Varjo Base 4.13 introduces full support for the refreshed XR‑4 Series, brings a brand-new Night Mode for mixed reality, advances hand tracking beyond beta, and offers a host of enhancements to video pass-through, tracking, and usability.
We’ve also added a fresh dark theme option for the Varjo Base user interface, reflecting the updated Thunder Grey colour of the newly refreshed XR-4 Series. All changes in this update are designed to improve immersion, performance, and workflow for professionals across training, simulation, design and research.
Key highlights of the update include:
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Full support for the refreshed XR-4 Series (2026) with updated firmware, product-specific settings and visuals
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Night Mode for simulating night-like lighting conditions in mixed reality environments
- Hand tracking moves out of beta with enhanced stability and gesture detection, Intel iGPU support, and full OpenXR compatibility
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Dark theme UI option for Varjo Base
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Video passthrough improvements: more vivid colors, better contrast, reduced noise, plus vertical repositioning of the passthrough FOV with XR-4 Focal Edition
- Expanded inside-out tracking feature detection across full camera field-of-view enabling a more reliable and robust tracking experience
- New Command-line (Beta) commands for headset status and configuration
- General bug fixes and stability improvements
Together, these updates make Varjo Base more customizable, more adaptable, and more efficient, especially in large-scale or collaborative environments, enabling smooth workflows where a user can start a session instantly from the point of putting on a headset.
For a complete breakdown of all changes and fixes, check out the full release notes.
Full support for the refreshed XR-4 Series
With the rollout of the XR-4 Series (2026 edition), Varjo Base 4.13 offers out-of-the-box compatibility. Updated firmware will install automatically the next time your XR-4 Series headset connects, and you’ll see product-specific settings and updated imagery tailored to the new hardware.
Night Mode. for REALISTIC NIGHT TIME SIMULATION IN TRAINING
Our new Night Mode gives you the power to make areas of passthrough (real world elements such as cockpit controls) appear as if they are being viewed at night, even if the actual training room is still well lit.
This ensures passthrough remains at maximum fidelity without introducing visual flaws like added noise, providing a true-to-life experience for training in nighttime operations.
Hand Tracking. now official, no longer Beta
We’re marking hand tracking in Varjo Base as officially released. In version 4.13 we’ve improved tracking stability, recovery from tracking-lost situations, and continuous hand tracking performance. Gesture detection is more reliable, and now you can also run hand tracking on an integrated Intel iGPU, reducing CPU load and improving overall system performance.
Hand tracking is also now fully supported through OpenXR, enabling smoother integration and compatibility across XR enabled applications.
Enhanced video passthrough for greater realism
This update brings significant improvements to the Varjo XR-4 Series' industry leading video passthrough, delivering richer colors, higher contrast, and reduced noise in darker areas for a more life-like mixed reality view. In addition, with the new vertical repositioning option (available for XR-4 Series 2026 at 90 Hz), you can now adjust the video crop to better see elements lower in your field of view, such as cockpit controls, instruments, or hand movements, enhancing immersion and usability especially in cockpit based simulations.
Command-Line Interface (CLI) (Beta). new additions
The CLI (Beta) in Varjo Base 4.13 adds new commands to check the connected headset’s status (connection, controller, camera stream) and fine-tune settings like Night Mode, Hand Occlusion, Vertical Repositioning and Appearance, all from the command line. Ideal for automation and integration in training setups with large deployments.
NEW DARK THEME FOR VARJO BASE
Varjo Base now features a sleek new dark theme, giving the application a modern look that complements the refreshed XR-4 Series. The darker interface enhances visual comfort in low-light environments, adds a refined professional aesthetic to your workflow, and perfectly matches the new Thunder Grey color of the latest headset iterations.
GET INVOLVED
At Varjo, we’re committed to evolving Varjo Base based on feedback from professionals like you. With each release, we aim to increase the value of your headset by refining performance, unlocking new tools, and future-proofing your workflows.
As always, we encourage you to test the new features and share your insights with us. Your feedback helps shape what comes next.
To explore the full details of the release, check out the complete release notes.
