Like the Oculus Quest 2, the Vive Focus 3 is independent and has the same chip.
HTC
Facebook’s standalone VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2, has no real competition if you’re looking for a simple VR device at home. But HTC’s newest Vive headset, the Focus 3, could be of great benefit to business users. It looks a lot like an upgraded and more flexible version of the Quest 2, with better graphics and expandable memory … and a significantly higher price tag.
These headsets come out five years after the Original HTC Vive promised to reinvent VR. The original Vive was intended for everyday gamers as well as businesses, but HTC has increasingly focused on VR since then independent and PC hardware.
Continue reading: Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook’s VR future: New sensors at Quest Pro, fitness and a metaverse for work
HTC presented its latest business VR headset on Tuesday at a developer-oriented ViveCon conference. In addition to the Focus 3, HTC is launching a new PC-connected Vive Pro 2 headset that has the same higher resolution and larger field of view as the Focus 3. Both headsets have a 120-degree FOV and a combined 5K resolution over both eyes (4,896 x 2,448 pixels). This is better than the HP Reverb G2 or the Oculus Quest 2. The interpupillary distance or IPD, which lies between the eyes, can be set between 57-72 mm, which is also more accommodating than the Quest 2.
Finally, the cameras on the Vive Focus 3 can perform hand tracking. But the headset has no eye tracking.
HTC
The standalone Focus 3 is the most interesting: it shares the same thing Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Chip like the Oculus Quest 2, but pushes the chip to have a higher resolution output at 90 Hz. In many ways it sounds a lot like a professional version of the Oculus Quest 2. (Facebook is also promising a pro version of the Quest for the future, which may highlight new sensors and higher performance.)
The Vive Focus 3 also has an additional USB-C port which, according to Dan O’Brien, global CEO of HTC Vive, can be used for extensions: adding additional custom accessories or sensors. O’Brien also says that the Focus 3’s XR2 chip comes with extra RAM (8GB) and a copper heat pipe and cooling fans to boost chip performance.
The Vive Focus 3 controllers have a familiar look.
HTC
A new line of controllers that come with the Focus 3 are similar to Facebook’s Oculus Touch controllers, complete with the same dual triggers, analog sticks, and buttons. The controllers are charged via USB-C, with a promised battery life of 15 hours.
Other notable differences (compared to the Quest 2) are the expandable memory via microSD in the stand-alone Focus 3 and a detachable rear battery in the head strap, so that additional batteries can be charged and exchanged. The headset is made of a magnesium alloy and the face piece of the Focus 3 locks in place magnetically and is designed so that it can be easily replaced and cleaned. The headset lasts about two hours on one charge, but unlike the Oculus Quest 2, it has a quick charge function via USB-C, which is 50% charged in 30 minutes.
The Vive Focus 3 and Vive Pro 2 can be ordered immediately and will be delivered on June 24th and 4th. They’re definitely not cheap, even if they are business-centric: the Focus 3 is $ 1,300 and the Pro 2 with controller and external tracking base stations is $ 1,400.
Keep your brain entertained with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.
However, a notable absence on both headsets is eye tracking. HTC used Tobii eye tracking technology in a step-up version of the previous Vive Pro headset, but omitted this function this time. According to O’Brien, the decision was partly the price, partly what they see as a business interest in the feature. Eye tracking could be added by someone else, but HTC has yet to come up with native privacy solutions for it in these new headsets. Plus, there’s currently no cellular or 5G option, but that’s a work in progress, according to O’Brien. And while these headsets can track hands with the external four cameras in the headsets, this feature will not be available at startup.
HTC re-entered the consumer VR headset space a few years ago with the modular Vive Cosmos, but it doesn’t look like the Cosmos has a great future as a product anymore. O’Brien says the Cosmos continues to sell, but that “it hasn’t got all of the performance metrics we really wanted to get,” and that HTC may reconsider other ideas for the brand in the future.
Comments are closed.