Sony has confirmed that it is working on a new VR headset, apart from the Project Morpheus (above). (Photo : YouTube/ Tested)
Jun Makino, senior product manager at Sony Mobile, has confirmed that the Japanese tech giant is working on a new mobile VR headset, which will be a competitor to Samsung's Gear VR. Sony expects that the upcoming VR headset and a slew of new smartphones will help the struggling company to get back on the course of profitability this year.
Following the unveiling of three new smartphones, which are a part of Sony's X series at the Mobile World Congress on Monday, Makino said that the next 12 months will be extremely vital for the company, IB Times reported. "[In] 2016, we obviously need to deliver profit and that is something the company is committed to," the media outlet quoted the Sony official as saying.
Aside from the new VR headset, Sony could be working on another accessory that may prove to be vital for the company's revival plans. While the Japanese firm is yet to make any announcement in this regard, Makino said they are currently concentrating on new concepts. He did not spell out anything regarding the new concepts they are focusing on but hinted that a new product launch can be expected soon.
Sony has announced earlier that it would be entering the VR space later this year with the launch of the PlayStation VR headset, which is expected to compete with HTC's Vive headsets and Facebook's Oculus Rift. The new VR headset Sony Mobile is working on will be a competitor to Samsung's Gear VR.
In 2015, Sony filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), giving rise to speculations that the company is keen to develop and market VR headsets, Wearable reported. The patent mentioned about two VR headsets. While one of them was apparently similar to the Gear VR, the second bore some resemblance to a standard pair of glasses attached to a smartphone. According to the patent, both devices would incorporate sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes in addition to on-board processors and memory. It implied that they would offer much more compared to Google's Cardboard model.
According to reports, it is possible that Sony's upcoming VR headset will be designed to utilize the camera of its smartphone for a "see-through-mode," allowing users to switch between virtual reality and a real-world view. In addition, the VR headset may also send alerts to users when they are in danger of walking into something. The user may receive a notification and subsequently switch to see-through-mode to examine his or her real-world environment quickly.
Meanwhile, virtual reality seems to be the in-thing at this year's Mobile World Congress. Samsung has already showcased its Gear VR device at the launch of the Galaxy S7 on Sunday. Facebook has entered into collaboration with Samsung via its Oculus division to develop the Gear VR headset.
Watch the video on hands-on: Sony's "Project Morpheus" PlayStation 4 virtual reality (VR) headset below:
