Summary
- Sony's new patent hints at switchable prescription lenses for a potential new VR headset.
- The patent aims to reduce bulk and weight of wearing both prescription glasses and a VR headset.
- Despite PS VR2's struggles, Sony's innovation in the VR space suggests more to come.
A new Sony patent outlined an intriguing new prescription lens feature, potentially hinting at the company's research efforts regarding an all-new VR headset. This feature would require hardware that's not currently supported on PlayStation VR2, the current-generation VR headset from Sony.
Sales of the PlayStation VR2 waned in the months following its launch on February 22, 2023, leading many to theorize that Sony was planning to scale back its VR development efforts. Many attribute the VR headset's lackluster sales to its $549.99 price at launch and a shortage of compelling first-party and third-party titles during the launch year. In March 2024, a Bloomberg report claimed that Sony was halting production of PlayStation VR2, nearly a year after the VR headset's launch. This was due to low interest from players, leading Sony to hold onto a great amount of unsold PlayStation VR2 stock. Despite this, the VR headset has experienced a resurgence of sorts in recent months, thanks to steep discounts and the release of PlayStation's official PC adapter for PlayStation VR2.
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According to a new patent from Sony, the company has researched a system that will detect prescription lenses added to a new VR headset. This patent was filed back on March 4, 2023, and made public a year and a half later, on September 5, 2024. As shown in the patent, the main goal of this system is to reduce the bulk and overall weight that comes with wearing vision correction eyeglasses and a VR headset like the PlayStation VR2 at the same time. In an effort to increase comfort and overall convenience, the system lets users insert prescription lenses into the sockets in the head-mounted device (HMD), instead of wearing traditional eyeglasses. Features like eye tracking and foveated rendering would still be supported on this new VR headset, as the HMD carries out many of the processes found in the PlayStation VR2.
Sony Patent Hints at a New PlayStation VR Headset With Switchable Prescription Lenses
It's worth noting that the headset shown in the patent is not a PlayStation VR2 headset, since Sony's current VR headset does not have a socket for interchangeable prescription lenses. It's possible that the patent could be describing a feature for an all-new revision of the PlayStation VR2 to capitalize on some of its newfound success from the summer, or the patent could be referring to a next-generation VR headset that's currently in R&D at Sony.
Despite PlayStation VR2's poor performance in its first year, the patent reassures fans that Sony is still working and trying to innovate in the VR space. Features and hardware shown in patents are not guaranteed to come to fruition, but this could be a sign that PlayStation fans may have more VR devices to look forward to in the future.
- Brand
- Sony
- Operating System
- Orbis OS
- Resolution
- 2000 x 2040 per eye
- App Store
- PlayStation Store
- Ports
- USB-C
- HDR Support
- Yes
The successor to the PS VR, the PlayStation VR2 is Sony's virtual reality headset. Debuting in February 2023, the hardware is designed as a companion piece for the PlayStation 5 and requires the PS VR2 Sense controller.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info- Original Release Date
- February 22, 2023
- Hardware Versions
- PlayStation VR2
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $549.99
- Weight
- 560g
- Dimensions
- 212 × 158 × 278 mm