Reports from Chinese news outlet Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily (via Nweon) reveal exciting plans for Pico’s next XR headset, set to launch in 2026. Zhenyuan Yang, Vice President of Technology at ByteDance, the parent company of Pico, shared details about the upcoming device. The new headset is expected to feature a self-developed display chip and a remarkable 4,000 PPI microOLED display.
The Breakdown
During ByteDance’s annual scholarship award ceremony, Yang disclosed that the development of the self-developed chip began in 2022 and is now in mass production. This chip aims to address real-time processing challenges in high-resolution, high-frame-rate mixed reality video, boasting a system latency reduction to about 12 ms while maintaining superior image quality. The chip’s capabilities extend to enhancing performance in SLAM, motion compensation, and inverse-distortion workloads, crucial for efficient operation on low-power devices.
Expected to debut in 2026, the new headset will combine the custom chip with a cutting-edge microOLED display boasting nearly 4,000 PPI—surpassing Apple Vision Pro’s 3,386 PPI. Pico’s microOLED display offers an average of 40 PPD (over 45 at the center) and tackles brightness limitations through microlens (MLA) technology and optical compensation for consistent color and luminance. Additionally, Pico is in the process of developing its data-capture systems to enhance advanced eye-tracking, gesture-tracking, and spatial-understanding models.
Yang emphasized ByteDance’s shift in strategy since 2023, focusing more on technological advancements rather than aggressive content and marketing initiatives. This strategic move aims to elevate Pico’s hardware experience to support widespread market applications, showcasing ByteDance’s commitment to the XR space.
Personal Perspective
The upcoming competition in the XR headset market is promising, although US consumers anticipating a Pico rival to Apple’s Vision Pro may need to exercise patience. Pico’s headsets are primarily available in China, East and Southeast Asia, and Europe, with limited presence in North America. Pricing and market positioning have been challenges for Pico compared to Meta’s offerings, hindering its appeal in Meta-supported regions.
Nevertheless, ByteDance’s financial success, driven by platforms like TikTok and Douyin, positions the parent company strongly to elevate Pico’s XR platform as a premium global offering. With a renewed focus on technology and innovation, Pico’s future in the XR space looks promising.
