When Pimax announced their upcoming Dream Air headset, it stirred up quite a buzz in the VR community, prompting a wave of questions. To address these, we reached out to the company for insights. We not only obtained answers directly from Pimax but also secured a sneak peek at early prototypes, a comprehensive list of specifications, and updates on products yet to hit the market.
Pimax has become a familiar name in the VR headset world, known for pushing the boundaries of virtual reality hardware. Yet, they’ve often been critiqued for issues like product refinement, strategic direction, delayed launches, and announcing new products before delivering on previous promises.
The latest unveiling of the sleek Dream Air headset brought these concerns to the fore once more. Many enthusiasts wondered how Pimax plans to rectify past missteps. To shed light on this, we presented some of the most common concerns directly to them, and here’s what we learned. We also managed to get some photos of the Dream Air prototypes, a full rundown of the specs, and updates on products that are still in the pipeline.
Q: How assured is Pimax in delivering the Dream Air in substantial quantities by May 2025?
A: We’ve been working on the Crystal Super micro-OLED alongside Dream Air for over a year—they share similar features. The optical engine is fully functional, and we believe the remaining time until May is enough to wrap things up, mirroring the development timeline of the Crystal Super over the past year.
Both the Dream Air and Crystal Super utilize the same optical engine, complemented by the same foundational technologies, albeit with a fresh design twist for the Dream Air. You can dive deeper into this shared technical DNA here.
The biggest hurdle lies in securing micro-OLED panels, possibly along with the ringless controllers. Initially, the first headset batches might ship with the ringed controllers seen in the Crystal/Light/Super series, which we can swap out for ringless versions later.
We’re aiming to ship around 200 to 300 units in May, which is why we decided to announce the headset now for several reasons detailed below.
Q: Why announce a new headset shortly after the Super, and why start pre-orders so early?
A: There are multiple factors. We chose to reveal the Dream Air now to prevent launching it after the Super starts shipping, avoiding a scenario where users regret their purchase choice because they were unaware of the Dream Air. We’ve already seen such comments in our Discord community, but customers can still adjust their pre-order from the Super to Dream Air if they wish.
Another factor is the scarcity of micro-OLED panels. In the current market, the demand significantly outpaces supply, which extends delivery timeframes to several months. Pre-orders help us gauge headset demand and place timely orders for panels, ensuring Dream Air can ship by May. Orders must be placed by early January due to supplier holidays during Chinese New Year.
This issue with micro-OLED panel delays isn’t exclusive to us; competitors face similar challenges, which is why refundable pre-orders are rare in the market. However, our pre-orders are refundable before shipping, with an additional trade-in window upon headset arrival, and we’ve introduced a $1 reservation option for flexibility.
Q: Some users feel Pimax should narrow its product focus—what’s your take?
A: Our ambition is to operate with a broad product range, catering to the rapidly diversifying VR headset market. Our focus remains on delivering the ultimate experience, tailored for various user needs with the Crystal line and now, the Dream line.
Despite this, our headsets share significant core technologies, spanning both software and hardware, and are all designed primarily for PCVR. We’ve learned valuable lessons from past experiences, such as the Portal, which wasn’t PCVR-focused.
With nine years in the VR industry under our belt, we’re equipped with two R&D offices and are launching a second assembly line to support this multi-product approach. By using shared technologies across various models, we can concentrate resources on technological advancements that benefit all headsets. This strategy helps smooth out the business cycle, avoiding extreme sales peaks throughout the year, which optimizes supply and production management—especially since we run our own manufacturing facility with dedicated staff. Fluctuating peaks can severely hamper efficiency.
Q: Are there any other headsets in the pipeline from Pimax?
A: Moving forward, we plan to refresh some older models, but none will surpass the Dream Air and Crystal Super in terms of specifications, except for the anticipated 12K.
Q: Can you update us on the Dream Air’s design progress? Were the design renders in the announcement finalized, or are there working prototypes?
A: The internal components of the headset are fully designed, with a working optical engine under testing. The software shares features with the Crystal Super, covering everything from SLAM tracking to eye, hand-tracking, and various settings in Pimax Play.
Externally, we’re testing the design within the Crystal Super housing (featuring the micro-OLED optical engine), as we finalize Dream Air’s exterior design.
Below are two prototype images illustrating the development stages:
- Newer Prototype:
- Older Prototype:
Q: Will the standalone module for Dream Air, Cobb, ship in 2025?
A: We don’t have a specific timeline for Cobb’s launch yet. It’s designed as an add-on for Dream Air, and we plan to incorporate more features that weren’t detailed in our Frontier announcement.
Q: What safety measures are in place to prevent the auto-tightening headstrap from becoming hazardous if it malfunctions?
A: The strap’s strength suffices to secure the lightweight headset, but it’s designed not to apply excessive pressure that could cause harm. Features like elastic rubber contribute to its safety, a technology already used in self-lacing products like Nike’s Auto Adapt shoes.
Q: Can these head straps be replaced, and if so, how?
A: Absolutely, the head strap is detachable from the stems.
Q: Is there any chance Dream Air could switch to running HorizonOS or AndroidXR down the line?
A: There are no plans for such changes. The hardware aligns closely with the micro-OLED optical engine of the Crystal Super, operating with Pimax Play as a PC VR headset, as well as supporting the OpenXR/OpenVR runtime and SteamVR.
Pimax Dream Air Specs
Visuals
- Display: 2 × micro-OLED, 100% DCI-P3 colors
- Resolution per-eye: 13MP (3,840 × 3,552)
- Max refresh rate: 90Hz
- Optics: Pancake
- Field-of-view: 102°H
- Pass-through view: Black & white
- Optical adjustments: Continuous IPD (automatic), Prescription lenses (optional)
- IPD adjustment range: 58–72mm
Input & Output
- Connectors: DP 1.4 (PC) to USB-C (headset), 1 × USB-C accessory port
- Input: Dream Air controllers (rechargeable battery), Hand-tracking
- Audio: In-headstrap speakers
- Microphone: Dual-microphone
- Weight: 200g
Sensing
- Headset tracking: Inside-out (no external beacons), SteamVR Tracking (external beacons) [optional]
- Controller tracking: Headset-tracked (requires line-of-sight)
- Eye-tracking: Yes
- Expression-tracking: No
- On-board cameras: 4 tracking, 2 passthrough
- Depth-sensor: No
Price
- MSRP: $1,900
Pimax Product Shipping Update
Q: Can you provide the latest shipping updates for Pimax’s unreleased products?
A: The Crystal Super is set for demo at CES 2025, and the QLED 57 PPD optical engine will ship by the end of January. The 50 PPD optical engine and micro-OLED engine are closing in on completion, expected to ship in March and April, respectively.
A non-local dimming Crystal Light version is projected for release by June 2025, offering a more budget-friendly option.
The 60G Airlink for the original Crystal is also being showcased at CES 2025, with an external beta test launching soon, aiming for an April 2025 release.
Regarding the 12K, we can’t specify a release date just yet. Although we had resolved key technical issues upon announcement, some solutions didn’t satisfy our quality standards. For instance, while tackling the dual DP 1.4 solution and certain panel technologies, unexpected challenges arose.
Got more questions for Pimax? Share them in the comments!
