Sony brought a new XR headset to CES 2025, but it’s not the PSVR 3. Instead, the “XYN Headset” is a concept geared towards spatial content creation, and I had the chance to check it out myself.
XYN as a whole is a new division for Sony dedicated to spatial capture and rendering solutions, primarily targeting creatives. On the hardware front, the headset packs 4K OLED microdisplays to establish impressive experiences for 3D modeling. It can take actual objects that are captured with 3D software in the real-world and turn them into props for designing virtual environments.
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Now, I’m no expert in 3D rendering or 3D production, but the prototype interface was simple enough to navigate. Using a small controller meant to be held like a pencil, I was presented with a collection of giant purple crystals in different shapes and sizes to decorate a scene straight out of a sci-fi flick. I could pick up the crystals, resize them, rotate them and move them around the environment as I pleased.
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As I mentioned, crystals like these can be real-world objects — but how do they become digitized 3D objects, you ask? XYN also has an app concept that’s perhaps more relevant to a larger audience of creators. It assists in 2D photo capture of objects or spaces, directing you to take enough photos or cover the subject from enough angles to be rendered in 3D. The prototype version I saw basically looked like a heat map, showing me the specific parts of a china bowl that I didn’t yet have enough data on. The process kind of reminded me of taking biometric Face ID or fingerprint scan.
Interest in spatial content is certainly growing, with Apple flexing spatial photo and video-capturing on iPhone for use on Apple Vision Pro. Although Sony’s XYN headset is very much still a concept, if it could undercut the Vision Pro in terms of price, this could be a game-changer for budding 3D creators. I expect we’ll see more efforts from XYN now that it’s established as its own brand within Sony, but for a debut, it successfully left a strong impression.
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