Sony’s Enterprise Mixed Reality Headset Launching Next Month for $4,750

Over the last year, we haven’t heard much about Sony’s SRH-S1 MR headset since its big reveal at CES 2024. Now, the silence is broken as this enterprise-focused device has an official release date and price.

Teaming up with Siemens, Sony is bringing the SRH-S1 to the market in February 2025, priced at $4,750. They are clearly targeting business sectors, with pre-orders opening on January 23, 2025 through Siemens.

Initially, Sony tried to catch the attention of creatives with this headset when they first announced it last year. However, it’s become quite apparent they’re now angling towards industrial applications. They emphasize how the SRH-S1 will foster the “industrial metaverse” and refine product design and manufacturing, thanks to Siemens’ advanced mixed reality tools.

Sony packs quite a punch with this headset, offering 13.6MP resolution per eye using their proprietary ECX344A OLED microdisplay, along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. They’ve also introduced what they term “proprietary rendering technology” to facilitate real-time 3D object visuals.

In terms of features, the SRH-S1 is genuinely innovative as a mixed reality device. It includes passthrough video and a flip-up visor for convenience. Plus, it sports a unique set of ergonomic controllers aimed at seamless 3D interactions—think stylus-like pointers and rings that bring precision to the user’s fingertips.

Over the past year, Siemens has fine-tuned its Immersive Engineering tools aimed at enterprises. These tools empower SRH-S1 users to craft 3D designs in CAD, engage with models directly, and participate in remote multi-user design reviews through the NX X platform, hosted in the cloud by Siemens.

“We previewed this headset at CES last year, and since then, our teams have developed tools that redefine the role of mixed reality in engineering,” commented Bob Haubrock, Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Senior VP of Product Engineering Software. He highlighted how these innovations boost global collaboration with high-fidelity 3D models, enabling co-creation on 3D CAD data securely.

Amidst this buzz, Sony has also announced a creative-focused headset, the XYN, aimed at prosumers. Details about pricing and release are still under wraps. Currently a prototype, the XYN looks like a variant of the SRH-S1, distinguishable by its sleek black design compared to the original’s grey.