Sony’s XYN XR headset is being used in very different ways at CES 2025

At CES last year, Sony Teased a prototype of an AR/VR headset Focus on “spatial content creation”. Meanwhile, Siemens announced this Working with Sony To use the same hardware, including two new consoles she had developed, for something she called “industrial transformation.” That’s a lot of buzzwords, but at CES 2025, both Siemens and Sony showed off headsets and associated software in action that helped illustrate a lot of what the companies are trying to do here.

During the Sony CES press conference It announced its brand XYN of software and hardware solutions, with the headset being a key part of the equation. XYN’s “spatial capture solution” uses mirrorless cameras to realistically scan and photograph 3D objects. With the XYN headset, you can see those objects in 3D production software for animation, video games, and other potential uses.

I had the opportunity to try out the XYN headset, as well as see some samples of 3D objects that were scanned and processed. The demo itself was a bit difficult, as are many VR demos, but basically I was placed inside an already created animated world. From there, I was able to import a geode/crystal-like object that was scanned using the spatial capture tools. I can move it around the virtual space, expand it to a huge size or shrink it to a small pebble.

The headset itself feels well-made and sturdy for a prototype – the screen flips up so you can quickly return to the real world, and the headband was very comfortable and secure. However, as usual, it is difficult to assess how you will feel after an hour or two around your head. The joystick felt a bit clumsy – its somewhat unusual shape makes it well-suited to pointing, but figuring out how to “grasp” things took me a while. I can’t say how steep the learning curve was, but at least everything was responsive and well made.

Although the demo itself was not groundbreaking, it was a good example to show the entire XYN pipeline, from capturing a 3D object to manipulating it and using it to build a virtual environment. Sony says the XYN headset and its controllers are still in the prototype stage, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out more about general availability sooner rather than later.

That’s because Siemens announced this week what appear to be the same headphones and controllers On sale nowalbeit with a completely different focus. Siemens coined the phrase “industrial transformation” last year, and I had the opportunity to learn more about what that means. It turns out that Sony originally built the headset for internal use by designers and engineers to build things in 3D space. They were already using Siemens’ software, so the two companies began working together to improve both sides of the experience — and now Siemens believes it has reached a point where it can sell headsets and software packages to enterprise customers.

Siemens highlighted its augmented reality capabilities a bit more, showing how you can install the NX Immersive Designer and use the headset as a virtual workspace – but it lets you zoom in and manipulate the 3D objects you’re designing. You can also go into VR mode and see full-sized objects and move around them using the headset’s controller. In this demo, I was able to fly around huge 3D versions of a few of the planes, and while they weren’t the most detailed things, their usefulness was clear.

I also used the second controller developed by Sony in the Siemens demo. In addition to the pointer device, I had a ring over my index finger on my left hand. I used that to navigate the virtual space. She took my hand and turned it in a specific direction, moving me forward and back or up and down. As always, it took a minute to get my bearings, but I was getting quite close to the virtual planes and “flying” to check out their details before too long.

Siemens is certainly moving forward in its quest to bring this product to end users: the XR HMD is available for pre-order now for $4,750, and the company says it will start shipping next month. So the hardware is definitely past the prototype stage – in Sony’s case, it’s probably a matter of making sure the entire XYN software and hardware pipeline works together before making it widely available.

Sony and Siemens certainly have a challenge in showing people how useful these tools can be — a four-minute demo doesn’t really do the trick, and I’m neither an engineer nor a “content creator” who would use XYN tools. But what I find most interesting about this strategy is that Sony realizes that its headphones are not a mass consumer product; Instead, they look for different places and industries where it might be beneficial. At this point, that’s probably a smart strategy, since consumer-level AR and VR are still a very niche outside of gaming. But assuming Sony’s headphone hardware is able to meet its own needs, it wouldn’t surprise me to see other companies adopt it for their own needs.