How the Bigscreen Beyond VR Headset Could Teach Vision Pro a Thing or Two

Even the lightest of mixed reality headsets can be a pain in the neck thanks to their weight, but a new gadget offers a solution.

Bigscreen Beyond is a relatively tiny SteamVR headset designed to enable comfortable lengthy VR sessions. Experts say it could be a tempting alternative to devices like the upcoming Apple Vision Pro, which weighs more despite its high-tech specs. 

"Comfort and ergonomics are fundamental to any wearable device, and we will see if Apple's Vision Pro is on par with other products in the market," Dominick Angerer, CEO of the tech company Storyblok told Lifewire in an email interview. "Keeping in mind that Apple has a reputation for attention to design details and usability, it's possible we can expect the same dedication to be applied to the Vision Pro."

Big VR Screens With Less Weight

The makers of Beyond claim it's the world's lightest VR set. Weighing about five ounces and measuring less than 1 inch at its thinnest point, Beyond is much lighter than competing VR devices like the Meta Quest 2. The Beyond headset uses OLED displays, custom pancake optics, and tethers to a PC.

A unique part of Beyond is that each headset is custom-built to the shape of an individual customer's face, which the company claims will increase comfort for longer-duration VR experiences.

"As passionate VR enthusiasts, we built the VR headset we wanted for ourselves," Darshan Shankar, Bigscreen's CEO, said in a news release. "Today's leading VR headsets have doubled in weight compared to headsets from 2016. We built Beyond because we felt VR was too heavy, bulky, and uncomfortable."

When people talk about why VR headsets are uncomfortable, they often talk about the weight of the device or how much heat it generates, but there's a simple explanation that often goes overlooked, Andrew Norris, a tech writer at The Big Phone Store, said in an email. The Fresnel lenses inside your headset must be perfectly lined up with your eyes, or you'll get a blurry image—a couple of millimeters can make all the difference. 

"The problem is that everybody's eyes are positioned slightly differently on their head. Some people's noses get in the way," he added. "Some people, like me, have large foreheads and deep-set eyes. Getting the perfect line-up can mean putting huge amounts of pressure on your forehead, nose, ears, or around the back of your head. The heavier the device, the more pressure it can take to hold it in place, and the more tightly your device is strapped on, the more heat it can pass onto your face."

Making VR Headsets Lighter

Getting around the pressure problem requires two main approaches: lighter headsets and distributing that weight differently, Norris said. Manufacturers have recently shown a lot of innovation in how devices can be made lighter; Apple's Vision Pro, for example, features an external battery, removing a significant portion of the weight from the headset itself.

The HTC Vive Flow vr headset looks more like a pair of strange sunglasses—sacrificing the more advanced specifications like screen resolution and battery life for a much lighter headset that doesn't heat up so much during use.

"Because the distance of the weight of the headset from your face is a key factor in how heavy the device feels, any tricks that can make the device thinner will help a huge amount with comfort," Norris said. "Modern headsets like the Flow and the Vision Pro use 'pancake optics'—lenses that bounce the light internally to allow the screens to be much closer to your eyes."

The Vive Flow is by far the lightest-weight VR headset from a mainstream brand, but its low resolution and lack of compatibility prevent it from being a full VR gaming headset, Norris pointed out. 

"The Meta Quest Pro has the most comfortable straps I've seen, but that comfort comes at a cost, and the headset also isn't intended for everyday gaming," Norris said. "Due to it being the best-selling device that it is, The Quest 2 has had a community of 'modders' grow up around it, and so many third-party straps and attachments are available to make it more comfortable to wear. The main challenge is in finding the modifications that are right for you."