Over the past few years, we have been continuously investing in research & development in VR optics for current and next-generation VR devices. Thanks to improvements to our optical elements, coatings, canting, and manufacturing processes, we are excited to announce several key optics breakthroughs that have improved field of view (FOV) and optical performance.
The new technology has been successfully implemented in production, and Beyond remains on track for a Q3 ship date for the first wave of customers in the United States. Every Beyond customer will receive the following improvements, including people who preordered in the past few months. Let’s get into the details.
Improved field of view, up to 102°
Field of view (FOV) has been increased to 102°, approximately 10° larger than before.
These improvements do not come at the expense of angular resolution (PPD) or stereo overlap. Bigscreen Beyond has stereo overlap equivalent to the Valve Index. All customers will receive improved field of view except those with a 70mm-72mm IPD due to physical size limitations.
Improved sweet spot, glare, and optical performance with 32 PPD
Various optical characteristics such as clarity and sweet spot have improved. Lens artifacts such as glare have been reduced as well. Pixels per degree is now officially 32 PPD.
Increased IPD range, to 55mm to 72mm
It’s important to use VR headsets set to the correct interpupillary distance (the distance between a user’s eyes). When using VR at the wrong IPD, users can get headaches and the VR image may appear blurry.
Today, we’ve made Beyond accessible to more customers by creating new IPD sizes, now available in 18 different IPD sizes from 55mm to 72mm.
The optical design has a large eye box that allows users to comfortably use the headset even if the headset is not their exact IPD. Bigscreen Beyond accommodates people with a physical IPD of 53mm to 74mm to comfortably use the headset.
Check out our video breakdown for more details on our latest improvements to FOV and clarity.
That wraps up our optics breakthrough update. Stay tuned for more news and updates as we get closer to sending out our first batch of shipments!