Pimax published a comparison sheet on September 16. Dream Air and Dream Air SE versus Steam Frame. Cable versus radio. Micro-OLED versus LCD. That part is a real product split.
Then, when it came to weight, they put under 170 g (Dream Air) next to 440 g (Steam Frame) and let the reader seek the fine print to fully understand the context of the comparison. While they did list “headset only” it still begs the question, why list it like this for any other reason than to mislead the reader?
Read the label. They called it “Weight basis.”
- Steam Frame: 440 g core + head strap
- Dream Air: under 170 g headset only
- Dream Air SE: under 140 g headset only
That is not two headsets on the same scale. That is a visor next to a worn kit.
- Frame’s number includes the strap, the rear battery, and the speakers built into that strap
- Pimax’s number does not
They added a footnote. The figures use different measurement bases and are not a comfort ranking. Is this a deliberate attempt to mislead their customers? Why else would you compare these weight figures?
We think that is the move.
- Print the mismatch in the big type
- Park the explanation in the asterisk
- Anyone shopping on a phone walks away thinking Air is a third the weight of Frame
- Anyone who reads the basis row knows they were never weighing the same pile of parts
Valve already published the other split.
- Frame visor: about 185 g
- Frame assembled: 440 g
Air is still lighter on those worn measurements. It is not 270 grams lighter. That gap only exists if you take the strap off one headset and leave it on the other.
The rest of the sheet is cleaner, because those rows actually compare the same thing.
Displays, as Pimax lists them
- Steam Frame: 2160×2160 LCD per eye, 72–144Hz
- Dream Air: Sony Micro-OLED, 3840×3552 per eye, 110° HFOV
- Dream Air SE: Micro-OLED, 2560×2560 per eye, 105° HFOV
PCVR route
- Steam Frame: wireless streaming-first
- Dream Air / SE: Split DisplayPort
Tracking
- Pimax: SLAM plus controllers, or Lighthouse headset-only
- Frame: Valve’s inside-out kit
US prices Pimax snapped September 15
- Steam Frame: $1,059 (256GB) / $1,299 (1TB)
- Dream Air: $1,999 Lighthouse / $2,299 SLAM
- Dream Air SE: $899 Lighthouse / $1,199 SLAM
A comparison is supposed to put the same parts on the scale. Pimax put a footnote there instead. Thoughts?
