Today’s Sony product announcement event saw the launch of the camera-centric Sony Xperia Pro-I smartphone that managed to steal all the hype. What went under the radar though was a new VR headset – the Sony Xperia View. Sony has had launched stuff like the PlayStation VR in the past but a VR headset from Xperia is a first. It isn’t the standalone kind though and requires an Xperia smartphone to be slipped into it in order to work, hence the Xperia branding.
The headset only supports the Xperia 1 III
and Xperia 1 II phones and has been designed to fit them in perfectly. Sony
claims that one can view “8K HDR VR video” using it, although it’s likely just
a marketing term as both Xperia 1 III and Xperia 1 II max out at 4K resolution
with their displays.
The Xperia View VR headset provides 120
degrees of horizontal view and its lens has a hybrid structure with a high
focusing efficiency. It also comes with a lens spacing adjustment function that
can adjust the lens and image display position according to the distance
between the eyes. The setup process for the headset is rather easy. Simply
remove its front cover with the dedicated lever, slide the smartphone in, and
shut it back up.
There’s even a dedicated app for the
Xperia View. It’s equipped with a launcher function that displays a list of
Xperia View compatible apps and other content in VR mode. One can also play
media stored on the internal/external storage directly.
The Xperia View VR headset is quite easy
to operate thanks to cutouts providing direct access to the dedicated keys on
the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 1 II. The need for a separate controller is
eliminated because you can move the cursor with the volume keys on the and make
selections with the camera key. The headset is available on the official
Japanese Sony e-store and Au Online Shop for 29,700 Yen (US$ 260). We are yet to
come across an indication for a global release.
