Bigscreen has officially started shipping its long-awaited Beyond 2 VR headsets to customers, hitting the updated June timeline after a brief delay. Both Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e were announced in late March, with initial shipping planned for April and May. However, a design flaw in one of the printed circuit boards pushed the timeline to June. Last week, that promise was fulfilled as the first units began arriving at customers’ doorsteps.
Shipping Rollout Timeline
Bigscreen says it plans to ship all Beyond 2 preorders over the next seven weeks, and it expects this wave to surpass the entire first-year volume of Beyond 1 units. The shipping is being prioritized as follows:
- Beyond 1 customers who ordered shortly before Beyond 2’s announcement are first in line. Though the company quietly stopped selling Beyond 1 before announcing the new model, it committed to upgrading these buyers to Beyond 2. Their orders should be completed by July 25.
- March preorders — customers who placed their orders when Beyond 2 was launched — are also expected to receive their headsets by July 25.
- Upgrade orders from Beyond 1 to Beyond 2 are slightly behind schedule and should begin shipping by late July, with all units shipped by early August.
- For regular orders placed after April 2 (with estimated July delivery), shipping is expected to begin on July 14, wrapping up by August 15.
- Orders placed after May 7, including new purchases, are slated to ship by the end of August.
Halo Mount Accessory Delayed
Bigscreen also provided an update on its optional Halo Mount accessory. Originally scheduled to ship in September, it has now been delayed, with many orders expected to slip into October due to manufacturing issues.
This delay affects buyers who opted for the Halo Mount instead of a custom-fit face pad. To avoid waiting until October for their headset, Bigscreen is advising these customers to switch to the custom-fit face pad for an earlier August delivery. The Halo Mount will then be shipped separately when available.
What Makes Beyond 2 Special?
The Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e are PC-tethered VR headsets that utilize SteamVR Tracking, requiring users to have a powerful gaming PC and base stations from Valve or HTC. Controllers like the Valve Index or other input setups are also needed, as the headset does not include them.
In terms of improvements, Beyond 2 offers wider, clearer lenses and independent IPD adjustment — all while being 20 grams lighter than the original Beyond. The Beyond 2e version takes things further by adding eye tracking, using ultra-light sensors that weigh just over 1 gram.
While the original Bigscreen Beyond accounts for 0.55% of SteamVR users after two years, the early demand and sales momentum of Beyond 2 suggest it could surpass its predecessor by the end of the year.
With shipping now underway, all eyes are on how quickly Beyond 2 can grow its footprint in the competitive VR market.
