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Update: The Kickstarter for the Pimax Portal has now launched (opens in a new tab), and has already exceeded its financial goal. It’s a good time to get in if you’re looking for some of the early bird deals, including special deals for developers and distributors.
Original article: Pimax is a brand known for manufacturing high quality VR headsets with massive fields of view (opens in a new tab) and has just announced one of its most ambitious product releases to date. Usually Pimax sticks to VR headsets, but the new Pimax Portal (opens in a new tab) appears to be some sort of portable Steam Deck (opens in a new tab)-like machine, capable of AR, VR, and everything in between.
The Portal was shown during Pimax’s Frontier 2022 presentation, and is being sold as the “world’s first metaverse entertainment system.” While many of us aren’t exactly sold on the metaverse (opens in a new tab), the Portal does look like an interesting device. If it can achieve everything the company is suggesting, it would certainly be a versatile gaming machine.
It starts with the main body, which is a Switch-like build with a central display with magnetic controllers on either side. The 5.5-inch HDR display would be no joke, with a 4k resolution that runs at a 144hz refresh rate.
Pimax is a bit tight-lipped about the other specs, apart from touting an unnamed powerful ARM-based chip during the video. A spec sheet also mentions the Snapdragon XR2, which was an impressive VR chip. We’d need to know more about what’s under the hood to make any judgments about how good that screen will look in action, and what games it can play, but so far it sounds good on paper.
When you want some VR action, the screen portion of the Portal can fit into a VR headset while the controllers fit into handheld sleeves. This is reminiscent of VR phone solutions we’ve seen in the past, but with a device purpose-designed for the use. Two types of lenses are included with the kit, one for gaming with 27PPD resolution and a 100-degree field of view. The other is designed more for films offering 40PPD with a smaller 60 degree FOV.
This allows for interchangeable options depending on what you use your VR for. Pimax plans to release special options for different experiences, such as a social headset that comes with face tracking. Hopefully this will allow for a more affordable VR option for those looking to get involved with the technology.
But that’s not all that the Portal can be put into. The Pimax Mini Station is a sleeve that provides more portable display options, or there’s the special dock for living room entertainment. There are interchangeable modules such as batteries or 5G cellular connection, and low latency and compatibility with game streaming programs were a focus.
If the Pimax Portal does everything it claims, it will be a great piece of tech, especially at the price offered. While it will debut as a Kickstarter presale on November 15th (opens in a new tab), the Portal will go on the market starting at $299 USD with the most expensive version currently listed at $599. There’s clear potential for this machine as both a hybrid handheld console and VR system, but with claims this big, I’ll have to see it in action first.
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