After cementing itself as one of the major contributors to VR and AR hardware development, ByteDance has brought a bold new device to market with Pico 4 Ultra. With specs that rival Meta Quest 3 and an affordable price equivalent to $600 USD, it’s well worth giving Pico 4 Ultra a close look.

Pico Ultra 4 began shipping to preorder purchasers on September 2, 2024 and, though its availability is currently limited to China, the UK, and parts of Europe, it began earning plenty of acclaim from the tech media and consumers alike. Looking at the specs, it’s not hard to see why.

Inside Pico 4 Ultra

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform, Pico 4 Ultra sees an improved GPU performance of 250%. Passthrough video provides 8MP image quality while IMU motion tracker works with 12 sensors to provide 6DoF tracking at 200hz. Utilizing a proprietary tracking AI this allows for tracking across 24 skeleton points with a latency of just 20 milliseconds and 98% step-accuracy.

Pico 4 Ultra features an impressive array of tracking cameras and sensors to better enable immersive AR experiences. [Image: Pico]

Quest 3 may boast a better refresh rate but Pico 4 Ultra is no slouch in that department with 90Hz and a resolution of 2160x2160 per eye. Compatible with Apple Vision Pro’s spatial videos, Pico 4 Ultra also seems geared toward not only competing against other AR systems but working with them and their users.

Quest 3 vs Pico 4 Ultra

Pitched as a toe-to-toe competitor for Quest 3, Pico 4 Ultra reportedly beats Meta’s latest when it comes to RAM, passthrough capabilities, WiFi strength, battery life and charging speed, and ergonomic design. At 580g, Pico 4 Ultra is slightly heavier than the 515g Quest 3 but not by enough to matter to all but the most seriously comfort-concerned users.

For VR Smash users, how well each of these devices work with VR and AR porn will be of chief concern. Thankfully both are winners. Pico 4 Ultra stands out for many of the same reasons Quest 3 does but its ergonomic design, excellent hand and body tracking, and a powerful display system will ensure that any VR porn fans that choose this device will be glad they did.