While OLED gaming monitors might be a stretch goal for many of us, miniature versions are already being crammed into VR headsets. Much like their bigger, desktop-dwelling cousins, however, the price can be pretty prohibitive. Pimax may be bucking that trend, as it's announced the Dream Air SE, a lighter weight, slightly lower-specced version of its Dream Air Micro-OLED VR headset with a much cheaper pre-order price than the standard model.
It's still $899 for the Lighthouse version, which comes without controllers. Boo. Still, that's a full $1,000 cheaper than the non-SE controllerless version, and what you're getting in the headset itself is still pretty impressive.
Two 2,560 x 2,560 resolution Micro-OLED panels sat behind tailored pancake lenses, for a start. That's not quite as impressive as the 3,840 x 3,552 resolution Sony versions you'll find in the standard Dream Air, but the SE should be much less hardware-demanding as a result. And it's still a fair few more pixels than the 2,064 x 2,208 you'll find in each LCD panel of our current best VR headset pick, the Meta Quest 3.
Plus you get integrated audio and eye tracking, and the whole headset weighs less than 150 grams, which makes it significantly lighter than many traditional headsets I've strapped to my skull over the years. It's a downright gorgeous-looking design, too, if you're into the "I-just-fell-through-an-Apple-factory-in-Cyberpunk-2077" aesthetic.
Should you wish for the luxury of included controllers (and Pimax's camera-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping technology, negating the need for a base station tracking solution), you'll be looking at a total cost of $1,199. The best VR headsets we've tested to date are significantly cheaper than that, but none of them come with Micro-OLED screens, and they don't come cheap.
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That price isn't exactly chump change, granted—but compared to the $2,099 you'd pay for the controller-including regular Dream Air (or the ludicrous $3,499 you'd pay for an Apple Vision Pro), I'd say it's a relatively reasonable sum.
If that's still too pricey a proposition to pay in one go, you could take a look at the Pimax Prime membership program, which lets you pay off the base price of a headset before paying instalments on the rest, with a discount available for the one-off payment in relation to the standard retail price.
It's all a bit overcomplicated if you ask me, but if Micro-OLED VR is where your dreams lie but the price is holding you back, it's probably worth considering.
I haven't had a chance to get hands-on with the Dream Air myself, but I did visit the Pimax booth at CES 2025 for a play around with its Crystal Light VR headset, and the results were impressive.
Virtual reality
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I've never been particularly sold on VR in general, but as a newly-discovered flight sim fan I have to say it really adds something to the experience of bombing around in a fighter jet in DCS World.
Plus, our main critique of the Pimax Crystal Light is its overall bulkiness. The Dream Air and Dream Air SE look downright svelte by comparison, which matters when you plan on wearing something attached to the front of your face for a sweaty, adrenaline-filled gaming session.
Now, where did I put my wallet? Oh, that's right—I've locked it away to prevent myself from buying more gorgeous tech I don't necessarily need. Want, though? Most definitely.
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