Over the past year, news about Sony’s standalone mixed reality headset, the SRH-S1, has been scant after its reveal at CES 2024. But now, this enterprise-oriented device has both an official launch date and a price tag.
Developed in partnership with Siemens, the Sony SRH-S1 is slated for release in February 2025, priced at $4,750. This hefty price clearly targets business users, and interested buyers can start placing their orders on January 23, 2025, directly through Siemens.
Initially, the headset was touted last year as a tool for creatives, but Sony and Siemens are now focusing squarely on industrial applications. They claim the SRH-S1 will be a cornerstone in establishing the “industrial metaverse,” promising to revolutionize product design and manufacturing with Siemens’ advanced mixed reality solutions.
The device boasts impressive specs: a 13.6MP resolution (3,552 × 3,840) for each eye via Sony’s ECX344A OLED microdisplay and the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset at its heart. Sony has also introduced what they describe as “proprietary rendering technology,” enabling real-time 3D object creation.
As a mixed reality headset, it also features passthrough video capabilities, a flip-up visor, and ergonomic controllers specifically crafted for intuitive 3D interaction. These include a stylus-like pointer and a ring, tailored for seamless use.
In the meantime, Siemens has refined its suite of enterprise-focused Immersive Engineering tools over the last year. These tools are designed to let users of the SRH-S1 create and manipulate 3D assets in CAD, interact with models, and conduct remote multi-user design reviews through Siemens’ cloud platform, NX X.
Bob Haubrock, Senior VP of Product Engineering Software at Siemens Digital Industries Software, shared, “After showcasing the headset at CES last year, our teams have developed tools that significantly enhance how mixed reality is employed in engineering. We’re not only enabling global collaboration using high-fidelity 3D models, but we’re also facilitating co-creation on critical 3D CAD data within a secure environment.”
Moreover, this announcement coincides with news from CES that Sony plans to introduce a new creative-focused headset for prosumers, known as XYN. While details are sparse with no price or release date set, XYN appears to be a variant of the SRH-S1, differentiated by its black color scheme compared to the SRH-S1’s grey.
