the Neo 3 Link comes with an
Elite-like strap already integrated, and it stores the battery at the back for excellent
weight distribution
The strap is adjustable with the back dial, like most headsets, but the top strap differs.
It uses a stretchy rubber that is adjustable on two points.
The bottom part holds your head, while the top provides extra stability.
At first, I had doubts that it had enough flexibility, but this is actually very comfortable.
The audio isn’t much different from Quest 2 either; the speakers are integrated into
the side straps and have decent loud-enough audio.
At the bottom, there’s a headphone jack and volume buttons that you can easily reach.
Now the specs, and as you can see, the inside is also very similar to Quest 2.
It’s the same chipset, memory, three-point IPD adjustment, and even resolution…
I was curious to see if Bytedance was willing to match Meta’s prices, and a nice surprise,
they did.
Pico’s headset is only available in 256GB and matches the exact price of the bigger-sized
Quest 2 in Europe.
We don’t know where the pricepoint will be at in the US yet, but based on this, I
expect the pricing to be the same.
Keep in mind that prices in Europe are always higher than in the US because stores here
are obligated to include tax.
But this shows how ready Bytedance is to take on Meta.
There are only two differences in the specs; the obvious is the storage sizes, but also
the connection and this is the feature not available on Quest.
Both headsets can be used to play PC VR games wirelessly via WiFi, which works and looks
about the same.
But a distinct feature on the Pico is this second USB-C port hidden under a cover.
You can use an extra cable here that comes with the headset.
Then here, there’s an extra hole, which you can use to screw in the cable so that’s
its more secure.
This works, but who the heck is going to bring a screwdriver around to just switch between
modes?
It’s a bit weird, but I digress.
On the other side of the cable is a DisplayPort and USB connection that you can plug into
your PC for 4K resolution PC VR gaming with no compression.
Quest 2 also allows you to do wired PC VR gaming, but it only uses USB, which is stable,
but the visuals are noticeably compressed.
Pico’s way looks crispy clear when it works.
Right now, the Pico Link software is buggy and crashes a lot, and I couldn’t get the
90hz refresh rate to work, just 72hz.
Having spoken to other Beta testers, it seems that some of them can get 90hz to work, but
because of specific incompatibility issues, it doesn’t work for everyone yet.
A nice addition is that you can also plug in a 12V power supply, so the headset does
not run out of juice.
Unfortunately, you have to buy this separately.
These power supplies are cheap, and you may already have one lying around, but still I
think they should have been included in the box.
Now, if Pico can get wired PC VR stable every time, this feature alone is a nice advantage
over the Quest 2.
It could make it the hybrid VR headset that we don’t have yet.
But you know what else would be nice?
If you left me a like on this video as that helps so much.
As a thank you, here’s a picture of my cat.
Since the specs are almost the same, you can expect the same kind of visual fidelity as
you can expect on Quest, and yes, the standalone games play and look nearly the same.
The visual quality of the display looks good and smooth overall.
Not too many god rays and glare, plus there’s good edge-to-edge clarity.
However, I found the display shows a lot of chromatic aberration, which isn’t on Quest.
It’s very noticeable, and in some scenes, it can be distracting.
Talking with other beta testers, I noticed this had worsened after recent updates.
Chromatic Abberation is something Pico can correct by software, which is a good thing,
and I hope they’ll focus on that.
The tracking seems to have improved now.
The Neo 3 Link is actually the same hardware as the Neo 3 Pro sold to businesses last year.
I also reviewed that headset, and back then, I thought, the tracking was lacking behind
the Quest 2.
Now, it’s pretty on par.
When the controllers collide, it’s really good, which is great for shooters.
The times I do lose tracking more often is when the controllers are outside of the camera’s
range.
This is below my waist and next to my head for example.
This is not very great for bow and arrow games, but it also doesn’t happen too much to make
it annoying.
The controllers have the same face buttons as other headsets to make it easier to configure
them with most VR games, but these controllers are a bit heavier and bulkier than that of
the Quest 2, and they don’t have the same premium feel, but it tracks good, and I find
them comfortable enough to hold.
One significant improvement is the content library.
In less than a year, we got many more standalone games in the store; most of them are ported
from the Quest store.
A few classics are Arizona Sunshine, Red Matter, and Superhot VR, but also recent ones like
Demeo, Walkabout Minigolf, and After The Fall.
Since Pico’s store isn’t as strictly curated as the Meta Quest store, you will be able
to find more indie titles too.
However, that also means some of these titles are better left alone.
Pico seems focused on adding games, which is fantastic.
However, the huge thing that Pico is missing is this.
Meta has great exclusives like Beat Saber, Resident Evil 4 VR, and the upcoming GTA VR
game.
Pico, a.k.a.
Bytedance, needs exclusives too to make them different from Quest.
So I think they will have to step up their game on investing in exclusives.
Since they’re giving away money now to devs, I’m so curious to see how this will go.
It’s clear, right, that Bytedance wants to take on Meta, but there’s one more thing.
Meta has had a headstart on the software.
They’ve brought out many big updates over the past two years, like hand tracking, multitasking,
and passthrough gaming.
This is also possible with Pico’s software as they both use Android as their base, but
Pico’s software is pretty much still empty.
So, the Pico Neo 3 Link is a really good alternative to Meta Quest 2, but as you can tell by now,
Bytedance has a lot of catching up to do.
They -can- do it because Pico, before Bytedance bought them, had little if any chance to bring
their headsets to the West.
It’s just very hard to compete with the Quest 2 without Meta’s deep pockets.
Bytedance is one of the few companies who could.
Whether they want to do it?
Only time will tell.
This is also the reason I’m not convinced you should buy it now, but it depends on what
you want to do with it.
The device is clearly still a work-in-progress, which doesn’t have to be bad if you enjoy
being at the forefront of a product and would like to help shape it to your liking.
Plus, if you hate Meta but still want to play some awesome standalone games, this is your
only other option.
And if PC VR gaming is your main priority and standalone is second, this is also the
best hybrid headset we have so far.
BUT… chances are high that this headset will get outdated fast.
Pico teased about a new headset during their launch live stream.
They showed this screen and said: For everyone who participates in the beta program, should
there be another product that comes from Pico within the next 12 months, they will be eligible
for this discount.
This strongly hints that Pico is working on a new headset, which may be coming within
12 months.
It does have the footnote that it’s subject to the beta program’s success, but still,
if you’re on a budget, you may want to wait before buying this one.
For now, I am rooting for Pico.
Even though, Bytedance is not a great company as there are privacy concerns.
Please keep that in mind, but we need competition.
Hopefully, these companies will compete with each other in finding better ways to work
with their customers, us, too.
Let me know in the comments below if you would buy this headset, if not, why not?
I would love to hear it.
So yes, the Neo 3 Link is the same hardware as the Neo 3 Pro, which I compared to the
Quest 2 before.
So if you want to hear more about this headset, the link to this video is below
Thanks for watching!
I hope you enjoyed this, and a special thanks go to all our current Champions.
As always, VR on!