Pimax Crystal Pro — specification and verdict
Pimax announced the Crystal Pro on 6 October 2026 as a wireless PC VR headset that can also run mobile apps on its own. Each eye gets a 2880 x 2880 quantum-dot LCD (QLED) panel behind glass aspheric lenses, 35 pixels per degree, a 110-degree horizontal field of view, 72, 90 or 120 Hz, Mini-LED local dimming across 576 zones per eye and 200 nits, with eye tracking at 120 Hz. Streaming over Wi-Fi is built in, with a Wi-Fi 6E adapter in the box; an optional $599 60 GHz AirLink kit sends the area you look at uncompressed, at up to 6 Gbps. A Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 runs Android and OpenXR mobile apps without a PC, and a 16,000 mAh battery pack on a cable replaces any battery in the headset itself. Pimax lists $1,399 for the headset and $1,899 with the kit, and its own pages disagree on shipping: the press release says dates will follow, the FAQ says spring 2027 and the store page says 2027. Weight, interpupillary range and memory are not published, so those fields stay empty here.
This is a PC VR headset that happens to carry a computer. Streaming works over Wi-Fi out of the box, over the optional 60 GHz kit for the cleanest image, or over a DisplayPort cable that Pimax sells separately; behind any of them sits a PC with at least an RTX 2070, and Pimax recommends an RTX 3080 or RTX 4070 without having published the CPU, memory or operating system it expects. Power comes from a 16,000 mAh pack on a cable, so every unit arrives with a battery to charge and carry. Without a PC the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 runs Android and OpenXR mobile apps, but Pimax names no operating system, app store or device management, so our courses are not verified on it and a fleet cannot be managed. The Lighthouse and mixed-reality faceplates are options, not the default.
What is known: the panels, the optics, the chip, the battery pack, three prices and a 2027 window. What is not: the weight, the memory, the PC requirements beyond the graphics card, the controller specification and the exact ship date. For a simulator seat or an enthusiast who wants to lose the cable it is the interesting new Pimax headset. For an EHS training room it is not a candidate: there is no device management, no enterprise edition and no test of our courses on it. Nothing is on sale yet, so there is nothing to buy, and Quest 3 with third-party device management remains the realistic choice for a fleet.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — PC-tethered devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 53 PPD, from 5 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 110°, from 40 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 200 nits, from 4 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $899, from 46 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
Pimax ringed SLAM controllers
6DoF
In the boxHow it is tracked
Nobody publishes how these controllers are tracked.
Other controllers
Nobody states whether other controllers work with it.
Bare hands
No hand tracking — a controller is the only way in.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Pimax
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — PC-tethered
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- Standalone VR, also PC-powered
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2026-10-06
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2027
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Announced for 2027
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- Support ends: not published by the manufacturer
- 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.
- Optics: not published by the manufacturer
- 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.
- 2880x2880
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 72/90/120 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 110° 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.
- 35 PPD
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- 200 nits
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- Weight: not published by the manufacturer
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- Visible field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- Rendered field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: not published by the manufacturer
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- Subpixel layout: not published by the manufacturer
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Eye-tracked
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- None
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- IPD adjustment: not published by the manufacturer
- 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.
- IPD range: not published by the manufacturer
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Yes
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Official lens inserts
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- Dimensions: not published by the manufacturer
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- Weight with strap: not published by the manufacturer
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Head strap: not published by the manufacturer
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- Materials: not published by the manufacturer
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Colours: not published by the manufacturer
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- Haptics in the headset: not published by the manufacturer
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF (SLAM 2.0; Lighthouse via optional faceplate)
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Optional
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- 4
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- Yes
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- Face tracking: not published by the manufacturer
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- Body tracking: not published by the manufacturer
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- Yes
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Pimax ringed SLAM controllers
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 6DoF
- Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say.
- Controller tracking method: not published by the manufacturer
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- Other controllers: not published by the manufacturer
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- Controller inputs: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Controller haptics: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- Controller power: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- Controller weight: not published by the manufacturer
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1
- CPUCores and clocks, where the manufacturer publishes them.
- CPU: not published by the manufacturer
- GPUThe graphics part of the chip.
- GPU: not published by the manufacturer
- MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be.
- Memory: not published by the manufacturer
- StorageOn-board space for downloaded courses. More matters for an offline library in several languages.
- Storage: not published by the manufacturer
- SD card slotWhether storage can be added with a card.
- SD card slot: not published by the manufacturer
- BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.
- Battery: not published by the manufacturer
- Battery capacity (Wh)Energy in the cell. Bigger is longer, given the same power draw.
- Battery capacity (Wh): not published by the manufacturer
- Battery capacity (mAh)The same fact in the other unit vendors use. We never convert between the two.
- 16000 mAh
- Charge timeFrom empty to full. Rarely stated by the manufacturer, so it usually comes from whoever timed it.
- Charge time: not published by the manufacturer
- ChargerPower of the supplied charger — it decides the charge time above.
- Charger: not published by the manufacturer
- External batteryBattery on a cable or a puck instead of on the head.
- Yes
- Charging caseExtra runtime carried in the case the glasses ship with.
- Charging case: not published by the manufacturer
- 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: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- 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.
- Yes
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- Ports: not published by the manufacturer
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- 6E
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Over a cable · Wireless (Wi-Fi streaming, optional 60G AirLink kit)
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers
- 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.
- 3
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Premium
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $1399
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Headset $1399 · Headset with 60G AirLink kit $1899
- 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: not published by the manufacturer
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- 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): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
Crystal Pro is Pimax's wireless PC VR headset: 2880 x 2880 per eye, a 110-degree field of view, eye tracking and Wi-Fi streaming out of the box, with an optional 60 GHz kit for the cleanest wireless image. It also carries a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 and can run Android and OpenXR mobile apps without a PC, so standalone use is possible, though Pimax names no operating system or app store. It is something to follow, not to order: nothing is on sale, there is no device management, and our courses have not been run on it. For a training room it stays a simulator and enthusiast headset until that changes.
How it differs from its predecessor
Against the original Pimax Crystal it keeps the 2880 x 2880 QLED panels, the glass aspheric lenses, 35 pixels per degree and the Lighthouse faceplate, and changes how the headset is powered and connected: the battery moves to a 16,000 mAh pack on a cable, Wi-Fi streaming is built in, and the 60 GHz kit and the mixed-reality faceplate are new. Pimax says the Wi-Fi adapter also works with the original Crystal. It is $200 below the Crystal's $1,599 launch price. Against the Crystal Super it gives up resolution, 2880 x 2880 against 3840 x 3840, and the wide-field optical engines, in exchange for no cable, and it also tracks inside-out, with Lighthouse as an option.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Pimax gives three answers on shipping: the press release says dates will be announced later, the launch FAQ says spring 2027 and the store page says 2027, so we record the year only. Weight, interpupillary range, memory, storage, battery runtime and the PC's CPU, memory and operating system requirements are not on any Pimax page, and the controllers are described only as ringed SLAM controllers. The 6 Gbps, under 2 ms and 5 x 5 m figures belong to the optional $599 kit, not to the headset: the $1,399 headset streams over Wi-Fi, and uncompressed streaming takes the price to $1,899. We found no independent hands-on, only videos analysing the announcement, and some of them carry Pimax affiliate links. There is no device management, kiosk mode or enterprise edition, and our courses have not been run on it.
Pimax Crystal Pro — frequently asked questions
- When does the Pimax Crystal Pro ship?
- Pimax has not settled on one answer. The press release says shipping dates will be announced later, the launch FAQ says shipping is set to start in spring 2027, and the store page says 2027. Hands-on demos are planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. We record 2027, and the $1 reservation is non-refundable according to the store page.
- Can the Pimax Crystal Pro run VR apps without a PC?
- Partly. Pimax calls it a PC VR headset first, with a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 inside that runs Android and OpenXR mobile titles and video without a computer. It names no operating system, app store or memory size, so we cannot say which apps will install, and our training courses are not verified on it.
- Does the Pimax Crystal Pro need the 60G AirLink kit to work wirelessly?
- No. Wi-Fi streaming is built in, a Wi-Fi 6E adapter comes in the box and Pimax lists Steam Link 2.0 compatibility. The $599 kit adds a 60 GHz link of up to 6 Gbps that sends the area you look at uncompressed, guided by eye tracking, and it needs two room antennas with line of sight because 60 GHz does not pass through walls.
Compare this device
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Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-10-16. Manufacturer's specification
Product and company names used here are the trademarks of their respective owners and appear only to identify the hardware being compared. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these manufacturers. Illustrations are our own.