A new Varjo XR-4 series of headsets: who are they for and what makes them cool?

And if all of us here have something in common, it’s that we all want to see the XR industry thrive. In this sense, it’s great that Varjo has revealed it’s latest XR-4 MR headset series, but I must ask:

• Can it stand up to the Quest 3?
• Does it even aim at doing that?

So! Who are these Varjo guys and why are they picking on our favorite headsets? Well, this is an XR-focused company from Finland, which was established in 2016 by ex-employees of Nokia and Microsoft.

What about this new XR-4 headset then? What is special about it? Well, from the way Varjo is marketing it: MR seems to be a big focus. The company claims that passthrough with the XR-4 is “indistinguishable” from how the real world appears.

And if that’s truly the case, you can color me impressed. This level of passthrough clarity is hard to achieve, often due to purely technical limitations like latency or resolution, and as far as I’m aware: we haven’t come close to something like this thus far.

That being said: the difference between a company's claims and reality is where marketing sits, so take this statement with a grain of salt for now.

Beyond that? Well, you know the gist. It’s specs time:

• Mini-LED displays with a resolution of 3,840×3,744
• A 90Hz refresh rate
• PPD: 51 or 33, depending on edition
• FOV: 120° × 105°
• IPD Range: 56-72, automatic
• Supports eye-tracking
• Graphical fidelity enhanced via a partnership with Nvidia
• 6 cameras and a depth sensor
• Dedicated controllers, made in partnership with Razer
• PC VR compatibility
• Inside-out tracking without external beacons required
• Noise-cancelling audio
• DisplayPort and USB-C support
• 3,5mm headphone jack
• About a kilo of weight to the entire thing (~2 pounds)
• Price: ah, well…

That’s what it boils down to, right? Well, in the case of the XR-4, there are two models to consider and each comes with its own rather shocking price tag:

• The XR-4 Standard edition — $4,000
• The XR-4 Focal edition — $10,000 (yes, that’s a ten!)

From what I gather, the only difference between the two is PPD and eye-tracked auto-focus in passthrough. The Focal edition can reach up to 51 PPD, which would help the marketing claims get closer to reality for sure, but is this and auto-focus worth a $6,000 difference? You tell me in the comments.

Varjo is also making two other variants of the XR-4, which are TAA compliant. Those are meant for applications where data security is a top priority. The upcoming variants mirror the two editions discussed above, but this time the prices go up to $8,000 and $14,000 respectively. Wowser! 

Well, at least it sounds like a wowser to me, but then again: I know next to nothing about enterprise XR. 

All that aside, considering these price tags, I must say that 90Hz seems like yesteryear’s news. For this insane amount of money, I’d surely be expecting at least an experimental 120Hz mode, like the one available on the Quest 3 (which costs $500 by the way).

After seeing those insane prices, you’re probably guessing that the XR-4 series of headsets are targeting enterprise clients and if so, you’re absolutely spot on. With its latest headsets, Varjo is aiming to bridge the gap between actual design and VR design through increased graphical fidelity and visual clarity.

And, you know, you can also use them for military pilot training, which is always welcome. 

Now, I don’t know if the XR-4 and it's price tag(s) would make sense to corporate clients, because that’s a whole other ball game. But this is also why Varjo or the XR-4 series aren’t looking to pick a fight with your favorite headsets. 

But even if only half of Varjo's claims about the XR-4 turn out to be true, then this is a step forward for the XR industry for sure and maybe even a taste of things to come. Sometime. Possibly not soon, but still. 

Will enterprises find the XR-4 series as enticing as Varjo makes them out to be? Time will tell. But until then, it doesn’t sound like this is a headset that you’d want to get instead of a Quest 3.