PICO G2 4K — specification and verdict
The G2 4K puts a 1920x2160 LCD in front of each eye at 75 Hz across a 101-degree diagonal field of view, which is enough resolution to read overlaid labels and signage in a 360 video. What it cannot do is let a trainee move. Tracking is 3DoF: the headset follows head rotation only, so leaning in to inspect a valve or stepping around a machine does nothing on screen. The Snapdragon 835 with 4 GB of RAM is two generations behind anything running interactive VR training today, and the single 3DoF controller with a trackpad and one trigger cannot represent two hands holding a tool. Our courses do not run on it.
PICO designed the G2 4K as a shared kiosk device: the foam facial interface detaches for cleaning or replacement between users, and the Android build supported a kiosk mode that locked the wearer into one application. That was 2019. Production ended in Q1 2023 and with it technical support, software updates and security patches, so a fleet bought today is a fleet with no vendor behind it. There is no current PICO business licensing or device-management offer covering this model, and 32 GB of storage with no vendor content pipeline means every update is a manual sideload. The three-hour battery is not removable, which caps a session-based rollout at roughly a half day per unit.
Do not buy it for training. It is a 2019 3DoF headset that PICO stopped supporting in 2023, and the only thing it still does well is play a 360 video to a seated viewer. If you already own a stock of them, keep them for orientation films and buy 6DoF standalone hardware for anything a trainee has to do with their hands.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — standalone devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: $624, from 36 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
Pico G2 Controller
3DoF
One 3DoF wand with a trackpad, for a headset built to be handed round a classroom or a showroom. It points; it cannot reach.
In the boxHow it is tracked
Rotation only (IMU)
The controller knows which way it points but not where it is: it aims like a laser pointer and cannot reach into the scene.
The controller itself
- Controller inputs
- trackpad · face buttons · index trigger
Other controllers
This headset’s own controllers only
Bare hands
No hand tracking — a controller is the only way in.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- PICO (ByteDance)
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — standalone
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- Standalone VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2019-01-01
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2019
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued in 2023
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- Support ends: not published by the manufacturer
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- LCD
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Fresnel lenses
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- Resolution per eye: not published by the manufacturer
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- ≈75 Hz*VRcompare specification sheet
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- ≈101° diagonal*VRcompare estimate
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: not published by the manufacturer
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- ≈276 g*VRcompare specification sheet
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- Visible field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- Rendered field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: not published by the manufacturer
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe · 2 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- Passthrough: not published by the manufacturer
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- IPD adjustment: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 54–71 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- Dimensions: not published by the manufacturer
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- Weight with strap: not published by the manufacturer
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Soft strap
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · foam facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- 3DoF rotational only, no positional tracking
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- Tracking cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- Yes
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Pico G2 Controller
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 3DoF
- Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say.
- Rotation only (IMU)
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- This headset’s own controllers only
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- trackpad · face buttons · index trigger
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Controller haptics: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- Controller power: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- Controller weight: not published by the manufacturer
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- PerformanceHow much the headset can run — sharper scenes, more objects, smoother mixed reality. Higher is better.
- Dated — we no longer recommend it
- ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- CPUCores and clocks, where the manufacturer publishes them.
- Octa-core Kryo 280 (4 x 2.45 GHz, 4 x 1.9 GHz)
- GPUThe graphics part of the chip.
- Adreno 540
- MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be.
- 4 GB
- PlatformThe platform an application is built against — and what an MDM has to speak.
- Android
- StorageOn-board space for downloaded courses. More matters for an offline library in several languages.
- ≈32 GB*VRcompare specification sheet
- SD card slotWhether storage can be added with a card.
- Yes
- BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.
- ≈180 min*VRcompare specification sheet
- Battery capacity (Wh)Energy in the cell. Bigger is longer, given the same power draw.
- Battery capacity (Wh): not published by the manufacturer
- Battery capacity (mAh)The same fact in the other unit vendors use. We never convert between the two.
- 3500 mAh
- Charge timeFrom empty to full. Rarely stated by the manufacturer, so it usually comes from whoever timed it.
- Charge time: not published by the manufacturer
- ChargerPower of the supplied charger — it decides the charge time above.
- Charger: not published by the manufacturer
- External batteryBattery on a cable or a puck instead of on the head.
- External battery: not published by the manufacturer
- Charging caseExtra runtime carried in the case the glasses ship with.
- Charging case: not published by the manufacturer
- Hot-swap batteryWhether a charged battery can replace the empty one without ending the session. This is what decides if a headset can hold an all-day training station.
- Hot-swap battery: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Yes
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- USB Type-C · headphone jack
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- 5
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- 4.2
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: not published by the manufacturer
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Microphone: not published by the manufacturer
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: not published by the manufacturer
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Mid range
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $399
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: not published by the manufacturer
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
Organisations that already have G2 4K units on a shelf from a 2019-2021 kiosk deployment and want to know whether they can be reused. The honest answer is that they suit passive 360 playback for visitors or induction sessions, and nothing else. Anyone specifying new hardware for VR training should not have this device on the list.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
PICO's own product page for the G2 4K is gone: pico-interactive.com/us/G2.html now redirects to the business site, so every figure here comes from VRcompare and from VR Expert rather than the manufacturer. PICO never published a dated end-of-support notice we could find, only the Q1 2023 end of production reported by its distributor, so we record the discontinuation year and no support-end date. Optics type, exact Wi-Fi and Bluetooth versions, microphone and speaker configuration, and whether a microSD slot is present are all unverified.
PICO G2 4K in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- Hugh Hou2019
An in-depth review comparing the G2 4K against the Quest and the Go, from a 360-video specialist. That is the use this headset was actually bought for — playing high-resolution video to a room of people — and it is judged on it here.
Watch on YouTube - MRTV - MIXED REALITY TV2019
An unboxing that highlights the counterweight design placing the battery at the back of the strap — a small decision that changes how an hour in the headset feels, and one no specification row conveys.
Watch on YouTube - VR Expert2019
A reseller's review in Dutch, and useful for the same reason its bias is a caveat: this hardware sold almost entirely through enterprise resellers, so their material is most of what exists about it.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
PICO G2 4K — frequently asked questions
- Does the PICO G2 4K still get software and security updates?
- No. PICO ended production in Q1 2023 and stopped providing technical support, software updates and security updates at the same time. Existing units keep working and existing custom applications keep running, but the Android build on them is frozen, so treat any G2 4K on a network as an unpatched device and keep it off systems that matter.
- Can VR training courses run on the PICO G2 4K's 3DoF tracking?
- No. The G2 4K tracks head rotation only, with one 3DoF controller, so a trainee cannot walk to a machine, crouch, or use two hands. Our courses need 6DoF standalone hardware and will not install usefully here. The device remains fine for 360-degree video and virtual tours viewed from a fixed seat.
- Is the 276 g PICO G2 4K still worth using as a shared kiosk headset?
- For passive playback, yes within limits. It is light at 276 grams, the foam facial interface comes off for cleaning between users, and 75 Hz on a 4K panel is comfortable for seated viewing. But there is no vendor kiosk-management or MDM service for it any more, 32 GB fills fast with video, and the three-hour battery is not swappable, so plan on manual sideloading and a midday recharge.
Compare this device
Consider these too
The nearest devices in the same class, ranked by availability and launch price — not by our opinion of them.
The manufacturer publishes no specification page for this device, so the figures were checked against a third-party database on 2026-08-08. Third-party specification database
Product and company names used here are the trademarks of their respective owners and appear only to identify the hardware being compared. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these manufacturers. Illustrations are our own.