Sony today announced that a new PlayStation VR model is in the works focusing on some issues surrounding ease of use.
Update (10/02/17): The updated PSVR model in launch in Japan October 14th. New images have been sourced from the Japanese PlayStation blog.
Sony has published specs of the new model on their Japanese PlayStation blog, and while the updated headset comes in at 10g lighter with a slightly larger Processor Unit, there aren’t any substantive changes outside of the two main features, making it more of an iterative hardware refresh.
Including an updated design featuring integrated audio and a slimmer, more streamlined connection cable, the new PSVR model, numbered CUH-ZVR2, will also natively support High Dynamic Range (HDR) pass-through via its new Processor Unit. The current PSVR model (CUH-ZVR1) technically supports HDR pass-through, but you have to fiddle with HDMI cables every time you want to enable it, or buy an external switchbox if you wanted the clarity and maximum color reproduction the PS4 can provide.
Unfortunately for owners of the original CUH-ZVR1 model, the new model’s Processing Unit (aka breakout box) won’t be backwards compatible, so you have to buy the new headset to benefit from it.
To differentiate the new from the old, the packaging for PSVR will “change slightly when the new model hits stores,” the company says in a US PlayStation blogpost, visibly adding the new model number on the box.
Sony says they’ll be sharing details on the launch timing in North America at a later date, and that pricing of the PSVR bundles will remain the same.