Pico’s 2026 Vision Pro Rival to Feature In-House Chip
▼ Summary
– Pico plans to release a new XR headset in 2026 featuring a self-developed chip and a 4,000 PPI microOLED display.
– The custom chip, in mass production since 2022, reduces system latency to 12 ms and improves performance in SLAM and motion compensation.
– The microOLED display uses microlens technology to enhance brightness and uniformity, surpassing the pixel density of Apple Vision Pro.
– ByteDance shifted Pico’s strategy in 2023 from aggressive marketing to long-term technological investment in XR research and development.
– Pico headsets are not available in North America and face pricing challenges, but ByteDance’s strong revenue positions it to compete globally.
Pico, the virtual and augmented reality division under ByteDance, is preparing to launch a sophisticated XR headset in 2026 that will feature a proprietary in-house chip and a high-resolution microOLED display. This strategic move signals a direct challenge to established players like Apple’s Vision Pro, emphasizing long-term technological investment over short-term marketing efforts.
During ByteDance’s annual scholarship ceremony, Zhenyuan Yang, Vice President of Technology, outlined the company’s roadmap for the upcoming device. According to reports, development of the custom chip began in 2022 and has now reached mass production. The processor is engineered to tackle real-time processing challenges associated with high-resolution, high-frame-rate mixed reality content, reportedly cutting system latency to approximately 12 milliseconds while preserving image fidelity.
The chip also enhances performance in several demanding computational areas, including simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), motion compensation, and optical distortion correction. These improvements are especially important for maintaining efficiency in low-power wearable devices, where computational resources are limited.
Paired with the new chip will be a bespoke microOLED display boasting nearly 4,000 pixels per inch (PPI), slightly surpassing the pixel density of Apple’s Vision Pro. The screen also integrates microlens array technology and optical compensation methods to deliver uniform brightness and color, addressing common limitations in current microOLED panels. Additionally, Pico is advancing its own data-capture infrastructure to refine eye-tracking, gesture recognition, and spatial awareness algorithms.
Yang clarified that since 2023, ByteDance has redirected Pico’s strategy away from heavy spending on content and marketing, choosing instead to deepen its commitment to research and development. He noted that earlier hardware limitations made widespread adoption impractical, leading some observers to mistakenly assume the company was stepping back from the XR market. In reality, the shift reflects a renewed focus on creating a mature, high-performance product.
Recent leaks also point to the development of a lightweight mixed reality device, codenamed ‘Swan’, weighing roughly 100 grams. While Pico headsets are not currently available in North America, often priced higher than Meta’s alternatives in supported regions, ByteDance’s substantial revenue, which has surpassed that of Meta, positions it to potentially expand its premium XR offerings worldwide in the future.
(Source: ROADTOVR)
