Pico, a company under ByteDance, has announced plans to release a new extended reality (XR) headset in 2026. This upcoming device is expected to feature a custom-developed display chip and a microOLED display boasting an impressive resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels per inch (PPI), surpassing that of the Apple Vision Pro’s 3,386 PPI.
During ByteDance’s annual scholarship award ceremony, Zhenyuan Yang, Vice President of Technology at Pico, shared these details, as reported by the Chinese news outlet Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily. Yang revealed that the self-developed chip, initiated in 2022, is now in mass production. It aims to address real-time processing challenges associated with high-resolution, high-frame-rate mixed reality video, achieving a latency of around 12 milliseconds while maintaining high-quality images.
The new chip is designed to enhance performance in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), motion compensation, and inverse-distortion tasks. These functionalities are crucial for efficient computing on low-power devices, a significant consideration for XR technology.
Advanced Display Technology and Features
The forthcoming headset will integrate this advanced chip with a microOLED display that targets a remarkable average of 40 pixels per degree (PPD), exceeding 45 PPD at the center. To tackle brightness limitations, Pico plans to incorporate microlens array (MLA) technology alongside optical compensation to ensure uniform color and luminance across the display.
Additionally, the company is developing proprietary data-capture systems aimed at enhancing capabilities in eye-tracking, gesture-tracking, and spatial understanding. Yang emphasized a strategic shift that began in 2023, moving away from aggressive content production and marketing to a stronger focus on technological investment and research and development in the XR space.
“In 2023, we decided to reduce our investment in content and marketing, and instead focus more firmly on our technology strategy,” Yang explained. “This adjustment led to misunderstandings, with many believing that ByteDance was retreating from XR. In fact, quite the opposite is true.”
Market Position and Future Prospects
This announcement follows earlier reports that Pico is also working on a lightweight mixed reality device, codenamed ‘Swan’, which is anticipated to weigh only 100 grams.
While this new headset aims to compete directly with high-end offerings like the Apple Vision Pro, Pico’s products have primarily been available in China, East and Southeast Asia, and Europe, but not in North America. The company has faced challenges in establishing a presence in the US market, partly due to pricing strategies that place their headsets above those of competitors like Meta.
Despite these hurdles, ByteDance has recently surpassed Meta in revenue, positioning itself favorably to enhance its XR platform as a premium global offering. As Pico prepares to enter this competitive landscape, the company’s focus on technological advancement may allow it to carve out a significant niche in the XR market.