The Porsche of VR

—“It’s something else.”

What’s been the biggest turnoff in VR for you; its weight, motion sickness, or the content even?

Unlike other bulky headsets that press into your cheeks and shift mid-game, the Big Screen Beyond 2, weighing less than your phone, finally promises a realistically enjoyable VR experience.

It feels more like strapping on sunglasses than wearing a helmet.

And don’t let the weight fool you, it packs top-tier performance into just 107 grams.

Just recently released, this second generation fills the few gaps of its already impressive predecessor.

Where most premium headsets weigh 500 grams or even a kilo, the Beyond 2 weighs barely over 100 grams.

Custom-fit cushioning, mapped from a facial scan (via phone), combined with the featherlight frame keeps you immersed without constant readjustments or discomfort.

And for onlookers, the design, available in black, clear, and nuclear orange, is among the most striking in the VR world.

Like the original, the Beyond 2 features over 13 million pixels spanning across your eyes, rivaling the resolution of a 5k monitor strapped across your face.

And with a dual micro-OLED display, blacks appear blacker, and color shines ever more vibrantly compared to standard LCD-based headsets, creating a cinematic and immersive VR experience.

The refresh rate, 75Hz native, 90Hz with upscaling, may fall short of other competitors in this price range, but it’s still smooth enough for most users and fast enough to help reduce motion sickness.

While the core specs remain unchanged from the original, they only shine through lenses, and the better the lenses, the more they perform.

It’s the improved optics and the long-requested addition of an adjustable IPD for a multi-user experience and better fit that truly elevate the experience to what the specs deserve. (Enjoying this? Don’t miss next week, subscribe here.)

Thanks to a “radical new pancake optics design,” the Beyond 2 offers a wider field of view, reduced lens glare, and a larger sweet spot.

The new 116-degree FOV is among the best on the market, a sharp jump from the 102-degree FOV of the original Beyond just two years ago.

This expansive view pulls your peripheral vision into the scene, reducing the familiar “binoculars” effect and making the virtual world feel broader and more natural.

As Optimum puts it, “. . . every other brand in VR has a lot of catching up to do.” 

The Beyond 2 may lack built-in audio or its own operating system like the Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro, but it certainly delivers pure performance, all crammed into just 107 grams.

It’s created an entirely new category of VR altogether: elegant, featherlight, and laser-focused on immersion. This kind of design is still yet to be seen in the mainstream, and the Beyond 2, without a doubt, is taking the first step.

Personally, two things always kept me from fully embracing VR: the uncomfortable weight and the lackluster games.

But the Beyond 2 is different. Paired with SteamVR’s deep and promising library, it’s everything I hoped VR could feel like.

The only downside? A $1,019 price tag. But for what it offers, and where it points the future, Beyond 2 just might be worth it.

For more information on specs, visit the Big Screen Beyond 2 website.

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