It’s been a while since we last heard about Sony’s standalone MR headset, the SRH-S1, which made its debut at CES 2024. But now, the wait is almost over as Sony has stepped forward with both a release date and the price for this enterprise-oriented device.
Crafted in collaboration with Siemens, the officially named Sony SRH-S1 is scheduled to hit the market in February 2025, coming with a price tag of $4,750. This headset is distinctly aimed at enterprise applications, and orders are slated to begin on January 23rd, 2025, exclusively available through Siemens.
Originally introduced last year with creative professionals in mind, Sony and Siemens have shifted gears, setting their sights on industrial applications. They promise the SRH-S1 will “enable the industrial metaverse,” primarily enhancing product design and manufacturing processes by leveraging Siemens’ advanced mixed reality tools.
The SRH-S1 headset doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to specs. It boasts a 13.6MP resolution per eye using Sony’s ECX344A OLED microdisplay, running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. Additionally, Sony has implemented a proprietary rendering technology that brings 3D objects to life in real-time.
As a mixed reality device, the SRH-S1 includes features like passthrough video and a flip-up visor. Moreover, it comes with ergonomic controllers designed to facilitate intuitive 3D interactions, appearing as a stylus-like pointer and a ring.
In the past year, Siemens has put significant effort into refining its suite of immersive engineering tools aimed at businesses. These tools intend to empower users of the SRH-S1 to work with 3D assets in CAD software, directly interact with models, and remotely engage in multi-user design discussions using Siemens’ cloud-based NX X platform.
“We previewed this headset at CES last year, and since then, our teams have developed groundbreaking tools that are changing how mixed reality fits into engineering. We’re not just supporting international collaboration with detailed 3D models but also ensuring safe, direct co-creation on essential 3D CAD data,” said Bob Haubrock, Senior VP of Product Engineering Software at Siemens Digital Industries Software.
Adding further excitement, Sony also announced this week during CES that they’re preparing to launch a creatively focused headset for prosumers, dubbed XYN. However, details about its pricing and release date remain under wraps. While Sony is staying tight-lipped about this prototype, the XYN seems to be a variant of the SRH-S1, distinguished by its black color as opposed to the SRH-S1’s grey design.
