As Meta upped the ante with the $1,500 Meta Quest Pro, its ultra-popular high-end version meta quest 2 More manufacturers are introducing high-end VR headsets. HTC is now in the game with the HTC Vive XR Elite. This is a new standalone VR headset, vibe flow It’s a headset, but with added support for those who want vision correction and a mixed-reality mode that might justify the $1,099 price tag.
At CES 2023, I got to spend some time playing around with HTC’s upcoming headset and the impressive tech behind it.
• product: HTC Vive XR Elite
• release date: Accepting reservations at HTC’s website Shipment is scheduled for the end of February.
• price: $1,099
• Why it’s worth noting: The HTC Vive XR Elite perfectly blends stylish aesthetics and functionality, making it suitable for a wide range of wearers. Software availability is to be determined, but the Vive XR Elite features a range of adjustments that allow eyeglass wearers to experience the headset with or without glasses. This is especially true if the headset has mixed reality and VR capabilities.
With a design that looks like an extension of the Vive Flow’s sunglasses-esque build that requires a phone to fully operate, the HTC Vive XR Elite packs a lot at a mere 625g weight. Slightly heavier than the Quest Pro, the Elite’s features are better than Meta’s premium headset. The HTC Vive XR Elite features the Snapdragon XR 2 chipset with 12GB RAM and 120GB storage. On the other hand, VR headsets also have removable batteries with hot-swap capability so that users can continue using them. The Vive XR Elite’s battery life lasts up to 2 hours, with a 30W fast charge charging about half the battery in about 30 minutes.
The headset has an IPD (interpupillary distance) slider that allows you to customize the headset to fit your eyes, allowing you to focus on your content more than the diopter adjustment alone can give you. User The user who wears her glasses can take them off thanks to the adjustable lenses. Phoropter You may be familiar with the optometrist’s office. There is also a removable magnetic fabric face gasket for easy cleaning. When worn on your head, the Vive XR Elite has a wide 110-degree field of view, with 4K resolution and his smooth 90Hz refresh rate.
HTC wants developers to take advantage of the Vive XR Elite for mixed reality (MR) as well as VR content. This is made possible by a full-color RGB pass-through camera and hand tracking. The headset also features four wide-field cameras, 6 degrees of freedom spatial accuracy, and a depth sensor. Controller inputs are similar to the Vive Focus 3 with 6 degrees of freedom, 3 face buttons, analog sticks and trigger buttons. Other attachments are expected at launch, including a face tracking module.
HTC has announced 100 new VR and MR content for the Vive XR Elite. No date has been set yet, but the company says it should be available “within the release window,” so it could be around the time the headset launches later in the first quarter of 2023. Yes, Hubris, Maestro: The Masterclass, Unplugged: Air Guitar and Vive XR Elite are compatible with PC VR over USB-C or wirelessly over Wi-Fi 6E. Similar to HTC Vive Flow, users can connect the headset to their Android phone and enjoy the content from there.
HTC wants its own metaverse. Vive RSE The Vive XR Elite blurs the lines between gaming, entertainment and productivity. Previously, ViveRSE is a two-floor social space where users can launch games, experience interactive paintings, hang out with friends in VR, and take advantage of virtual desktop-like setups.
It’s cheaper than the Meta Quest Pro, but the Vive XR Elite doesn’t feel that way. HTC’s Vive headsets have had impressive designs so far, and the XR Elite looks like the perfect combination of the Vive Flow and Vive Focus 3. As someone who wears glasses, being able to flip through the adjustable lens dials and see sharp image quality without glasses felt like a real advancement in technology. .
Compared to the Meta Quest Pro, the Vive XR Elite’s passthrough feature was also a little more impressive. One of the best examples of pass-through cameras is a mixed reality reaction light game similar to his HIIT workouts on FitXR. Games like Hubris have done an impressive job of showing that standalone VR rivals his PC-based VR.
It’s a bit lame at the moment, but the real potential lies in ViveRSE. ViveRSE goes beyond software hubs to give you a way to work and hang out with friends. A lot of work went into creating the avatar as well. In addition to working with Pixiv to give the avatars an anime style, virtual costumes are also created by him at ELLE Taiwan. Beyond that, it will be interesting to see how the two compare when HTC’s latest VR headset releases next month.
