Virtual reality specialist Pimax has unveiled a new wireless headset, redesigned controllers, and a surprisingly powerful mini PC, apparently deciding Valve’s latest hardware ideas deserve healthy competition.
According to PC Gamer, the Chinese company announced its Crystal Pro headset and Spation gaming PC during its Frontier 2026 event on 6 October. Both products draw inspiration from Valve’s Steam ecosystem, though Pimax seems determined to offer more expensive hardware with specs that will make enthusiasts drool and their bank managers nervous.
The Crystal Pro is a fully wireless PC VR headset with two QLED displays, each at 2880 x 2880 pixels. It supports refresh rates up to 120Hz, Mini-LED backlighting with 576 local dimming zones per eye, and a claimed brightness of 200 nits.
Pimax includes a Wi-Fi 6E adapter for wireless streaming but offers an optional 60G AirLink system using a 60GHz 2×2 MIMO connection. The company claims the technology delivers up to 6Gbps of bandwidth with less than two milliseconds of additional latency, although independent testing will be needed to establish how well those figures translate into actual gameplay.
The headset uses what Pimax calls Native Foveated Streaming, which tracks the user’s eyes and transmits the area being viewed at native resolution. Peripheral areas receive progressively less detail, reducing bandwidth requirements without visibly degrading the image, at least in theory. Valve uses a similar approach with its Steam Frame headset.
Pimax has equipped the Crystal Pro with 120Hz eye-tracking technology, aspheric glass lenses and its SLAM 2.0 inside-out tracking system. Four cameras work alongside motion sensors and infrared illumination to track movement, while interchangeable faceplates provide optional Lighthouse tracking or mixed-reality passthrough with LiDAR.
The company has redesigned its VR controllers, removing the traditional tracking rings and introducing TMR joysticks, grip sensors and linear haptic motors. Each controller claims up to 40 hours of battery life, and the pair can connect via a central connector to form a conventional gamepad. Apparently, even controllers now have to perform two jobs to justify their existence.
Pimax’s other announcement is the Spation, a compact gaming PC that looks suspiciously like somebody stretched Valve’s Steam Machine vertically. Unlike Valve’s modestly sized gaming box, the Spation uses desktop-class components, including an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor and a choice of AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT or Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics.
The standard configuration includes 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 1TB NVMe SSD and a 1000W SFX power supply. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 2.5Gb Ethernet, DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, USB4 and six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, making it considerably better equipped than many conventional compact gaming systems.
Pimax says the Spation will support both Windows and SteamOS, with a Linux version of its Pimax Play software planned. The company plans to offer a barebones configuration that lets customers install their own graphics card, memory, and storage, although SteamOS compatibility with Nvidia graphics remains a complication.
The Crystal Pro will cost $1,399, rising to $1,899 with the 60G AirLink wireless system. The wireless kit can be purchased separately for $599, making this an expensive proposition for anyone hoping to escape the traditional VR headset cable. Pimax expects headset shipments to begin in 2027, following demonstrations during the final quarter of 2026.
Pimax has yet to announce pricing and release dates for the Spation and ringless controllers. Pimax has revealed the Spation’s proposed hardware configuration but has provided no independent performance results, leaving prospective buyers to wonder how effectively its compact enclosure will cool a desktop gaming processor and high-end graphics card.
