TECNO's Pocket Go Windows AR system set wants to be a gaming PC you can wear (Update)

Update: September 12, 2024 (7:44 AM ET): TECNO has confirmed a couple of the details surrounding the Pocket Go AR Pocket Vision we were hoping to get. The headset will support content at up to 60Hz, and while the company tells us it can handle even 4K input, that doesn’t sound like we’re talking about the resolution of the actual MicroOLED panel. As for pricing, expect to pay €1,199 for the complete package, but with a discount during Black Friday. It will initially launch on Kickstarter in late September at a special price of $899, with a later increase once the official Kickstarter campaign ends. The Pocket Vision glasses will also go on sale separately, without the full bundle, but TECNO has yet to confirm pricing.

Original article: September 6, 2024 (4:30 AM ET):IFA may have gotten its start as a trade show for the radio industry, but in the decades since its inception the expo has grown to feature just about every kind of commercial tech we care about, from smartphones and computers, to smart home gear and wearables. That kind of flexibility means we often get to check out stuff that’s not quite like anything we’ve seen before, and that’s pretty much what’s going on with TECNO’s Pocket Go Windows AR gaming set.

You’ve already got plenty of solid options for self-contained VR headsets, but the Pocket Go from TECNO is something a bit different. The package combines a game controller containing the guts of a Windows PC with AR glasses for gaming on the go.

The Pocket Windows Handheld runs an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS with 8 cores and 16 threads operating at up to 5.1GHz and features Radeon 780M graphics. It’s powered by a removeable 50Wh battery, and features lots of on-board cooling. Hall effect joysticks and triggers are supposed to offer the sort of precision control gamers demand, and some beefy haptics are intended to keep you feeling immersed.

On the glasses end, the Pocket Go AR Pocket Vision uses a six-axis gyroscope for tracking that’s further enhanced with AI processing (this is 2024, after all). The headset uses a 0.71-inch MicroOLED screen that’s supposed to give users the illusion of a 215-inch screen at six feet away. It’s got an adjustable diopter for glasses wearers, but we’re most curious about the resolution and refresh rate — we’ve got feelers out to TECNO hoping to confirm both.

Pricing is another big open-ended question we’d like to see addressed, but if everything lines up here, the package has the potential to sound pretty fun. Can you see yourself kicking back on a flight wearing the Pocket Go system? Maybe making your daily commute a little more bearable?