Over the past year, news about Sony’s SRH-S1 standalone MR headset has been scarce since it made waves at CES 2024. However, we now have the official scoop on its launch date and pricing for this enterprise-centric device.
Sony has teamed up with Siemens to introduce the distinctively named SRH-S1, which is set to hit the market in February 2025. This headset will carry a price tag of $4,750 and is explicitly targeted at business applications. Starting January 23rd, 2025, you can place your orders directly through Siemens.
Initially presented as a tool for creative professionals, Sony and Siemens have shifted their focus towards industrial applications. They aim for the SRH-S1 to enable the “industrial metaverse,” enhancing product design and manufacturing processes by leveraging Siemens’ high-fidelity mixed reality technologies.
The SRH-S1 sports an impressive 13.6MP (3,552 × 3840) resolution per eye, thanks to Sony’s own ECX344A OLED microdisplays. Under the hood, it features a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. What sets it apart is Sony’s proprietary rendering technology, designed for real-time 3D object visualization.
This mixed reality gadget doesn’t stop there. It’s equipped with passthrough video capabilities, a flip-up visor, and uniquely ergonomic controllers for seamless 3D interactions. These come in the form of a stylus-like pointer and a ring-shaped device, making the experience more intuitive.
On Siemens’ end, they’ve been refining their suite of enterprise-focused Immersive Engineering tools over the last year. These tools are crafted to allow SRH-S1 users to design 3D assets in CAD, interact with models, and even conduct remote, multi-user design reviews via Siemens’ cloud platform, NX X.
Bob Haubrock, the Senior VP of Product Engineering Software at Siemens Digital Industries Software, stated, “After showcasing the HMD at CES last year, our teams have developed a toolkit that transforms how mixed reality is utilized in engineering. It not only supports global collaboration with high-fidelity 3D models but also facilitates co-creation on crucial 3D CAD data in a secure environment.”
In addition to the SRH-S1, CES also brought news of a creative-focused headset from Sony, aimed at prosumers and named XYN. While details on the price and release date remain under wraps, and Sony has been keeping a low profile about it, we know it’s currently a prototype. It appears to be a variant of the SRH-S1, distinguished by its black color, whereas the SRH-S1 sports a grey look.
