A few questions about the upcoming Pimax Crystal

Hi,

I would like to know more about the new Pimax Crystal:

  • Does it have canted displays? Will it require parallel projection?

  • Can the headset be purchased by itself? If so, what will be the price for the headset only?
    I already have a lighthouse and controllers.

  • Is the release date still on target for Q3 2022?

  • When will corrective lenses be available for the Pimax Crystal?

Thanks for any information!

3 Likes

I think this question applies to the 12K as well. Especially in regards to customers trading in their existing Pimax VR headsets to get the 12K. These customers necessarily already have basestations and controllers. Many of them will have no need for the standalone tracking and Quest 2 style controllers. Surely it could bring the price down and reduce e-waste to offer the headset upgrade only as an option of the trade-in program.

2 Likes

Well, what do you think ? I haven‘t followed this forum too actively in the past months anymore, so might have missed it, but it is my impression that it is pretty quiet with regards to the Crystal headset and I personally wouldn‘t expect to see it become available this quarter anymore. Frankly, I expect neither of the Crystal nor 12K to be really available for purchase this year. And it may take even much longer b/c the complexity of these two new headsets is far beyond what Pimax have dealt with before: so many different features which need to be implemented well and seamlessly to make their headsets worth a purchase at the price points we heard.

1 Like

As a all-in-one with Inside out tracking ,the controllers will be an standard configuration.

Yes

Yes, parallel projection is also needed

2 Likes

i’m looking forward to the crystal release (still Q3 afaik) and i think outside-in tracking ie basestations are a relic, so is needing to buy your own controllers ie knuckles so ive sold my BS’s and knuckles, prefer inside-out tracking/touch controllers anyway and the 12k/crystal controllers look like touch controllers to me. i’ll be watching user (not youtube influencer) feedback on crystal carefully before deciding whether to buy or not.

So Q3 is now and ends in 2 months and 8/9 days. The product is therefore completely finished and stock is being built up. Why is there absolutely 0 communication?

@PimaxUSA when are you guys planning to launch, when will launch announcements happen, will there be review units? In short, what is happening?

@SweViver do you have any insights on this?

1 Like

Are these headsets really gonna release without a single demo before hand?

1 Like

This seems advisable. In the past I have been frustrated too often by issues which take up just either too much time or dilute the experience too much to make it worthwhile for me to pursue the extra bit of what-ever a headset is promising over its established competitors.
And - possibly we will have new headsets from other brands to compare them too too at the time they really become available for delivery.

Either Pimax have radically altered their approach: shut up until the final production version is well tested and truly ready for release in numbers - at which date they will immediately send out samples to reknown VR journalists (Norm from tested, Ben from RoadtoVR, perhaps add Kevin from Tom’s Hardware) and will open their ordering site with immediate ability to deliver (sort of the Apple approach);
or they simply aren’t there yet, in which case I would get why they remain silent (well, then you shouldn’t re-confirm availability in Q3 in the forum but that would just be typical for the old Pimax approach of internal non-alignments which would fit the second scenario, where we are effectively looking at the old Pimax with their wishful thinking approach).

Let’s come together again on 1 October, shall we. Enjoy the summer, don’t think too much about VR… :wink:

1 Like

The Crystal and 12K are not Kickstarter projects. Everyone keeps talking about the expectation of them being demoed along the way during their development. I know that Pimax talked about doing this at one point, but they don’t have to, and it’s questionable whether they should.

Do you expect Meta or Valve to show demos of their VR headsets prior to their launches? Companies typically do not demo products to the public prior to release.

Kickstarter projects are the exception because they need to publicly show their backers that they’re making progress along the way. Every product Pimax has made previously has been a kickstarter project, but the new Reality series of headsets are not. And that should change our expectations about transparency during development. We are not backers this time.

If you look at it from that perspective, Pimax has actually been unusually transparent compared to other companies in the VR industry. Look, for instance, at how much Apple has told us about their upcoming headset compared to what Pimax has told us about their upcoming Crystal and 12K. Do you see Apple revealing most of their specifications a full year before their expected launch date? Ever?

Not being kickstarter projects inherently radically alters their approach. The parts I found most meaningful in their interview with MRTV about the 12K were not the reveals of details about the 12K itself, but rather the commentary about how Pimax has grown larger and has changed internally, and how development of the 12K has been different than it was for prior projects like the 8KX.

We have good reason to expect different than the previous status quo from Pimax this time around. It is not conjecture that the circumstances for the Crystal and 12K are different from the circumstances for Pimax’s prior products. The fact that these are not kickstarter projects changes a lot of things.

That’s absolutely not true.

The Vision series wasn’t a Kickstarter project, just as much as the Reality series isn’t.

In fact the Vision series was announced in exactly the same way as the Reality series was, including intransparent coupon schemes and broken promises (wireless adapter, actually functional ET etc); the result were immense delays and basically an 8K with different panels and straps.

I applaud your immense enthusiasm regarding Pimax, I was in that very same boat a few years back.

As @Axacuatl recommended, let’s reconvenve on October 1st to find out that, in fact, no Crystal HMD was released and most likely to either deafening silence or another word-mincing apology about how Pimax will do so much better in the future.

There’s a reason why very seasoned VR veterans with deep pockets have nothing but frustration left when it comes to Pimax.

1 Like

They have said so repeatedly that they will demo the headset, why is it my fault to expect nothing less?

My expectations come from Pimax employees who have said over the past year that they will demo the headset.

We have literally no reason to expect this. Pimax has gone completely silent just as they have on every project they have ever attempted. I didn’t just role up to this company, I have been a customer for 5 years now. Literally nothing is different, Pimax has not once met a deadline with any of their launches, I have seen absolutely nothing that tells me this is different.

1 Like

Ah. Then I was mistaken and proceeding from a false premise. I retract the comments in my last post.

1 Like

The 8KX was indeed in the Kickstarter. Vision series was a set of enhancements to the hardware where the elements of it were popular and ended up being part of all of them. All of the P2 series were essentially part of that. Even the strap, audio and other pieces were part of the KS. The new devices are a new platform and they are our first headsets that don’t harken back to that.

There is indeed evidence about the new type of thinking involved here as we have not opened up orders or even deposits for the new platform headsets. We want to tighten up the timeline where availability and all of the surrounding exposure are closer together.

Then I un-retract my comments in that previous post.

The 8KX was a 200 pcs (?) limited KS pledge with no idea how to implement at the point of the KS.

It materialized years later as the flagship of the Vision series which itself was announced together with multiple pledges by the CEO about how Pimax had changed and how reliable any dates with regard to a Q1 2020 (?) launch would be because so much has changed in the company.

It’s now 3 years later and other than not offering pre-orders (and rightly so), I’d say communication is even worse than 3 and 5 years ago.

The fact that you @PimaxUSA say nothing with regards to concrete details on a launch you should be right in the middle of and rather ‘see evidence of new thinking’ together with ‘tighten timelines’ speaks volumes.

You announced a CES preview 9 months ago, didn’t deliver, announced alternative showings shortly after, didn’t deliver and stopped all communication at least B2C and have your reps confirm a Q3 launch for one product whilst the other launch is scheduled only another quarter later.

I understand your business is tough and you personally appear to be marginally, at best, involved in relevant decision making by Pimax but of course all this has resulted in what is now the B2C conception of Pimax.

1 Like

Guys, relax.

Just wait until 1 October and we can have a proper discussion because by then we know if Crystal is available to buy with swift delivery, and if it is, we will be able to also discuss the product‘s quality and maturity within 1-2 weeks of that date based on the first reviews of first line customers.

All we can do now is express our doubts, based on our past experience, while Pimax and optimistic users will point to their allegedly improved processes. Problem is, those of us who are skeptical cannot be sure if our skepticism is justified, and Pimax is not willing to allow more insight into the current status, which they have all right to be. If they make a good & mature product readily available for delivery until 1 October, we should applaud them; if they fail on either of these, one would wonder a bit in hindsight why there was no earlier indication of not being able to present the product on time & in shape, but let‘s cross that bridge if we find ourselves there in 2+ months.

As @Sargon pointed out, we haven‘t paid for this device yet so no reason to get nervous or demanding. We should have this discussion based on facts, when they have played out.

2 Likes

Absolutely agreed @Axacuatl!

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.