While the days of HTC’s dominance in the smartphone industry are long-gone, that hasn’t stopped the company from shifting its focus into developing other consumer electronics goods. In fact, HTC’s efforts in the VR and MR hardware space haven’t gone unnoticed, and the company recently expanded its offerings with the new HTC Vive Focus Vision.
As you can probably tell from its name, the Vive Focus Vision is a VR headset that succeeds the older Vive Focus 3 model, and it packs some worthwhile features that set it apart from previous HTC offerings. Priced at $999, the headset is designed with an extra focus on giving users immersive gaming experiences, in addition to several other bits and bobs of functionality. It can even be used on its own or part of a bigger setup with a PC.
In terms of specs, the Vive Focus Vision comes with a 2448 x 2448 resolution display per-eye, as well as a 120-degree field of view. Inside the device is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 chip, which is specially-designed for such uses. Also built into the headset are a pair of 16MP cameras that support colour passthrough, with lenses that can adjust automatically depending on a user’s eyes. Other hardware specifications include DisplayPort support, 128GB of internal storage (expandable with a micro SD card), 12GB of RAM, and compatibility with Focus 3 accessories.
Powering the headset is a battery that HTC claims can last for up to two hours, as well as a built-in cooling system with a fan. Additional improvements have also been made to the design, which has better reinforcement this time around to withstand more usage. As we mentioned earlier, HTC wants to win over the gaming crowd with the new headset. Shen Ye, Global Head of Product at HTC VIVE comments:
“VIVE Focus Vision gives you the best of both worlds, with outstanding standalone capabilities, and DisplayPort mode support for visually lossless PCVR experiences… Now, PC gamers can bring the same high-end headsets used in VR arcades into their homes. We’re taking everything to the next level with built-in eye-tracking, stereo color passthrough cameras for depth-correct Mixed Reality, and even an infra-red sensor for enhanced hand tracking in low-light conditions.”
With its thousand-dollar price tag, it’s a bit more expensive than competing devices like the Meta Quest, although at the same time it is a lot more affordable compared to “premium” headsets like the Apple Vision Pro. Pre-orders for the HTC Vive Focus Vision are open now, and buyers who order one before 17th October will get several free accessories which include a 5-meter USB-C cable with DP 1.4 alternate mode support, multiple adapters for PC VR streaming, and a choice of three game bundles (although no titles have been specified at the moment).
