China-based PC VR headset creator Pimax has issued a statement addressing the recent impact of the US trade war on its business, particularly with regard to crystal super VR headsets. It will be a bit expensive for US-based customers, but Pimax’s recent subscription-based payment structure appears to offset much of the cost.
Unveiled in April 2024, Crystal Super is the company’s next flagship PC VR headset, offering a Base 57 PPD version with a QLED panel featuring a field of view (FOV) resolution of 3,840 x 3,840 pixels per vision and 120 degree field of view (FOV) resolution. Delivery is expected to begin soon, but it is still available only for pre-orders.
At the time of this writing, the US has imposed a 145% tariff on all products manufactured in China. This is bad news from around the world for XR headset creators, as China is the largest manufacturing hub in the segment. And Shanghai-based Pimax appears to be the first bunch to announce price changes accordingly.
Pimax has released a blog post explaining what’s going on with US-based customers in relation to the new tariffs. And it’s not as bad as you think.
The company says there are all orders for Crystal Super placed by February 4, 2025 do not have Although we include additional customs fees, we could face a delay of approximately 20 days due to mass shipments to US-based warehouses.
Orders from February 4th to April 10th Intention However, include a $75 “local extra charge.” Pimax says it will partially offset increased shipping and logistics costs.
Additionally, starting April 10th, all new US orders will be charged an additional $95 fee, with shipping expected to begin in June. Pimax says it is establishing a factory in Delaware to process the final assembly.
That said, the overall price of Crystal Super has not actually changed. Pimax has updated its price structure, but it’s not too easy following the deployment of subscription-based software pricing, but it actually helps offset tariff-related costs.
The base price for Pimax Crystal Super is now It’s been lowered Up to $799, you’ll receive the remaining $885 on Pimax Play with Prime.
For everyone else in the world, it is essentially a nominal change. Previously, Crystal Super was on sale for $999, while the remaining Prime subscription was $696. Now you can see that your local pricing has been updated and reflects a lower upfront cost.
In particular, the company emphasizes that it still has a 14-day probationary period in place. For users outside the US, this could make the crystal slightly more attractive than before. This is a little more appealing than before, as it can be sent back before the probationary period ends and refunded if you need Prime to continue using it.
That said, Pimax is in a unique position to recalibrate costs by taking advantage of its expensive price, but now Very A useful subscription model. The same cannot be said about platform holders like Meta, which have already subsidized hardware by striving to make software more attractive.
Meta has not announced a price hike, but the company has actually increased the price of its headsets in the past. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company temporarily raised the price of Quest 2 from $300 to $400 in 2022.
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Check it out again soon as we closely track the impact of the US-China trade war tariffs on XR hardware.
