Varjo announces Aero, the highest-end prosumer headset

If you are all-in for high-quality PCVR and you have a budget to invest for it, this is the day you were looking for: Varjo has just announced Aero, which is set to become the highest-end prosumer PCVR headset on the market.

Let me tell you everything about it, starting with some fancy technical tables and then going on with the commentary.

Specifications

• Displays: Dual Mini LED LCD; 2880 x 2720 px per eye
• Refresh rate: 90 Hz
• Optics: Custom-made variable resolution aspheric lenses with 35 PPD peak fidelity
• Field of View: Horizontal: 115°, Diagonal: 134° at 12 mm eye relief
• Interpupillary Distance: Automatic IPD adjustment with motor, Supported IPD range: 57–73 mm
• Audio: 3.5 mm audio jack, In-ear headphones with mic in-box
• Weight: 487 g + headband 230 g (including counterweight)
• Dimensions: Width 200 mm, height 170 mm, length 300 mm
• Connectivity:
  • Headset adapter and USB-C cable (5-metre) in-box
  • PC connections: DisplayPort and USB-A 3.0
• Positional Tracking: SteamVR™ 2.0/1.0
• Eye Tracking: 200 Hz with sub-degree accuracy; 1-dot calibration for foveated rendering
• Comfort & Wearability:
  • 3-point precision fit headband
  • Replaceable, easy-to-clean polyurethane face cushions
  • Active cooling

PC Requirements

This is the table with the minimum and recommended specs that Varjo has provided for the device:

Comparison with Varjo VR-3 and Varjo XR-3

Varjo Aero

Varjo Aero is the first prosumer device announced by Finnish company Varjo. Varjo has in these years gained the reputation to be a very high-profile XR company, that always focuses on quality in whatever it does, from the headset it manufacturers to the promotional video it releases. The special feature of Varjo headsets has been the use of two screens for each eye, with the central screen being able to provide retina-resolution images (that is, the pixel density is high enough that for the eye that screen has the same resolution of reality), and the external screen offering high-enough resolution to be ok for the peripheral vision. The target market for its products has always been the enterprise one, especially the military and big companies, that is the only ones that can afford a headset like the XR-3 costing $5,495 + $1495/year just to have the best available on the market.

Varjo’s headsets have always been valued a lot by the community, but their high price always prevented them to be bought and used for domestic use in place of Valve Index, Vive Pro 2, or HP Reverb G2. But many people in the community always loved the idea of being able to buy a Varjo headset, because of its high quality, and the hype was increased by reviewers on Youtube that defined the Varjo XR-3 as the best headset they had ever tried. Varjo has listened to the community and it has released Varjo Aero, its first PCVR headset that aims at the prosumer market.

To reduce its prices and offer something more consumer-oriented, the Finnish company had to do some compromises: the famous retina display has been removed, and the headset has the classical single display per eye like all the other consumer and prosumer devices. Also, Leap Motion tracking or the mixed reality cameras of Varjo XR-3 are not part of this model. But apart from these missing special features, Varjo has designed a headset with the best characteristics you can find on the market. The resolution of 2880 x 2720 pixels per eye is even superior to the 2448 x 2448 of the Vive Pro 2 and paired with the horizontal FOV of 115°, which is one of the highest available, it guarantees a pixel density of 35 pixels per degree, which is impressive. The headset also features eye-tracking, and while this is already interesting per se, it can also be used for automatic IPD adjustment and for foveated rendering. Varjo states that the implementation of foveated rendering is what makes it possible to use this device on consumer-grade hardware like an NVIDIA RTX 3050 with i5 processor.

The headset also comes with aspherical custom lenses developed by Varjo, that according to the company have no god-rays or other artifacts, and with the attention to comfort and quality that Varjo has always put on all its headsets. It is also compatible with the Varjo Reality Cloud service and will fully support virtual collaboration immediately with early access to the platform’s VR teleportation software. Since of course, every company has to say the M-word nowadays, Varjo has specified in the press release that “Varjo Aero marks Varjo’s next step in making a photorealistic metaverse accessible for all”.

Varjo Aero is basically a Varjo VR-3 that has been slightly simplified to take down the price. The target market of this device is high-end prosumers, and also enterprise companies that want a high-quality VR headset but don’t need all the special features of the VR-3 and XR-3 headsets.

Price and availability

Varjo Aero can be ordered starting now for $1,990 (USD and Euros) + VAT (where applicable), with no additional yearly subscription price, via www.varjo.com/aero. Controllers are not included in the box, so you have to buy SteamVR controllers separately. The first shipping batch will happen at the end of 2021.

Personal commentary

I love the technical features of the Varjo Aero, but I’m a bit disappointed with how it was marketed before today’s announcements. I mean, there was a frame on the teaser video when they said “Varjo for all“, but I don’t know what kind of people Varjo executives interact with, but for the people around me €2000 + VAT + the price of controllers (a total of around €3000 in Europe) is absolutely not affordable, and not for “all”.

I mean, this headset is technically for “all”, because it is not sold only to enterprise customers and there is not the annoying yearly fee, but it remains something that very few people can afford to buy. If we compare its price to the one of HP Reverb G2, which costs €600 and offers anyway a good quality VR, or the Index that for €1000 can provide very good comfort, visuals, and controllers, we realize that this price is really steep. It is the typical price point for the enterprise VR market.

Let’s add to it the fact that Varjo Aero requires a powerful PC with at the very least an RTX2060, but a suggested RTX2080 / RTX3070, so if you have an older machine, you have to buy a new one… that with current graphics-card prices would be very expensive again.

And I mean, it’s ok that a company sells a headset for €2000 if it thinks it is worth that price, but probably they should have cared a bit more in killing the expectations of the community.

That said, if we remove price from the equation, we are talking about a fantastic device: incredible resolution, innovative lenses, carefully-studied comfort, integrated eye-tracking, SteamVR compatibility… these are many features that we have always dreamed about. And coming from Varjo, we can trust that it will be a high-quality device. I’ve recently tried the Varjo XR-3 (and I will write a short article about my experience soon) and I can confirm that whatever Varjo creates is carefully polished, so I’m sure the same will hold for this device. The only thing that actually never convinced me about Varjo devices are the lenses: both VR-2 and XR-3 have visible lens distortions, and we still don’t know if they are present also in this new headset. But for the rest, they deliver what they promise.

Eye-tracking on Aero truly excites me, also because it is probably the first “consumer” (rich consumer)- oriented device that implements foveated rendering. This is a necessity, otherwise, for that high resolution you would have needed a rendering farm, but it is amazing to see that the technology starts being implemented. Also, eye-tracking is very important for many enterprise-oriented applications (e.g. in training, to see what you are looking at), and for accessibility (to let people that can not use their hands interact with XR applications). So kudos to Varjo for having implemented it.

It makes me feel strange that there will be a Varjo headset in the market without the retina-resolution display, but honestly, if I have already difficulties in seeing the pixel grid on an Oculus Quest 2, that has a resolution per eye of 1,832 x 1,920 pixels, I bet I will have no screen door effect on a device with 2880 x 2720 pixels per eye. I wonder if, in the end, Varjo will decide to remove its retina resolution display in its future iterations… we are reaching screen resolutions for which it doesn’t add that much to the whole experience, and it increments the price and adds manufacturing complications. Very high-end displays with foveated rendering may be a cheaper and more standard alternative for the future. Who knows, I’m just speculating… and I think that this device can also be a test from Varjo to understand what could be its direction for the future: if the majority of its customers will find Aero enough for their uses, probably the retina-resolution central display will disappear in the next 1-2 iterations of the headset. Otherwise, it will have a longer life.

I think that the target market for this device will be mainly an enterprise one, with companies that will be happy to spend €2000 to have a device that can help in prototyping or in providing effective training. A fixed cost of €2000, considering the high advantages that VR can offer, is something that a company can afford to spend. As for the prosumer market, I think that some people will buy this device: I know some tech enthusiasts that have the budget to invest in hardware and that always strive for the best available on the market… and I’m sure that they will buy this headset and will pair it with Valve Knuckles. All the other people will probably pass this version, waiting for a future iteration that costs €1000 or something like that.

Of course, in both the enterprise and prosumer markets, this headset will have to compete with other hardware like Valve Index, HP Reverb G2, and Vive Pro 2… and Varjo, being the most expensive, will be selected by people and companies that will find its features more interesting (especially for the high resolution and eye-tracking). If you are one of them, head to www.varjo.com/aero and preorder this headset.

I wish Varjo Aero a bright future… so in some years, I will be able to buy a Varjo Aero 3 at €1000! 😉

(Header image by Varjo)