Patent filings alone don’t guarantee new products, but there are times when a patent is so specific that something tangible is likely to follow. A newly discovered Sony wireless VR patent strongly suggests that big changes are coming to the next-generation PlayStation VR headset — the latest indication that the company is preparing to push “tethered” headset technology forward, rather than trying a different formula.
From a big-picture perspective, the patent is about removing the wire that connects the VR headset to a PlayStation — a seemingly simple change that would enable VR users to move around a room without tripping over the headset’s cabling. Sony released the original PSVR with a fairly thick cable, but Microsoft ultimately passed on an Xbox One VR headset, citing cabling as a key reason for waiting.
