If you were among the early participants in the Somnium Reservation program, congratulations! You can finally place an order for the Somnium VR1 PC VR starting July 12th. If you haven’t booked your slot, the campaign is not yet closed. You still have until July 10th to join the reservation program and be eligible to place an order when it officially launches.
In case you don’t know, there’s a lot about the Somnium VR1 headset that appeals to all VR enthusiasts who booked their reservations; the headset challenges the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro in different aspects and comes in multiple variants to fit into everyone’s budget. The Somnium VR1 is a PC VR, which means you will need a full-room setup.
What’s the fuss with Somnium VR1 PC VR?
The Czech startup Somnium announced it was working on a new PC VR that would take the market by storm. The product is the VR1 PC VR, which was announced to feature quite many mouthwatering specifications and VR features, such as mini-LED panels, 120Hz refresh rate, 210 nits display, Snapdragon XR2 chipset, eye tracking, and many other functions.
The Somnium VR1 was originally announced as a hybrid VR headset, which means it would be both a standalone device and also a PC VR, but after some months, Somnium confirmed it would only be built as a PC VR. According to the regular press releases from Somnium, the VR1 will feature a 2880×2880 QD-LCD with mini-LED panels and offer a display contrast of 20000:1 via local dimming.
Other things worth noting about the headset are the support for screen refresh rates from 72Hz to 120Hz and an “experimental” 144Hz. Display-wise, the Somnium VR1 PC VR looks good and desirable.
The headset will be available in four different packages: headset only, headset + eye tracking, headset + eye tracking and hand tracking, and headset + eye tracking, hand tracking, and MR cameras.
Technical Specifications:
These are not yet officially published as specs, but the manufacturer has been clear on these specifications over time.
| Headset Type | PC VR |
| Dimensions (headset only) | 191 mm x 124 mm x 94 mm (W x L x H) |
| Weight | 700g – 850g (depending on variant) |
| Material | IR-transmissive matte polymer with anti-fingerprint surface texture |
| Headstrap | Double-knob memory foam adjustable head strap |
| Display Type | QLED Mini-LED Fast LCD |
| Resolution | 2,880 x 2,880 PPE |
| Brightness | 210 nit |
| Local Dimming | 20000:1 (HDR) |
| Color Gamut | 100% NTSC |
| Refresh Rate | 72 Hz / 90 Hz / 120 Hz / 144 Hz (Experimental) |
| Peak Fidelity | 35 PPD |
| Coating | Anti-reflection & Anti-scratch coating |
| Interpupillary Distance (IPD) Adjustment | Manual 58 mm – 76 mm |
| Field of View (FOV) | Horizontal: 125°, Vertical: 100° |
| Diopter Lenses (Optional) | Magnetically attachable |
| Eye Tracking (Optional) | 120Hz single-point calibration, Gaze analysis, VR & XR foveated rendering, heat-map visualization |
| Pass-through Cameras (Optional) for the MR | 2 X 12 Mpx 4,056 x 3,040 |
| Hand Tracking (Optional) | Ultraleap 170° x 170° FOV, 120Hz refresh rate |
| Audio | 3.5mm jack |
| USB Ports | 3 x USB-C (3.2 Gen 2) 10Gbps for external accessories |
| LEDs | 2 x Programmable RGB status LEDs |
| Positional Tracking | Lighthouse Based tracking |
Display and Resolution Properties
The display and resolution properties of the Somnium VR1 PC VR are really captivating, and the VR headset promises the widest FOV the industry has seen to date – 125° horizontal and 100° vertical. Also, the headset would feature dual-lens aspheric modules (two lenses per eye box) along with other cutting-edge display features.
Tracking and Controllers
The base edition – Classic Edition – is just a basic PC VR with no special tracking capability or pass-through support. The next four editions after the Classic have a fair share of specific tracking features, while the Ultimate, Translucent (Limited), and Military (TAA) editions have all tracking features available.
Somnium VR1 Editions
| Edition | Eye Tracking | Hand Tracking | Passthrough | Price |
| Classic | No | No | No | €1900 |
| Striker | No | Yes | No | €2,299 |
| Visionary | Yes | No | No | €2,499 |
| Titan | Yes | Yes | No | €2,899 |
| Specter | No | Yes | Yes | €3,100 |
| Ultimate | Yes | Yes | Yes | €3,499 |
| Translucent (Limited) | Yes | Yes | Yes | €3,990 |
| Military (TAA) | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
Audio and Haptics
The Somnium VR1 PC VR features a 3.5mm jack port to connect external audio playback devices. It is advertised as delivering high-quality audio feedback with integrated stereo speakers. In terms of connectivity, the headset does offer a variety of connection ports, including up to 3 USB-C ports (Gen 2) and a display port.
Compatibility
Somnium VR1 is seamlessly compatible with the native Steam VR platform and OpenXR. You can connect any PC through the Display Port and enjoy immersive gameplay or other VR activities with this headset.
Mixed Reality
The Somnium VR1 supports MR (mixed reality) and features 2× 12 Mpx path-through cameras with resolutions of about 4056×3040 pixels and an FOV spanning 125° horizontally and 100° vertically. Also, the headset is shown to feature up to four modular and customizable anchor points for seamless attachment of the headset accessories and other compatible devices.
Design and Comfort
Generally, the design looks good, and the headset seems ergonomic. The weight is equally normal, and the headset looks like what would be comfortable to wear on for a long time (it’s not launched yet for a real conclusion on the comfortability). However, everything looks pretty comfortable from all sides of the recent reveals (videos and company news).
Somnium VR1 Vs Meta Quest 2 Vs Apple Vision Pro
The Somnium VR1 PC VR compares with the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro in many aspects. It also challenges the Valve Index and other popular VR headsets on the market.
| Meta Quest 3 | Somnium VR1 | Apple Vision Pro | |
| Type | Standalone | PC VR | Standalone |
| Lens Type | Pancake | Aspheric | Pancake |
| Maximum FOV | 110°×96° | 125°×100° | 100°×87° |
| Display | 2064×2208 LCD | 2880×2880 QD-LCD w/ Mini-LED | 3660×3200 Micro-OLED |
| Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 120Hz (144Hz “experimental”) | 100Hz |
Applications and Use Cases
Apparently, the Somnium VR1 will be used for all VR use cases, thanks to its integrated MR features, which extend the headset’s capabilities to new heights. That said, the VR1 from Somnium would be good for gaming, social interactions, and other professional and educational VR uses.
Official Release Date
The Czech company has released an official launch date for the VR1 and is calling on existing reservation holders to place their orders for the edition they wish to buy. However, new enthusiasts can still book their reservations until July 10.
The Somnium VR1 will go live for general sale on July 12, and the company warns that any orders placed on July 12 will take weeks to ship; thus, it is better to place your order before the launch date.
Conclusion
Somnium VR1 is looking like it’d be a top challenger when it goes live; everything to beat the other PC VRs seems to be in place, and the specs it is announced to pack all look “perfect.” But, until it launches and customers get to use it firsthand, conclusions can’t be drawn.
