During CES 2020 one of the most surprising virtual reality (VR) related reveals came from Panasonic with its VR Glasses. Shown in early prototype form, for CES 2021 this week a slightly tweaked design has appeared alongside several specs.
Still, without a decent name, the new Panasonic VR Glasses have distinctly chunkier arms which look to house cameras as the company now states the device uses: “optical technologies used in LUMIX digital cameras.” Those bigger arms no longer tuck behind the ears like normal glasses, gripping the back of your head instead. There’s no mention if this is adjustable though.
In fact, overall details are still fairly sparse when it comes to the new design. Panasonic has said the VR Glasses feature 2.6K micro-OLED panels for each eye with High-Dynamic Range (HDR) capability. These come from Kopin which announced its Lightning 2.6K x 2.6K OLED display (2560 x 2560 resolution) last year. The duo-stack OLED has 10-bit colour control so users can enjoy UHD high-quality images without the dreaded screen door effect hampering the experience.
And just like before it’ll be employing acoustic technologies from its Technics audio products with an ‘original dynamic driver’. Whether this means built-in speakers or merely headphones remains to be seen – previous marketing images did show cabled in earphones.
The glasses will connect to either PC’s or 5G-capable smartphones to deliver content via a USB-C cable so you’ll be able to enjoy UHD visuals wherever you go. However, the design doesn’t support the wearing of actual glasses but there will be diopter adjustment options alongside that bridge wheel for adjusting Inter-Pupillary Distance (IPD). VRFocus found it work quite well when testing the prototype in 2020.
As for availability and price? Well, you’ll have to wait for those, Panasonic has yet to even indicate a possible release year let alone how much the VR Glasses will cost. Maybe it’ll do a 5G smartphone bundle like Neal Light? As and when further details are released, VRFocus will let you know.