Lynx R1 — specification and verdict
The R1 puts 1600x1600 pixels per eye across a 90-degree horizontal field of view at 90 Hz, on LCD panels with an RGB-stripe subpixel layout. That is enough for large labels, hazard pictograms and machine outlines, but a trainee will struggle with small print such as a valve tag or a rating plate, and will need to lean in. Ultraleap-based hand tracking runs controller-free, which suits point-and-inspect procedures; the 6DoF Lynx R1 Controller was sold separately, not in the base box. Hardware IPD runs 56 to 76 mm per the manufacturer's own documentation, wider than most, and the flip-up visor lets an instructor check on a trainee without unstrapping the halo. The Snapdragon XR2 with 6 GB of RAM is 2022-class silicon: our courses run, but they run at the bottom of what we support.
There is nothing left to deploy against. The French commercial court placed Lynx into compulsory liquidation on 4 March 2026, requiring the company to cease operations immediately, so there is no vendor MDM, no kiosk mode, no enterprise licensing and no RMA path. Distributors that carried the Enterprise Edition, including Komete XR, list it as sold out. Content still installs as an Android APK over the USB-C port, and the SD card slot plus the 3.5 mm jack help in a shared room, but hygiene consumables are limited to the magnetic foam facial interface, with no official replacement supply. Three hours of battery is workable for a training day only with charging breaks, and there are no spare batteries to buy.
Do not buy the R1 for a training fleet in 2026. Its maker is in liquidation, its software will not be updated again, and a device with no support contract is a liability in a room full of employees. If you already own units, keep running them as a spare pool until they fail, and plan replacements on a currently supported standalone headset.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — standalone devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 103°, from 23 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 165 min, from 22 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $674, from 24 models that publish the figure.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Lynx
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — standalone
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- Standalone VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2020-01-28
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2022
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued in 2026
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- 2026-03-04
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- LCD
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Catadioptric (Apple)
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 1600x1600
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 90 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 90° horizontal
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- Weight: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- 90° horizontal · 90° vertical
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- Rendered field of view: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- Passthrough: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Manual
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 56–76 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- Dimensions: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- 500 g
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Rigid halo strap
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- Foam facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black · Silver
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- Haptics in the headset: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- 2
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- Yes
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- Face tracking: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- Body tracking: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- No
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Lynx R1 Controller
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 6DoF
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- joystick · face button · index trigger · grip button
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Controller haptics: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- Controller power: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- Controller weight: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- PerformanceHow much the headset can run — sharper scenes, more objects, smoother mixed reality. Higher is better.
- Basic
- ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2
- CPUCores and clocks, where the manufacturer publishes them.
- Octa-core Kryo 585
- GPUThe graphics part of the chip.
- Adreno 650
- MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be.
- 6 GB
- PlatformThe platform an application is built against — and what an MDM has to speak.
- Android
- StorageOn-board space for downloaded courses. More matters for an offline library in several languages.
- 128 GB
- SD card slotWhether storage can be added with a card.
- Yes
- BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.
- 180 min
- Battery capacity (Wh)Energy in the cell. Bigger is longer, given the same power draw.
- Battery capacity (Wh): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Battery capacity (mAh)The same fact in the other unit vendors use. We never convert between the two.
- Battery capacity (mAh): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Charge timeFrom empty to full. Rarely stated by the manufacturer, so it usually comes from whoever timed it.
- Charge time: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- ChargerPower of the supplied charger — it decides the charge time above.
- Charger: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- External batteryBattery on a cable or a puck instead of on the head.
- External battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Charging caseExtra runtime carried in the case the glasses ship with.
- Charging case: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Hot-swap batteryWhether a charged battery can replace the empty one without ending the session. This is what decides if a headset can hold an all-day training station.
- Hot-swap battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- Yes
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Swappable facial interface: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- USB Type-C · headphone jack
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi 6
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- 5.0
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers · Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Enterprise
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $849
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Headset only $849 · Headset with controllers $948 · Enterprise Edition $1299
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
Who this device is for
Only useful to somebody who already has R1 units on the shelf, or to a research group that wants the raw camera access Lynx exposed through its SDK and can live without vendor support. Anybody buying a first fleet, or anybody who needs an invoice, a warranty and device management, should look elsewhere.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Lynx never published a headset-only weight — the 500 g figure includes the halo strap — and there are no dimensions, no charge time, no charger wattage and no brightness figure anywhere. Whether the passthrough is full colour is not stated in any specification we could open, so we left the field empty. VRcompare lists 6 GB of RAM and Android 10 while the Komete XR listing says 8 GB and Android 12; we kept the RAM at 6 GB and dropped the OS version entirely rather than pin an unresolvable disagreement. Since liquidation the manufacturer's own site covers only the unreleased R2, so the R1 product page is gone.
Lynx R1 — frequently asked questions
- Is the Lynx R1 still supported after Lynx went into liquidation?
- No. A French commercial court put Lynx into compulsory liquidation on 4 March 2026 and ordered operations to cease immediately, so 4 March 2026 is the practical end of support. Existing headsets keep working, but there will be no firmware updates, no warranty service and no replacement parts, and the manufacturer's site now covers only the R2 that never shipped.
- What was the difference between the $849 Lynx R1 and the $1,299 Enterprise Edition?
- The $849 price was the headset on its own; adding the two 6DoF Lynx R1 Controllers took it to $948. The Enterprise Edition was listed at $1,299 and was the business-facing configuration sold through integrators such as Komete XR, which now shows it as sold out. Neither tier came with any device-management software.
- Can our VR safety courses run on a Lynx R1 headset?
- Technically yes: it is a standalone Android headset with 6DoF inside-out tracking and Ultraleap hand tracking, so our Android courses install and run on it. In practice we do not recommend it, because the Snapdragon XR2 with 6 GB of RAM is at the bottom of our supported range and there is no vendor left to provide fleet management, updates or repairs.
Compare this device
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Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. Manufacturer's specification
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