Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition — specification and verdict
The Focal Edition is the version of Varjo's XR-4 whose passthrough autofocus follows the wearer's gaze, so a trainee can look down at a physical checklist, a switch panel or a torque wrench and read it, then look up at the simulated world without changing headsets. The panel is 3840x3744 per eye at 51 pixels per degree over a 120 by 105 degree field, running at 90 Hz, with eye-tracked foveated rendering to keep that resolution renderable. Passthrough reaches the same 51 pixels per degree, which is why the mixed-reality cockpit and maintenance-bay use cases work here and do not on cheaper headsets. Brightness is modest at 200 nits, so it is a headset for controlled indoor rooms, not a bright shop floor. Everything runs from a workstation over DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C; there is no on-board Android, so nothing of ours installs on it.
This is a PC VR deployment, not a headset rollout: every seat needs a workstation strong enough to drive 3840x3744 per eye with foveated rendering, plus the cable run and the space around it. Varjo sells it through industrial and government channels that cover Poland and Germany, with a Varjo Base licence tier as a paid add-on for enterprise features. The 2026 revision ships without controllers in the box, and outside-in setups additionally need SteamVR 2.0 base stations, so the quoted headset price is only part of the seat cost. There is no vendor MDM or kiosk mode; the fleet is managed the way you manage the PCs behind it. The foam facial interface and the retractable rigid headband are built for shared use between shifts, but hygiene consumables are on you.
Buy it when the training genuinely depends on reading real instruments through passthrough — flight, naval and vehicle simulators built around a physical cockpit. For occupational safety and general workplace training it is the wrong tool: our courses do not run on it, the launch price of 9,990 USD buys a room full of standalone headsets, and each seat drags a workstation behind it. If someone asks for the Focal Edition to run a standard safety course, redirect them to a standalone Android headset.
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: 62 PPD, from 4 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 110°, from 39 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 500 g, from 26 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $899, from 45 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
Varjo Controller
6DoF
The first controller Varjo ever put in the box — every earlier headset sent you to buy SteamVR hardware separately. Built with Razer and tracked by cameras in the corners of the visor, with hand tracking left to a separate Ultraleap add-on.
Sold separatelyHow it is tracked
Headset cameras
The headset watches markers on the controller, so it loses a hand held behind the back or low at the hip until it comes back into view.
The controller itself
- Controller haptics
- Yes
- Controller inputs
- joystick · face buttons · index trigger · middle finger trigger
Other controllers
Any SteamVR (Lighthouse) controller
Index Controller · HTC Vive controller
Bare hands
Full hand skeleton
The application receives a jointed hand pose, so a scenario can check what the fingers are doing and draw the hand as it moves.
Hand tracking SDK: Varjo integrated hand tracking via the passthrough cameras (OpenXR); Ultraleap also supported
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Varjo
- 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.
- PC-powered VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2023-11-27
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2023
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- On sale
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- 2030-12-31
- 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.
- 3840x3744
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- ≈90 Hz*VRcompare spec sheet
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 120° 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.
- 51 PPD
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- ≈200 nits*VRcompare spec sheet
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- 665 g
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- 120° horizontal · 105° vertical
- 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.
- RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Eye-tracked
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- Colour
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- 51 PPD
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Motorised
- 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.
- 56–72 mm
- 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.
- Fits over glasses
- 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.
- 1021 g
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Rigid strap with a dial
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · foam facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- White
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF, SteamVR 2.0 base stations optional
- 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.
- Tracking cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- 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.
- Yes
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- Yes
- Hand tracking detailHow much of the hand reaches the application: a pinch, or a jointed hand pose a scenario can read.
- Full hand skeleton
- Hands and controllers at onceWhether a controller in one hand and a bare hand in the other work at the same time.
- Hands and controllers at once: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking SDKThe SDK an application reaches the hand tracking through, and any named modes that change how it behaves.
- Varjo integrated hand tracking via the passthrough cameras (OpenXR); Ultraleap also supported
- 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.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- 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.
- Varjo Controller
- 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.
- Headset cameras
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- Any SteamVR (Lighthouse) controller — Index Controller · HTC Vive controller
- 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.
- joystick · face buttons · index trigger · middle finger trigger
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Yes
- 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
- 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.
- Yes
- 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.
- Yes
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Swappable facial interface: not published by the manufacturer
- 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.
- DisplayPort 1.4 · USB Type-C
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer
- 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
- 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.
- Microphones: not published by the manufacturer
- 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.
- $9990
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer
- 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
Simulator engineers, defence and aviation training centres, and industrial R&D groups who already own the physical rig and need the virtual world registered onto it. The gaze-driven autofocus and 51 PPD passthrough matter to exactly that audience. Anyone running a general workplace safety programme is paying for capability they will never use.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Varjo publishes no weight, no dimensions and no brightness figure on the product page; the 200 nits and the 90 Hz refresh come from VRcompare, and the only weight figure we found sits in a reseller datasheet that Varjo does not corroborate, so no weight is recorded here. Pricing is the biggest hole: 9,990 USD is the 2023 launch figure and Varjo now quotes the 2026 series by request only, while reseller configurations run far above it, so we recorded no current price. The hand tracking situation also changed since the aggregator sheet was written: it is now integrated into the XR-4 Series through the passthrough cameras, not an Ultraleap module bought separately.
Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- MRTV - MIXED REALITY TV2024
An unboxing of the Focal Edition specifically, so what is in the box here is what you would actually receive. The verdict in the title is the honest half — this was recorded while the software was still catching up with the hardware.
Watch on YouTube - VR Flight Sim Guy2024
A full review from inside the use case Varjo actually sells into — flight simulation, where the mixed-reality cockpit is the product. The reviewer says his own conclusion surprised him, which is worth more than a score.
Watch on YouTube - Bartman’s Bits2024
The harshest review of the series and the most useful for a procurement decision: he grants that resolution and brightness are unmatched and argues everything else is unfinished, comparing the unit to a concept car. Read it as the risk case.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition — frequently asked questions
- Do Skillsive VR training courses run on the Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition?
- No. The Focal Edition is a PC-tethered SteamVR headset with no on-board Android system, so our standalone training apps cannot be installed on it at all. It is marked incompatible in this catalogue. If you want our courses, use a standalone Android headset and keep the Varjo for simulator work.
- What does the Focal Edition add over the standard Varjo XR-4?
- The Focal Edition's passthrough cameras autofocus on whatever the wearer's eyes are looking at, using the headset's own eye tracking, instead of running at a fixed focus. In practice that is the difference between reading a physical checklist or instrument label inside the headset and only seeing it as a blur. The rest of the optics, the 3840x3744 per eye panel and the 120 by 105 degree field are shared with the standard XR-4.
- How long will Varjo support the XR-4 Series, and what do I need to buy beyond the headset?
- Varjo guarantees hardware and software support for the current XR-4 Series through 2030, which is the reassurance the older XR-3, VR-3 and Aero lost when their support ended. Budget beyond the headset: the 2026 revision has no controllers in the box, outside-in setups need SteamVR 2.0 base stations, the Varjo Base licence tier is a paid add-on, and every seat needs a workstation able to drive 3840x3744 per eye at 90 Hz.
Compare this device
Consider these too
The nearest devices in the same class, ranked by availability and launch price — not by our opinion of them.
Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. 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.