Pimax reveals $449 Artisan VR headset, claims Vision 8K X is in production

Chinese developer Pimax drew lots of attention by announcing an 8K VR headset in 2017 — well before competitors were ready to do so — but struggled to actually mass-manufacture it and deliver it to customers. Just in time for the 2020 CES, however, the company is claiming that the Vision 8K X headset has finally entered mass production, and announcing a new entry-level model at a $449 price point.

If you’re unfamiliar with the 8K X, the $1,299 headset uses twin 4K displays and an optional upscaler to deliver nearly 16.6 million pixels of “native” display resolution, or almost 7.4 million pixels upscaled. Because Pimax is placing the equivalent of two TVs next to each other, the diagonal field of view is a super wide 200 degrees, and the “hammerhead” housing is abnormally wide compared with most other VR headsets.