Panasonic subsidiary Shiftall announced nearly a year ago that it was set to launch MeganeX sometime in early 2023, potentially making it one of the first in the coming wave of slim and light PC VR headsets. We haven’t heard much about MeganeX since then, and there’s good reason: the company is slowly ramping up production following its recent soft launch in Japan.

First showed off as a prototype at CES 2020, MeganeX bills itself as an “ultra-high-resolution, ultra-lightweight, 6DOF-capable VR headset for SteamVR,” coming equipped with dual 2,560 × 2,560 1.3-inch micro-OLED displays (120Hz) from Kopin, proprietary pancake lens from Panasonic, and both SteamVR tracking and inside-out optical tracking.

It all makes for a pretty compact PC VR headset, which you might compare to its biggest competition, Bigscreen Beyond ($1,000).

Image courtesy Shiftall

While Shiftall quietly launched MeganeX in Japan back in September via a lottery system, it wasn’t sure when we’d see the headset release outside of Shiftall’s home country.

Now Shiftall tells Road to VR that it’s currently working to increase production capacity before releasing in the US, although it’s not certain when.

“Regarding the U.S. market, we are indeed planning to introduce MeganeX there,” a Shiftall spokesperson told Road to VR. “As soon as we are able to manufacture sufficient quantities to meet the high demand in Japan, we will commence sales in the United States.”

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According to its website, the consumer version is set to launch at $1,699, while the price for the Business Edition has yet to be determined for the US market. This tracks with the headset’s September soft launch in Japan, which was priced at ¥249,900 (~$1,700 USD), tax included. In Japan, the Business Edition sells for ¥198,000 (~$1,350 USD), tax excluded, as it doesn’t include the modular SteamVR tracking unit, instead solely relying on the headset’s less precise optical tracking.

Meanwhile, the Panasonic-owned skunkworks is releasing a number of other VR products, including its FlipVR SteamVR controller which allows users to fold the controller into a position that doesn’t interfere with using your hands normally for tasks such as typing or grabbing things. FlipVR went into pre-order in the US in November with shipments estimated for April 2024.

The company also produces HaritoraX Wireless, an IMU-based full-body tracking device, and mutalk, a voice-muffling Bluetooth microphone for private conversations in and out of VR.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Naruto Uzumaki

    shi t fail is very bad

  • Charles U. Farley

    Shitfall has ben showing this for years. Total vaporware.

  • Sofian

    They are full of shift.

  • fcpw

    Gotta make those investors feel like they didn’t totally burn their money. (But they did…)

    • ViRGiN

      don’t worry, there will be quite a few youtubers willing to add it to their shilling assortiment

      • fcpw

        That’s true.

  • vivio vrvl

    Stand alone 5G capable, with phone replacing hw is a way to go.

  • Ballsy VR

    That’s one of the worst subsidiary names I’ve ever seen, unless they deliberately made it easily mistakable for a shower of faeces for the sake of being memorable…

    • GunnyNinja

      I had to look at it three times to make sure it didn’t say that.

  • Well, if it keeps delaying, risks coming out that it is already obsolete

    • alxslr

      For that price… It already is

  • Cl

    They are too late to the party imo. I think most people interested in this already got a beyond. Can’t wait to try mine out when I get back from my business trip

  • xyzs

    Just the fact that despite many many people kept telling them the company name is horrible (and the product name is terrible too), and they never bothered changing it, is saying a lot. The marketing team is totally worthless.

    Also, I remember the first Panasonic prototypes were looking sharp a few years ago, but what the heck is that final design. It’s looking like a DIY kit, it looks terrible… the minimalist design advantage is gone, the steam punk look is gone, the interest is gone.

    I think they should just cancel the launch to not waste any more money because that will not sell. Just being honest

    • Guest

      They had the best prototype headset in back in the 1980’s that’s superior to any headset designs today. They should do a remix of that and eliminate VR sickness for good…

      • Andrey

        Can you please provide any additional information on this (name of the device, links to articles, etc.)? Genuinely interested to read about it/see some pictures of it. I tried to google “Panasonic vr headset prototype” (with and without 1980), but the only thing I found is their pretty recent prototype of “HDR Capable UHD VR Eyeglasses” from 2020. I am expecially interested how exactly their design was that different that it could “eliminate” VR sickness. Thank you!

        • guest

          Was at SIGGRAPH. Some flight sims still use the design but it could be done much cheaper than most of the consumer headsets today.

  • Zantetsu

    Doesn’t even look that “slim and light”. Looks like what I’d expect any other headset to look like with the outer shell removed and turned into a can for each eye.

  • Naruto Uzumaki

    The funniest thing is the ceo said 1 year ago its coming in like february or march or something like can t remember exactly that and you tuber mrtv joked while talking with ceo: 2024 and ceo said no 2023

  • Burt Reynolds

    This may be my favorite company name.

  • xyzs

    Who ?

  • Stealth Ico

    ok not going to lie this was funny

    at least this is a real product, even if they’re dosing heavy copium about serious sales in the US market after the Bigscreen Beyond which is arguably better

  • vivio vrvl

    not