EXCLUSIVE Leaked Pics of Pico 4 Controllers!

Last week, we were able to discover more information about the next Pico headphones thanks to FCC filings from the “Peak 4” discovered by Janko Roettgers. Since I’m quite interested in what Pico is doing, when I reported the news in my weekly roundup, I asked any of you in the community to send me any information you might have on it. And today, well, magic happened, and someone emailed me. Two exclusive images about the headphone drivers! I love this community.

Te amo cola GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY — Whoever it was, I love you, and thank you for the trust you had in me!

Let me share with you everything I know now about the Pico 4 and its drivers!

Pico 4 Drivers Video

This article comes with the usual The Ghost Howls wall of text, but if you don’t feel like reading, You can also watch a video I just made on the subject:

I hope you like my Italian accent. Otherwise, read on for the verbatim version.

Peak 4

Since the acquisition by Bytedance, Pico is trying to become Meta’s most serious competitor in the consumer VR market. Initially, at Laval Virtual, the company announced the Neo Peak Link 3which is the consumer version of the Pico Neo 3 Pro, which is basically a Quest 2 clone. During the announcement, the company teased that a new headset would have arrived offering a discount for new Pico headphones for all Neo 3 Link owners.

We had no information about this new headset until Janko Roettgers found an FCC file on “Pico 4” and “Pico 4 Pro” last week. The presentation includes an interesting image of the headphone lenses and some schematics. From the image, it is possible to see that the headset is smaller than the Quest 2 and similar devices. It’s more, the lenses are surely not Fresnel and hopefully, they are done for a larger field of view than the Pico Neo 3, but typically pancake headsets have FOV issues, so I’m expecting something in the ballpark of 100°. We can also detect built-in speakers on the side of the device.

Pico 4 lens (Image of Pico, spotted by Janko Roettgers)

From the schematics included in the document, we can also understand that the headset is pretty slim, so the lenses are certainly pancakes. There are also mentions of bluetooth and wifi antennasbut these are standard features for a standalone device, so they’re not surprising.

Technical images of the Pico 4 antennas. From the silhouette, we can see that the visor is quite thin (Image of Pico taken from Upload VR)

According to the documents, the device comes from a Goertek factory, like almost all popular headphones. It should run Android Q, and have two versions, which are identical except for the fact that the “Pro” edition comes with additional eye tracking and face tracking.

This headset looks like a potential Cambria competitoreven if some choices make it look a bit different from Cambria: first of all, it’s white, then it comes in two versions, and only one has eye and face tracking. According to rumours, Cambria will come in only one way, it will feature eye and face tracking, and it will be quite expensive (latest rumors from Brad Lynch talk about $1500). If Pico creates two versions, you can have a cheaper one to compete with the Quest and a more expensive one with eye and face tracking to compete with the Cambria. This can be a very smart strategy to compete with Meta on all sides. However, these are just speculations of mine, so don’t take them for granted.

Peak 4 Drivers

So, let’s now move on to the good part of this article: two very beautiful pictures of Pico 4 controllers.

As for the quality of the photos, they look like future promotional images for the device or internal display images that have been leaked by someone who had access to them.

This is what I could understand from these photos:

Pico isn’t trying to find drivers with inside-out tracking like Meta. These controllers have tracking rings and definitely seem to be “inspired” by other devices with more rounded designs, like PSVR2
The control scheme is the usual: 1 index trigger, 1 grip trigger, 1 joystick, 2 input buttons and 1 menu button. But this device, exactly like previous Pico models, it also has an additional system button. From the camera image on it, it is clear that this additional button is intended for a shortcut to taking screenshots in VR

In this enlarged image you can better see the image of the camera drawn on one of the buttons

The controllers have a shape reminiscent of Touch controllers. Earlier Pico controllers were more like wands, while this form seems more balanced
The track ring is not the same as touch controllers, it is more oblique, and this also contributes to a more balanced controller because the ring does not apply its weight only to the front of the controller
The controllers have a very refined design. They are incredibly stylish, and this is a huge step forward in how Pico pays attention to aesthetics.

In the first photo, behind the controls, there is the Pico logo and some inscriptions. I have tried to improve the image, but the only thing that I have obtained is that tThe last line is the Pico website address.while the other three are illegible.

my impressions

Looking at these photos, there are two things that I found intriguing.

the first is that Pico isn’t trying to clone Cambria.. Both the headphones and the controllers don’t look anything like what we know about the Cambria. For controllers, it seems Pico looked more to other devices for inspiration. This is interesting, considering that the Neo 3 was very similar to the Quest 2. We don’t know whether to opt for controllers with camera tracking. has it been a strategic choice, or has it been because Pico does not have the technology internally to track inside out drivers. Also, the fact that it has two SKUs shows a different strategy than Meta.

The second is the fact that The controllers have a very polished design. I have never seen Pico controllers that were so elegant. Y this makes me think that also the headphones will be very elegant. This is important not only because I, as an Italian, care about design, but because it means that Bytedance wants to offer highly polished products. Pico, coming from the business world, has always been very practical, but now it seems that wants to offer products that are also great to wear. This is great for us consumers, a little less great for Meta, which has now a credible competitor. I am very intrigued by this Peak 4 and what it can mean for our ecosystem.

Now I am very curious to find out what these headphones will be like. If other members of the community want to share something with me, search my contact info here. If you’d like to say something about this exciting Pico 4 news instead, feel free to comment below or on my social media posts.

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EXCLUSIVE Leaked Pics of Pico 4 Controllers!

Pico 4 Drivers Video

Peak 4

Peak 4 Drivers

my impressions

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Pico 4 Drivers Video

Peak 4

Peak 4 Drivers

my impressions

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