Category Archives: Games

Shiftall Announces Next Thin & Light ‘MeganeX’ PC VR Headset, Shipping in December for $1,900

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Shiftall unveiled its next PC VR headset, the MeganeX “8K” Mark II, which is slated to ship in December for $1,900.

The News

Japan-based Shiftall announced MeganeX “8K” Mark II, the follow-up to its thin and light PC VR headset originally launched late last year, the MeganeX superlight “8K”.

The new version is essentially a hardware refresh with only a few notable changes, which mostly aim to improve comfort, durability, and system internals.

Shiftall MeganeX “8K” Mark 2 | Image courtesy Shiftall

The headset contains the same 3,552 × 3,840 per-eye micro-OLEDs, supporting up to 90 Hz refresh, and the same SteamVR tracking standard, which requires the user to buy SteamVR 1.0/2.0 base stations separately.

Here’s a breakdown of all of the changes announced by Shiftall:

  • New chip: The CPU and operating system (OS) have been upgraded, and the firmware has been newly developed, reducing the startup time to less than one-fifth of the previous model. Connection stability with PCs and SteamVR has been improved, and the firmware update process has been improved for greater reliability.
  • New Pancake lenses: Shiftall says they’re newly designed by Panasonic Group.
  • Redesigned USB-C cable connection: previously located on the top of the headset, the USB-C port has been moved to the front and structurally reinforced for improved durability. A specially developed intermediate USB cable enhances connection stability and prevents issues caused by wear or accidental disconnection.
  • Refined nose gap: Sharp plastic edges no longer come into contact with ‘Western’ nose shapes. The material and shape around the nose area have been improved for greater comfort.
  • New Strap material: A new strap material has been adopted, and includes better durability of the hook-and-loop fastener.

Estimated to start shipping in late December, MeganeX Mark II is now available for pre-order.

The headset (SteamVR base stations not included) is priced at $1,900 in the US (excluding import duty), €1,900 in Europe (VAT included), £1,600 in the UK (VAT included), and ₩2,499,000 in South Korea (VAT included).

Specs

Feature MeganeX Superlight “8K” MeganeX “8K” Mark II
Display 3,552 × 3,840 (micro-OLED, 10-bit HDR) 3,552 × 3,840 (micro-OLED, 10-bit HDR)
Refresh rates 90 Hz (support for 75 Hz / 72 Hz) 90 Hz (support for 75 Hz / 72 Hz)
Lens type Pancake lenses (Panasonic group) Pancake lenses (newly designed from Panasonic)
Weight (main body) < 185 g 179 g
IPD & focus adjustment Electric IPD 58–72 mm; diopter adjust 0D to –7D Electric IPD 58–72 mm; diopter adjust 0D to –7D
Connectivity / tracking ecosystem DisplayPort + USB 2.0, SteamVR tracking (base stations required) DisplayPort + USB 2.0, SteamVR tracking (base stations required)

My Take

You may have noticed I’ve put “8K” in quotes throughout this announcement. That’s to indicate that headset doesn’t actually provide 8K per-eye displays.

While companies like Shiftall and Pimax typically err on the side of the biggest number, I see this as more of a marketing device than a true reflection of what the end user actually sees. Because it’s using dual 3,552 × 3,840 micro-OLEDs, the user doesn’t actually perceive an 8K image. By that maxim, Quest 3 could be labeled with “4K”, owing to its dual 2,064 × 2,208 displays, and Oculus Rift CV1 could be labeled “2K” according to its dual 1,080 × 1,200 displays. Impressive sounding, but a bit misleading.

That said, Shiftall thinks resolution is a better catch-all for VR headsets, which I disagree with since its target audience will probably understand the nuances of displays and optics anyway.

“We have decided against publishing official FOV and PPD numbers,” Shiftall says, referring to the original MeganeX superlight “8K”. “If an industry-standard measurement method were established, such as the method used to calculate fuel consumption for automobiles, we would disclose our figures, but this is not the case in the current VR industry.”

Still, I suspect potential enterprise and prosumers looking to shell out $1,900 for a single headset—no controllers or base stations included—are already familiar with pixels per degree (PPD) and binocular overlap, which are more useful, albeit less flashy metrics. On that front, MeganeX “8K” Mark II is impressive. Its pancake lenses provide a reported ~100-degree horizontal FOV, which seems to deliver a near 100 percent binocular overlap.

Using the formula to get PPD (Horizontal Pixel Count ÷ Horizontal Field of View), it also tops the competition, coming out to around 35.5 PPD: larger than Pimax Dream Air ($2,000) at 35 PPD, and Bigscreen Beyond 2 ($1,020) at 32 PPD.

Whatever the case, I think its time to retire these sorts of resolution claims championed outside of the spec sheet, if only to lend more credibility to the company in question. And the same goes for the questionable Photoshop jobs too.

The post Shiftall Announces Next Thin & Light ‘MeganeX’ PC VR Headset, Shipping in December for $1,900 appeared first on Road to VR.

Smash Drums Adds Eerie Cosmetics And New Song In Halloween Update

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Smash Drums is adding limited-edition items in a Halloween event that starts today on Quest.

Smash Drums‘ Halloween Update introduces a slew of seasonal goodies to the percussion-centric rhythm game by way of spooky drumsticks, a skull avatar whose jaw wobbles along with you as you talk, and a new song called ‘Dawg.’ You unlock the limited-run items permanently by achieving specific score requirements during the event, which starts today and ends on November 30.

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This update also sees Smash Drums add a selfie camera and microphone, letting you capture yourself while jamming out by holding the B or Y button on the controller. A slew of quality-of-life improvements have arrived in tow, too, including enhancements to the social camera and a refreshed avatar menu.

That’s not all, though. Developer PotamWorks confirmed that a Campaign mode would be arriving mid-November, though not much else is currently known. More updates on this will come closer to launch.

Smash Drums joins a long list of VR games honoring the spooky season through content updates, with Phasmophobia kicking off its annual horror event and Trombone Champ: Unflattened adding both a supernatural update and paid DLC. With Halloween just around the corner, we’ll be rounding up all the seasonally appropriate games, updates, and DLC packs soon.

Smash Drums’ Halloween Update is available now for Quest. The base game is also on Pico and PlayStation VR2.

Samsung Sets A Date For Its Android XR Headset

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Samsung is teasing a livestream next week for its Android XR headset – could this be the launch event?

The October 21 Galaxy Event has the tagline “Worlds Wide Open”.

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Samsung’s teaser.

“Come meet the first official device on Android XR”, Samsung teases.

Samsung Galaxy XR?

Samsung first announced that it was working on a standalone headset almost three years ago, with Google handling the software.

It finally revealed the device’s design in December of last year, alongside Google formally naming Android XR, and gave UploadVR’s Ian Hamilton a hands-on demo while saying it would ship in 2025. But what it still has not revealed is the product’s name, price, detailed specifications, and exact release date.

Hands-On With Samsung’s Android XR Headset, Shipping In 2025
Samsung’s first standalone headset is coming in 2025, running Google’s new Android XR operating system and powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset.
UploadVRIan Hamilton

What Samsung has said is that it will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, a higher-end variant of the chipset in Quest 3 and Quest 3S which has already shipped in Play For Dream MR, as well as “state-of-the-art displays”, eye tracking, hand tracking, and an external tethered battery.

Beyond that, the company confirmed that it was working on controllers, but did not disclose whether they will be included in the box or sold as an optional accessory.

In August the South Korean news outlet Newsworks reported that Samsung is targeting a price somewhere between 2.5 million and 4 million South Korean won, around $1750 to $2800. That compares to 5 million won for Apple Vision Pro, which has been sold in South Korea since November.

Samsung Phones Now Capture 3D Videos For ‘Galaxy XR Headsets’
Flagship Samsung phones can soon capture 3D photos and videos to view on “Galaxy XR headsets”, just like iPhones can for Apple Vision Pro.
UploadVRDavid Heaney

In September, Samsung started rolling out an update for the Camera app of its Galaxy phones that adds the ability to capture 3D photos and videos. The option to enable 3D capture describes the feature as being for viewing on “Galaxy XR headsets”, strongly suggesting that this will be the company’s branding.

Samsung’s official event takes place on Tuesday at 7pm PT, and we’ll bring you full coverage of whatever it announces about its headset.

The company won’t be without competition though, as deliveries of the new M5 Apple Vision Pro will start arriving the next day, when the headset will also be available in Apple Stores.

Logitech Muse Spatial Stylus For Apple Vision Pro Now Available To Preorder

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The Logitech Muse spatial stylus for Apple Vision Pro headsets is now available to preorder.

Logitech’s Vision Pro accessory was first announced at WWDC25 back in June, and support for it was added in visionOS 26, which entered beta after the conference and saw a stable release last month.

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Logitech Muse launch trailer.

While Logitech describes Muse as the “very first spatial accessory of its kind”, it looks extremely similar to the existing Logitech MX Ink spatial stylus for Meta’s Quest headsets that went on sale just over a year ago.

Both MX Ink and Muse are 6DoF positionally tracked by the headset’s cameras, via infrared LEDs under the plastic, have a pressure-sensitive tip and internal haptic feedback actuator, and charge via USB-C.

The only differences visible externally are the buttons and pogo pins. MX Ink for Quest has three protruding buttons on the main body, while Muse for Vision Pro has two flush buttons. On both styluses, the larger button is force-sensitive. And MX Ink has pogo pins for the MX Inkwell Dock, which Muse lacks an equivalent of.

Logitech Muse for Apple Vision Pro headsets.

The pressure-sensitive tip allows the styluses to be used for 2D creation on a physical surface, while the force-sensitive button enables adjusting the strength or width of brushes in open-air for 3D creation.

Apple and Logitech say that the visionOS apps Crayon, doppl by Interaptix, Sketch Pro and Spatial Analogue will add support for Muse “over the coming weeks”.

The news comes as Apple announced and opened preorders for the new M5 Vision Pro, with faster loading, higher resolution rendering, a 120Hz mode, longer battery life, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band.

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Logitech Muse in Spatial Analogue.

Logitech Muse can be preordered on the Apple Store online for $130, and will start arriving next Wednesday, alongside the new Vision Pro headset.

PS VR2 Sense Controllers Will Be Sold By Apple For $250 Next Month

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The PlayStation VR2 Sense Controllers will be sold by Apple from November 11, priced at $250, and the charging stand is included.

Apple added support for Sony’s tracked controllers to Vision Pro headsets with visionOS 26, which released last month, but Sony currently doesn’t sell them separately from the $400 headset.

The PS VR2 Sense controller support of visionOS includes 6DoF positional tracking, capacitive finger touch detection, and basic vibration support. The precision haptics of the controllers are not supported, however, and nor are their unique resistive triggers.

Hit Longer Rallies In Ping Pong Club On Apple Vision Pro With A PSVR 2 Controller
Apple Vision Pro has its first ping pong game compatible with the PlayStation VR2 controllers.
UploadVRIan Hamilton

Pickle Pro Is The First Apple Vision Pro Game To Use PS VR2 Controllers
Pickle Pro, from Resolution Games, is the first announced Apple Vision Pro game to use the PS VR2 Sense controllers.
UploadVRDavid Heaney

Apple claims that PS VR2 controller support will bring “a new class of games” to Vision Pro.

One of the first Vision Pro games to support the PS VR2 Sense controllers is the indie title Ping Pong Club, which we tested when visionOS 26 launched.

Meanwhile, Resolution Games is working on a visionOS game leveraging the controllers called Pickle Pro. The studio describes Pickle Pro as “the ultimate pickleball training and competition app”, with “hyper-real physics”.

The $250 price includes Sony’s official charging stand.

The PlayStation VR2 Sense Controllers will be available on the online Apple Store in the US from November 11, priced at $250, with Sony’s official charging stand included.

There’s no word yet on availability outside the US.