Sharp Announces Xrostella VR1, a Lightweight PC VR Headset with Smartphone Compatibility
Today, November 4, 2025, Sharp unveiled the Xrostella VR1, a new virtual reality headset designed for both PC VR and compatibility with select Sharp smartphones.
The Xrostella VR1 features dual 2160×2160 LCD panels with pancake lenses offering a 90-degree field of view, alongside two grayscale fisheye tracking cameras and a single color passthrough camera. Weighing in at just 198 grams, the headset is among the lightest currently announced, rivaling the Bigscreen Beyond and Shiftall MeganeX. It supports interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment from 58mm to 71mm and diopter adjustment from 0D to -9.0D. Included controllers resemble those of the Meta Quest 2, but incorporate larger tracking rings and hand grip straps.
Beyond PC VR functionality, the Xrostella VR1 is designed to work with Sharp’s AQUOS sense10 smartphone, projecting the phone’s display onto a virtual screen; the company plans to expand compatibility to additional smartphone models. This hybrid approach could broaden access to VR experiences for mobile users. The headset’s limited tracking capabilities—relying on only two tracking cameras—may present challenges for some applications, as noted in analyses of earlier VR systems like those used in Windows MR. For more information on VR technology, see Road to VR.
Sharp will launch a crowdfunding campaign for the Xrostella VR1 later this month on the Japanese platform GREENFUNDING to gauge consumer interest before a potential wider release. This move is unusual for a company of Sharp’s size, but may indicate a cautious approach to entering the competitive VR market, which is currently dominated by companies like Meta and HTC. You can learn more about the current state of the VR market size worldwide on Statista.
Sharp officials stated they will monitor the crowdfunding campaign closely to determine next steps for the Xrostella VR1.
Sharp is crowdfunding a strange lightweight tethered PC VR headset that can also connect to one of its smartphones.
Called Xrostella VR1, the headset features dual 2160×2160 LCD panels paired with “light-efficient” pancake lenses with a 90-degree field of view, two grayscale fisheye tracking cameras, and one color passthrough camera. The included controllers, meanwhile, seem to resemble Quest 2’s but with more hefty tracking rings and included hand grip straps.
Sharp says the headset’s “body” weighs just 198 grams, making it lighter than any shipping headsets except Bigscreen Beyond 2 and Shiftall MeganeX.
IPD adjustment between 58mm and 71mm is supported, as well as diopter adjustment from 0D to -9.0D.
While Xrostella VR1 is primarily designed for PC VR, Sharp says it will also be compatible with its AQUOS sense10 smartphone, projecting the phone’s display onto a fixed virtual screen. More smartphone models will be “expanded sequentially”, the company claims.
Sharp Is Making A Hybrid Haptic VR Glove & Controller
Sharp is making a hybrid VR glove and controller, combining tactile feedback with buttons and a thumbstick, though hasn’t yet decided whether to sell it.
It’s unclear exactly who Xrostella VR1 is supposed to be for.
We haven’t seen a major VR headset use only two tracking cameras since the Windows MR headsets that came before HP Reverb G2, as this approach severely limits the tracking range of the controllers. It’s also rare for a headset to only use one camera for passthrough, as this results in a complete lack of correct depth and scale.
Further, the lack of eye tracking and hand tracking means the headset probably won’t appeal to many VRChat users, while the narrow field of view and mediocre resolution won’t appeal to simulator fans.
Of course, it’s somewhat premature to assess the product proposition here without a price. If available at a low cost, Sharp could be aiming to offer a kind of “ultralight headset for the rest of us”. But that seems unlikely.
Sharp says it will crowdfund Xrostella VR1 on the Japanese platform GREENFUNDING later this month. It’s unclear why a company of Sharp’s size is crowdfunding rather than just launching, but it may be a mechanism to gauge interest before taking the risk.
