Sony on Tuesday unveiled a new virtual reality (VR) headset called Xperia View along with launching the Sony Xperia Pro-I smartphone. Xperia’s first VR headset is not a standalone device and only works with Sony Xperia 1 II and Xperia 1 III smartphones. The audio device offers 120 degrees of horizontal vision to support the 6.5-inch display of compatible Xperia smartphones. Sony claims that the VR headset is capable of decoding 8K video data and 360-degree video.
Xperia View VR price and availability
Sony announced (in Japanese) the launch of the Xperia View VR headset while unveiling the new flagship Xperia Pro-I series camera smartphone in Japan. Sony says the headset will cost around JPY 30,000 (roughly Rs. 19,800) and come in a Grey colour. The headset will go on sale starting October 27 through select Sony retail stores. Sony says that the actual selling price will vary according to sellers.
The Xperia View VR headset is currently listed on the official Japanese Sony e-store and Au Online Shop for JPY 29,700 (roughly Rs. 19,613). As of now, Sony has not shared any information on the availability of its VR headset in other markets including in India.
Xperia View VR headset features
Xperia View VR headset comes with a wide viewing angle lens to ensure compatibility with the 21:9 display aspect ratio of compatible Xperia smartphones. Sony says users of its Xperia 1-series smartphones can use 5G to download large volumes of 8K content at high speed and view it on the VR headset. The headset has a high-definition 4K organic electroluminescent (EL) display with HDR support for the VR experience. Also, the Xperia View is said to offer playback with less afterimage with the Xperia 1 III smartphone.
The Xperia View VR headset offers support for BT.2020 color gamut and 10-bit input. The headset also makes use of Sony’s master monitor to reproduce the colour tone intended by the creators.
The headset is designed to offer support from the back of the head of the user and from above to ensure a stable fit while turning to look at 360-degree images. The Xperia View VR headset can be worn with glasses as well. The headset can be operated using the side buttons of the smartphone, and by tapping the housing.
DMM video, 360Channel, and video content supported by the Xperia View application can be viewed on the Xperia View VR headset via compatible applications. For this, users need to install the app on their smartphone from the Google Play store.
Sony also launched the Xperia Pro-I at the event on Tuesday priced at $1,799.99 (roughly Rs. 1.35 lakh). The smartphone features a 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor with phase-detection autofocus. The smartphone features a dedicated shutter button on the right spine and Zeiss Tessar calibrated optics. A Snapdragon 888 SoC paired with 12GB of RAM powers the device. The phone has a 6.5-inch 4K HDR (3,840×1,644 pixels) OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and comes with a triple rear camera setup. The handset packs a 4,500mAh battery with 30W fast charging support.
