First introduced as a reference product by Panasonic, at CES 2020, the MeganeX VR glasses are now announced as a product coming to the market, with a weight of less than 320g… but not a price below $900, as initially suggested. In fact, the consumer version of the MeganeX will cost $1699, much more than suggested, while the Business Edition price is still TBD. Expect to pay some more, as it will come with diopter adjustment that is missing from the base edition.
Panasonic revealed more about the VR headset in 2021, during a virtual edition of CES, and a product closer to final was shown at CES 2022 by Shiftall, a fully owned subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, and now the company announces that the MeganeX, both versions, will be available March or April 2023. The MeganeX is an ultra-lightweight, 5.2K HDR VR headset supporting 6 degree-of-freedom (DoF) head position detection and various SteamVR applications.
MeganeX and MeganeX Business Edition, are both SteamVR-compatible, ultra-high resolution and ultra-lightweight VR headsets. They are equipped with a 5.2 K/10 bit HDR micro OLED display by Kopin and pancake lens by Panasonic. The VR headsets will deliver the world’s highest level of viewing experience and black expression that only OLED can provide. A folding frame with built-in speakers makes it easy to carry around.
The MeganeX is a version that focuses on fit and comfort. While being lightweight, it provides a comfortable playing for heavy users, those who spend more than 2,000 hours a year in the Metaverse. A forehead pad distributes pressure for better comfort and the headset offers an IPD of 56 -72 mm for comfortable viewing for long periods of time. The headset is supplied with spectacle lens adapters that users can use to adapt lenses adequate for their vision. The consumer version of the MeganeX does not have diopter adjustment function, a feature that was previously mentioned but is reserved for the Business Edition.
Designed for typical business use cases, the MeganeX Business Edition offers diopter adjustment (from 0D to -7D) mechanism for each person’s eyesight, as it is intended, according to Shiftall, to be shared among multiple users. It also has a smaller IPD adjustment – 67-72mm -and comes with a nose pad that makes it easy to wear and take off, adds the company.
With tracking that uses both an inside-out system or, optionally, the Lighthouse system – and Base Stations – from Valve’s Index VR headset, the MeganeX connects to a PC through a DisplayPort connection, besides a USB 2.0 connection. The MeganeX has a USB-C port with a converter box and features a 3 meter long cable.
Able to work with humble Intel or AMD CPUs, like the i3-8100T or the AMD Ryzen 3 2300X, the MeganeX represents bad news for AMD Radeon users who want to buy these VR headsets: it only works with NVIDIA RTX graphic cards from the RTX 20, 30, 40 and newer families.
The MeganeX 5.2K HDR VR headset will appeal to consumers, as it offers not only a viable solution for Virtual Reality gaming – through SteamVR with more compatibility promised in the future -, but also to watch movies using apps like Bigscreen. But the VR headset may also play an important role in Virtual Production, as we noted before. The MeganeX will be on display at CES 2023, one more from a series of VR headsets trying to gain a slice of the market.