Sony's PSVR 2 lens upgrade explained: what PS5 gamers can look forward to

Sony has revealed more details about the PSVR 2's hardware, and it includes new lens tech

PSVR
(Image credit: Sony / Vectorpouch)

There's some good news for prospective Sony PSVR 2 buyers: Sony has provided some more information on the incoming VR headset's specifications, and they're very impressive.

The official website confirms that the PlayStation VR 2 headset will have twin 2,000 x 2,040 OLED displays capable of delivering 4K HDR at up to 120fps. That's four times the resolution of the original PSVR, and there's a fairly wide 110-degree field of view.

One of the most interesting bits of information relates to the lens: according to Sony it's a Fresnel lens. That's quite a big deal, because it affects how well you'll see the PSVR 2 display.

From a French lighthouse to your face

The Fresnel lens was developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for use in lighthouses, and while the ones in the PSVR 2 are a lot smaller than those the basic principle is the same: they enable lenses to be made much thinner thanks to their ridged designs.

The original PSVR is one of the few VR headsets that doesn't use them, and having them in the PSVR 2 with two separate displays will make it easier to get the display picture perfect without introducing issues such as the display edge becoming prominent.

By turning the adjustment dial you'll be able to move the lenses to the right spot for your eyes, delivering the best possible image. I've experienced this in the Oculus Quest 2 and it works really well: it's a vast improvement over the PSVR and likely to appear in the Apple AR/VR headset too.

Increasingly it is becoming obvious to us here at T3.com that the PlayStation VR 2 is going to be an order of magnitude leap in virtual reality immersion, and right now all we want to do is lodge our pre-order.

You can find out (a bit) more about the PSVR 2 specs on Sony's official page.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).