Over the past year, we’ve not heard much about Sony’s SRH-S1 standalone MR headset since its reveal at CES 2024. However, the company has now disclosed both a launch date and pricing for this enterprise-geared device.
Teaming up with Siemens, Sony has named this headset the SRH-S1. It’s set to hit the market in February 2025, with a price tag of $4,750, focusing clearly on corporate users. For those interested, orders will start on January 23, 2025, and the headset will be available directly through Siemens.
When first introduced last year, it seemed Sony intended the SRH-S1 for creators, but the current direction is more towards industrial applications. According to Sony and Siemens, the headset will “enable the industrial metaverse” by enhancing product design and manufacturing processes with Siemens’ suite of advanced mixed reality tools.
The SRH-S1 boasts impressive specs, with 13.6MP (3,552 × 3840) resolution per eye leveraging Sony’s own ECX344A OLED microdisplay and a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. It is also equipped with a proprietary rendering technology to facilitate real-time 3D object visualization.
As a mixed reality (MR) gadget, the SRH-S1 features passthrough video, a flip-up visor, and specially designed ergonomic controllers for seamless 3D interaction. Users will interact with a stylus-type pointer and a ring, which promises a unique intuitive experience.
On Siemens’ side, they’ve fine-tuned their Immersive Engineering tools over the past year. These tools are set to let SRH-S1 users design 3D assets in CAD, interact with these models, and even conduct multi-user design reviews remotely through Siemens’ NX X cloud platform.
In explaining this advancement, Bob Haubrock, senior VP of Product Engineering Software at Siemens Digital Industries Software, shared, “After unveiling the HMD at CES last year, we’ve collectively developed tools that redefine the application of mixed reality in engineering. These tools not only bolster global collaboration on high-fidelity 3D models but also facilitate co-creation directly on crucial 3D CAD data in a controlled environment.”
Moreover, during CES this week, Sony revealed plans to launch another creative-oriented headset for prosumers called XYN. While details on pricing or release date are not yet available, XYN seems to be a variant of the SRH-S1. It can be identified by its distinctive black design, contrasting to SRH-S1’s grey color.
