Pico Neo 2 Eye
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| Pico Neo 2 Eye | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Type | Head-mounted display |
| Subtype | Standalone VR |
| Platform | Android |
| Creator | Pico Interactive |
| Developer | Pico Interactive |
| Announcement Date | January 2020 (CES 2020) |
| Release Date | 27 May 2020 (sold directly to businesses) |
| Price | US$899 at launch (May 2020) |
| Website | https://www.pico-interactive.com |
| Successor | Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye |
| System | |
| Operating System | Android-based (Android 8, according to VentureBeat) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 |
| CPU | Octa-core, up to 2.8 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 630 |
| Storage | |
| Storage | 128 GB; microSD slot for cards up to 256 GB |
| Memory | 6 GB |
| Display | |
| Display | Single 5.5-inch VR TFT LCD, 818 PPI |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 (1920 x 2160 per eye) |
| Refresh Rate | 75 Hz |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 101° (manufacturer figure) |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Fresnel lenses |
| IPD Range | 55-71 mm (software adjustment) |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | 6DoF inside-out head tracking; 6DoF electromagnetic and IMU controller tracking |
| Eye Tracking | Yes (Tobii, 90 Hz binocular gaze output, 5-point calibration) |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Integrated spatial stereo speakers; 3.5 mm jack |
| Microphone | Dual microphones (echo cancellation and noise reduction) |
| Camera | Two front-facing fisheye tracking cameras |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 5 (2x2 MIMO 802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C |
| Ports | USB-C 3.0, 3.5 mm audio jack, DC power jack, microSD slot |
| WiFi | 802.11ac, 2x2 MIMO |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| Battery Capacity | 4500 mAh |
| Battery Life | About 3 hours (Pico estimate) |
| Device | |
| Weight | 350 g without strap (Pico); 360 g (Tom's Hardware spec table) |
| Color | Dark grey |
| Sensors | 9-axis IMU, proximity sensor, two front tracking cameras, Tobii eye tracking |
| Input | Two 6DoF controllers (electromagnetic tracking), voice command, headset buttons |
The Pico Neo 2 Eye is a standalone virtual reality head-mounted display developed by Pico Interactive in partnership with Tobii. It is the eye-tracking version of the Pico Neo 2: apart from Tobii's integrated eye tracking, the two models share most of their hardware, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, a single 3840 x 2160 LCD and an electromagnetic controller tracking system.[1] Pico and Tobii announced the headset at CES 2020 and described it as the world's first commercial standalone VR headset with native eye tracking.[2]
The Neo 2 Eye went on sale on 27 May 2020 at US$899, sold directly to companies, and was aimed at enterprise uses such as training, understanding customer behavior, and productivity and safety at work rather than consumers.[3][4] TIME included it, under the heading "The Corporate VR Solution", in its list of the 100 Best Inventions of 2020.[5]
History and development
CES 2020 announcement
Pico announced the Neo 2 Eye at CES 2020 alongside the standard Neo 2, introducing eye tracking as the main difference for enterprise applications. Tobii's press release, dated 6 January 2020 in Stockholm, quoted Pico Interactive CEO Henry Zhou calling the Neo 2 Eye "a VR headset built for business".[2] At the time of the announcement Pico gave prices of about US$700 for the Neo 2 and about US$900 for the Neo 2 Eye, with both expected to ship later in 2020 to businesses.[6][7]
Some of the early announcement details changed before launch. UploadVR first reported a 90 Hz refresh rate and a 105-degree field of view; a Pico representative then corrected these to 75 Hz and 101 degrees, explaining that the 90 Hz figure came from a draft press release.[6] VentureBeat reported that the 60 GHz wireless feature Pico had previously demonstrated with the Neo 2 was dropped in favor of 2x2 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5, and that a standalone 60 GHz streaming box shown by Pico was a technology demonstration that would not be sold.[8]
Tobii partnership
The eye tracking hardware and software are provided by Tobii, the Swedish company that also supplied the eye tracking in the HTC Vive Pro Eye.[9][6] Tobii describes the headset as compatible with its Tobii XR Unity SDK and as working for "the widest possible population of users", including people who wear glasses or contact lenses.[9]
Launch
On 27 May 2020 Pico announced that the Neo 2 (US$699) and Neo 2 Eye (US$899) were available immediately, sold to companies through its global sales team with offices in San Francisco and Barcelona. The same release announced that Mozilla would bring its Firefox Reality browser to Pico headsets.[3] UploadVR reported the pair as available worldwide.[10] Tom's Hardware compared the US$900 price with the HTC Vive Pro Eye, which then had an MSRP of US$1,600 with base stations or about US$1,000 for the headset alone.[4]
Enterprise focus
Pico sold the Neo 2 line only to businesses and said the Neo 2 Eye would "improve daily enterprise operations and applications".[6] Tobii's product page lists training and assessment, simulation, knowledge and skills transfer, and consumer research as applications for its gaze data.[9] In its Best Inventions entry, TIME named HTX Labs and Strivr, both makers of virtual training software, as early adopters.[5]
Design and hardware
Display and optics
The Neo 2 Eye uses a single 5.5-inch VR TFT LCD with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 (1920 x 2160 per eye) at 75 Hz and 818 pixels per inch, viewed through Fresnel lenses. Pico and Tobii list a 101-degree field of view.[9][7] The interpupillary distance adjustment is done in software rather than by moving the lenses, with Pico stating a supported range of 55-71 mm.[11]
A 2024 study in PLOS ONE that used the Neo 2 Eye noted that, although the manufacturer states 101 degrees, independent measurements had found a field of view of 89 degrees per eye both horizontally and vertically.[12]
Processor and memory
The headset runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with eight CPU cores clocked at up to 2.8 GHz.[4] It has 128 GB of onboard storage.[8] A microSD slot accepts cards of up to 256 GB.[13] Road to VR reported that the Neo 2 Eye has slightly more RAM than the standard Neo 2 to support eye tracking, without giving a figure.[1] Reviews of the Neo 2 Eye by Cas & Chary (published by Road to VR) and by The Ghost Howls list 6 GB of RAM.[14][15]
Physical design
The headset places its battery at the back of the head strap, which counterbalances the front of the headset; the strap is tightened with a single rear knob.[11] Pico gives the battery capacity as 4500 mAh and typical use on a full charge as about three hours, depending on the apps running.[16] The Neo 2 Eye has a dark grey color scheme, while the standard Neo 2 is white.[11]
Published weights differ. Pico's FAQ for the Neo 2 and Neo 2 Eye gives 350 g without the strap.[16] Tom's Hardware listed 360 g for the Neo 2 Eye and 340 g for the Neo 2, and Road to VR reported that the Eye model is 20 g heavier than the standard version.[4][1] UploadVR, reporting Pico's figures for the Neo 2 line, gave 340 g without the headband.[10] Cas & Chary gave 692 g for the whole Neo 2 Eye headset.[14]
Audio and connectivity
Tobii's specification sheet lists integrated spatial stereo speakers, dual microphones with echo cancellation and noise reduction, a 3.5 mm jack, a USB-C 3.0 port and a DC power jack, plus a 9-axis IMU and a proximity sensor.[9] Wireless links are 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) and Bluetooth 5.0, which the controllers use.[13][8]
Eye tracking
Tobii technology
Tobii's specifications for the Neo 2 Eye are:[9]
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Gaze data output frequency (binocular) | 90 Hz |
| Calibration | 5-point calibration |
| Eye tracking interface | Pico SDK |
| Data output | Gaze direction (combined), gaze origin (combined), position guide |
| Ideal accuracy for eye rotation | 0.5 degrees |
| Gaze angles | 25° left/right/down and 20° up |
| Engine compatibility | Unity and Unreal Engine via Pico SDK; Tobii XR SDK |
Tobii notes that the eye tracking data is available through Qualcomm's API.[9] In Pico's FAQ, a user calibration that captures basic eyeball position information is required before the eye tracking function is used.[16] In his review, Skarredghost of The Ghost Howls reported that the software also detects eyelid closure, although the detector sometimes reported closed eyes when they were open.[15]
Foveated rendering
The headset supports dynamic foveated rendering through Tobii Spotlight Technology. Pico and Tobii state that it increases framerates by up to 66% and reduces shading loads by up to 72%; both figures come from a benchmark Tobii ran in its "Spot's Apartment" demo on the Neo 2 Eye.[2][13]
Developer integration
The Neo 2 Eye is compatible with the Tobii XR Unity SDK, which Tobii describes as a quick way to integrate eye tracking into VR experiences.[9] The Pico SDK also exposes eye tracking to Unity and Unreal Engine developers.[9]
Tracking system
Head tracking
Head tracking is 6DoF inside-out tracking using two monochrome fisheye cameras on the front of the headset, with a Guardian boundary system.[14][9] In The Ghost Howls' review, the Guardian play area was about 3 m x 3 m.[15]
Controller tracking
The two 6DoF controllers do not use optical tracking. Their tracking is based on NDI's Atraxa platform, which fuses data from an electromagnet and an inertial measurement unit, so the controllers do not suffer from occlusion but can be affected by electromagnetic interference.[11] UploadVR reported that at CES the controllers kept tracking when held behind the user's back.[10] The controllers are recharged over USB-C.[15] See electromagnetic tracking.
Wireless SteamVR
Using Qualcomm's Boundless XR, the headset can stream content from a VR Ready PC and existing PC VR platforms over a 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac 5 GHz link with a common MIMO router.[13] Cas & Chary noted support for streaming SteamVR content from a PC.[14]
Use cases
Research
Eye tracking enables gaze analytics for user research and behavior studies.[9] In a crossover randomized controlled trial published in PLOS ONE in 2024, researchers used the Neo 2 Eye for an at-home VR gaze training program for patients with retinitis pigmentosa, built in Unity with the Pico XR SDK. The authors chose it over the originally planned FOVE 0 because it is self-contained and needs no external hardware. Ten patients were enrolled and eight completed the study; after the training phase, the time needed to walk through a real obstacle course fell by 17.0% on average and collisions by 50.0%, both significantly larger changes than in the control phase.[12]
Training
Pico and Tobii pitch the eye tracking for enterprise training, saying it can improve training efficiency and reduce training time.[3][13] TIME wrote that the eye tracking could help an employee learn a new skill.[5]
Simulation
Tobii lists simulation among the controlled environments in which the headset's gaze data can give insights into human behavior.[9]
Reception
Road to VR tried the Neo 2 and Neo 2 Eye at CES 2020 and called the Neo 2 line a possible "next best standalone after Quest", praising its comfort and controller reliability. Its foveated rendering demo was less convincing: the lower-resolution periphery was "more noticeable than I would have hoped", and the reviewer was told the headset was using a generalized eye-tracking profile, a possible reason for the inaccuracy.[11] Tom's Hardware, which also tried the headset at CES, wrote that the demo was not as smooth or sharp as the HTC Vive Pro Eye but that the eye tracking worked fairly smoothly without much calibration.[4]
In a June 2020 hands-on, VentureBeat compared the headset with the Oculus Quest and found individual pixels much harder to see, with no obvious screen door effect, but could not test foveated rendering because the included demos did not support it, and said the stiff headband pressed on the reviewer's ears. It concluded that the Neo 2 headsets gave "a compelling glimpse" of standalone and wirelessly tethered VR, while Pico's software support only hinted at their value.[17]
Cas & Chary, reviewing the Neo 2 Eye for Road to VR, found an avatar mirror demo more lifelike with eye tracking enabled and suggested it would suit social VR, but noted that Western consumers would find little content, and recommended the headset mainly to developers of enterprise apps.[14] The Ghost Howls called it "a very good standalone headset for enterprise usage", while reporting chromatic aberration at the edges of the lenses, battery life under two hours in its use, controllers that grew warm, and eye tracking that lost accuracy toward the periphery and did not always work.[15]
Successor
In May 2021 Pico announced the Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye, an enterprise headset based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 whose eye tracking hardware is again provided by Tobii, at a pre-order price of US$899.[18]
Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.5" 4K TFT LCD (818 PPI) |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 (1920 x 2160 per eye) |
| Refresh Rate | 75 Hz |
| Field of View | 101° (manufacturer) |
| Lenses | Fresnel |
| IPD | 55-71 mm (software) |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB (microSD up to 256 GB) |
| Eye Tracking | Tobii (90 Hz, 0.5° ideal accuracy) |
| Head Tracking | 6DoF inside-out |
| Controller Tracking | 6DoF electromagnetic |
| Battery | 4500 mAh (about 3 hours) |
| Weight | 350 g without strap (Pico); 360 g (Tom's Hardware) |
| Price | US$899 (launch, May 2020) |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Scott Hayden (2020-05-27). "Enterprise-focused Standalone Pico Neo 2 & Eye-tracking Version Now Available". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/pico-neo-2-eye-price-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Pico Interactive and Tobii Announce World's First Commercial Standalone VR Headset with Native Eye Tracking". PR Newswire. Tobii AB. 2020-01-06. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pico-interactive-and-tobii-announce-worlds-first-commercial-standalone-vr-headset-with-native-eye-tracking-300981648.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Pico Interactive Announces Availability of its Neo 2 and Neo 2 Eye Virtual Reality Headsets". Display Daily. Pico Interactive. 2020-05-27. https://www.displaydaily.com/article/press-releases/pico-interactive-announces-availability-of-its-neo-2-and-neo-2-eye-virtual-reality-headsets. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Scharon Harding (2020-05-27). "Pico Neo 2 Eye Standalone VR Headset Makes Eye Tracking More Affordable". Tom's Hardware. Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/pico-neo-2-eye-vr-headset-eye-tracking. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Patrick Lucas Austin (2020-11-19). "Pico Interactive Neo 2 Eye VR Headset: The 100 Best Inventions of 2020". TIME. https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2020/5911326/pico-interactive-neo-2-eye-vr-headset/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Harry Baker (2020-01-04). "CES 2020: Pico Neo 2 Pricing Revealed Alongside New Eye Tracking Model". UploadVR. UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ces-2020-pico-neo-2-specs/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Scott Hayden (2020-01-06). "Pico Unveils Neo 2 Standalone Headset with Integrated Eye-tracking". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/pico-neo-2-tobii-eye-tracking-ces-2020/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Jeremy Horwitz (2020-01-05). "Pico reveals Neo 2 Eye VR headset with eye tracking and Boundless XR". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/business/pico-reveals-neo-2-eye-vr-headset-with-eye-tracking-and-60ghz-wi-fi. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 "All-in-one standalone VR Headset - Pico Neo 2 Eye". Tobii. Tobii. https://www.tobii.com/products/integration/xr-headsets/device-integrations/pico-neo-2-eye. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Ian Hamilton (2020-05-26). "Pico Neo 2 And Its Eye Tracking Variant Now Available Worldwide". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/pico-neo-2-available-worldwide/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Scott Hayden (2020-01-10). "Hands-on: Pico Neo 2 Could Be the Next Best Standalone After Quest". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/ces-2020-hands-on-pico-neo-2-eye-standalone/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 A. Neugebauer, A. Sipatchin, K. Stingl, I. Ivanov, S. Wahl (2024). "Influence of open-source virtual-reality based gaze training on navigation performance in Retinitis pigmentosa patients in a crossover randomized controlled trial". PLOS ONE, vol. 19, no. 2, e0291902. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291902. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 "Pico Neo 2 - the Next Level of Virtual Freedom". Pico Interactive. Pico Interactive. 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019235832/https://www.pico-interactive.com/us/neo2.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Cas & Chary VR (2020-06-15). "Cas & Chary Present: Pico Neo 2 Overview and Impressions". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/pico-neo-2-review-overview-cas-chary-present/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Skarredghost (2020-07-19). "Pico Neo 2 Eye review: the new best enterprise standalone headset". The Ghost Howls. https://skarredghost.com/2020/07/19/pico-neo-2-eye-review-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Specific FAQ for Neo 2/Neo 2 Eye". Pico Interactive. Pico Interactive. 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210516002821/https://www.pico-interactive.com/us/faqs/FAQ_Neo2.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Jeremy Horwitz (2020-06-01). "Pico Neo 2 Eye hands-on: The 4K, eye tracking, enterprise Oculus Quest". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/business/pico-neo-2-eye-hands-on-the-4k-eye-tracking-enterprise-oculus-quest. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2021-05-10). "Pico Launches Neo 3 Pro & Neo 3 Pro Eye, Serving up Strong Competition to Oculus & HTC". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/pico-neo-3-pro-eye-release-date-price/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.