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HTC’s new Vive Focus Vision extended reality headset aims to deliver the same experiences as the Apple Vision Pro for a more affordable price.
HTC recently announced a new premium extended reality (XR) headset, called the Vive Focus Vision, which is being said to be well-suited for personal and business applications alike, with a particular focus on the gaming community.
The Vive Focus Vision, which joins the likes of the Meta Quest 3S and Apple Vision Pro, can function as a standalone mixed reality headset or be hooked up to a PC or other output device for a feed. The Focus Vision features full-color 16MP passthrough, which, along with eye tracking and infrared sensors for hand tracking, allows for a more realistic experience than the Vive XR Elite.
- Vive Focus Vision | Source: HTC Vive
The design looks similar to the Vive Focus 3, which launched in 2021. Despite the three-year gap, the Vive Focus Vision still has similar ocular features, including the combined 5K resolution, a 120-degree field of view, and a 90Hz refresh rate across both lenses, which HTC says will step up to 120Hz when the headset is connected to a PC using DisplayPort. This will arrive “later in 2024,” it was announced.
HTC is especially targeting gamers, claiming the experience matches “high-end headsets used in VR arcades.” The eye-tracking features also help with foveated rendering, focusing only on objects that you look at and blurring others while gaming. The Vive Focus also comes with motor-based interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment, so you can share the headset with multiple other people.
The Vive Focus Vision is said to feature an improved cooling system and a more ergonomic design to cushion the weight around your head. There’s a sub-battery inside the headset that keeps the Focus Vision alive for up to 20 minutes while you are swapping the actual batteries, which themselves last two hours.
HTC has already opened up pre-orders for the Vive Focus Vision. Anyone who orders it before October 17 will get a free wired streaming kit for DisplayPort, with a host of differently sized connectors and converters worth $149. The headset itself is priced at $999, a tad lower than last year’s XR Elite but still significantly more than the $500 Meta Quest 3S. The only caveat is that the headset won’t be available until later this year, but HTC does not reveal exactly when.
