It’s been about three years since we met the HTC Vive Pro and it shook up the VR world. Now, we’re looking at the HTC Vive Pro 2, the brand’s latest entry in the PC VR market. And once again, the company is showing favor to the enterprise market.

While there's nothing really stopping gamers from using the Vive Pro 2, the price point will undoubtedly deter many. At $799 for just the headset or $1,399 for the complete package, you'd have to be a dedicated VR gamer with deep pockets to opt for this solution over other options.

The Vive Pro 2 serves a specific purpose, and sadly, that purpose is not to be the best VR headset for gaming. As HTC has said, the Vive Pro 2 is best suited for business customers. But even then, this headset serves a niche within the enterprise niche. Tracking accuracy and the ability to bring in accessories are often far more important than visual quality, and any headset with SteamVR tracking will give you accurate tracking.

That said, the Vive Pro 2 does deliver a premium VR experience overall. The upgrade to displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate and nearly the highest resolution available is nice if you can overlook the price to get there. There are instances where resolution takes top priority, such as in product design where minute details matter or simulations that involve interacting with complex equipment, such as an airplane cockpit. In those instances, the Vive Pro 2 is a much better option than a standard Vive Pro.

HTC Vive Pro 2 Specs

Meet the HTC Vive Pro 2

The Vive Pro 2 isn’t redesigned from the ground up.  HTC put most of its recent design efforts into the upcoming Focus 3, a standalone headset (doesn’t require a connection to a system). For the Vive Pro 2, HTC reused much of the old design for the Vive Pro 2. The new headset shares the same shell as the original Vive Pro, as well as the Vive Pro Eye and Vive Pro Secure, which is designed for businesses with high security needs. The only difference is in the exterior color. You can tell you're looking at a Vive Pro 2 from the black housing that encases the visor and the contrasting blue accent around the front cameras and on the headstrap.

The Vive Pro 2 retains all the features that Vive Pro users have known since day one. The headset includes the same rigid headstrap that came with the original Vive Pro, but the rear tension dial is updated slightly. The dial has a softer clicking sound than that of the original Vive Pro. Otherwise, the dial is identical to what’s on the old headset.

The Vive Pro 2 includes built-in headphones that have multi-angle adjustment, so you can get the perfect fit for your ears. The headphones are mounted to a 360-degree swivel. The arm they attach to has a vertical adjustment, and they can flip out. That means you can pull the speakers away from your ears when you take the headset off, avoiding snagging. You’ll find the volume and microphone mute buttons on the earcups.

The Vive Pro 2 also retains the eye relief adjustment button and the IPD adjustment (more on that in the next section) dial, as well as the dual monochrome cameras on the front that enable passthrough view. Unfortunately, HTC also retained the sub-par microphone from the original Vive Pro headset. It would have been nice to see an improvement on that front.

The new headset even retains HTC's Link Box system, which gives you a single proprietary cable that carries the power, USB and DisplayPort signals to the headset. The Link Box features a Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0 port, and a 12V barrel plug for power. The new Link Box is compatible with the old Vive Pro and HTC Vive Cosmos headsets, but the Vive Pro 2 will not function with the older Link Boxes.

Cables included are a proprietary data cable from the headset to the Link Box, a Link Box cable, a USB cable, Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable and an 18w 12v power adapter. The full package also includes two 5W charge blocks, two Micro USB cables for charging the controllers.and two 30W 12V power adaptors for the base stations.

The speakers in the Vive Pro 2 produce 3D sound that help further the immersion in VR experiences. But compared to the Valve Index, HP Reverb G2 or a Pimax headset with the proprietary DMAS headphones, the Vive Pro 2 does not produce much bass.

HTC's decision to carry over the design of the original Vive Pro may seem like a lazy move, but we don't think it was a bad move. The Vive Pro has always offered good weight balance and comfort, and the Vive Pro 2 is no different. We said in our Vive Pro review that HTC set an example for comfort in an HMD with the original Pro, and while the Index and the Reverb G2 may be slightly more comfortable, the difference doesn't merit the R&D budget necessary to get closer to perfection. The Vive Pro 2 is one of the more comfortable headset options available.

Upgraded Displays

The only real upgrade that the Vive Pro 2 brings to the table is a significant step up in display resolution and a new type of lens, which allowed HTC to increase the horizontal field of view (FOV) by a slight margin.

HTC says the headset offers a 120-degree FOV, which is 10 degrees more than the HTC Vive and original Vive Pro. The company isn't wrong when it says the FOV is wider, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The new shape of the lenses in the Vive Pro 2 makes the shape of the viewport a little bit different than that of previous Vive headsets, which alters the perceived FOV.

The new lenses give you more horizontal FOV, but the lens shape negatively impacts the vertical FoV. It's not significantly trimmed down compared to the Vive Pro, but if you're used to the tall FOV that Valve's Index provides, you'll quickly notice the difference. The disparity is mainly due to Valve rotating the Index screens vertically for a taller view. HTC's displays have an even pixel count in both directions, so you don't get the perceived height advantage.

When it comes to the new lens type dubbe dual-element lenses, implementation feels more like an afterthought. The dual-element lenses have a somewhat square shape. HTC gave the lens housing a mild redesign but mostly retrofitted the new lenses into the space designed for the old Fresnel lenses.

The new lenses are slightly smaller than the old design, which enables a broader IPD range than previous Vive models. The Vive Pro 2 supports 57-70mm IPD, with fine adjustment to the decimal point.

As mentioned, the Vive Pro 2 offers eye relief adjustment like the Vive and Vive Pro, but the new lenses protrude from the inner shell. So even when you bring the lenses as close to your eyes as possible, you still get a bit of a tunnel vision effect.

Replacing the stock foam with a thin VRCover can bring the lenses closer to your eyes, resulting in a mild increase in FOV in all directions, but the depth of the lenses still gives it that tunnel feeling. Another issue with adding a thinner cushion is the new lenses don't have a nose cut-out, so people with narrow pupil spacing may find the lenses touch their nose. Plus, the edge of the housing is relatively sharp and can easily scrape your skin.

No More AMOLED

The Vive Pro 2 includes new high resolution, high refresh rate RGB LCD panels. The new screens increase the per-eye resolution from 1440 x 1600 (2880 x 1600 total) in the Vive Pro to 2448 x 2448 per eye (4896 x 2448 total) in the Vive Pro 2. The increased resolution, coupled with the RGB subpixel panel, makes the idea of screen door effect a thing of the past.

RGB LCD panels generally have the significant advantage of operating at higher frequencies, and HTC's new panels follow suit. The Vive Pro offers 90 Hz and 120 Hz modes, with the default configuration leaning towards the higher frequency to improve performance. Generally speaking, the higher the framerate, the better your VR experience gets in terms of motion to photon response and reduced susceptibility to motion sickness. The Vive Pro 2, like the Valve Index and several of Pimax's headsets, allows you to crank up the refresh rate if your best graphics card can handle it.

If your computer doesn't have the power to drive the headset at full resolution, you can still adjust the headset’s resolution at 90 Hz to match your computer's capabilities. The headset includes companion software, where you can control the panel resolution and the refresh rate.

Wireless Compatible, But Not Really

The Vive Pro 2 supports the HTC Vive Wireless Adapter. However, with the wireless accessory, you must run the Vive Pro 2 at a lower bandwidth configuration than even the lowest wired option. Removing the tether forces the headset output to 2448 x 1224 at 90 Hz. HTC's website indicates that a firmware upgrade is in the works that will unlock Balanced mode over wireless, but at the time of testing, that update has not yet materialized.

The Vive Pro 2 requires the upgraded battery pack that HTC released for the Vive Cosmos headset to run wirelessly. We were able to turn the headset on with the battery from the original Vive Wireless Kit, but it did not stay on long enough for us to run any tests. The battery dropped to three of four bars within a few minutes, and the signal promptly cut out, shutting the displays off.

Setup and Configuration of HTC Vive Pro 2

The setup process for the Vive Pro 2 is relatively simple though not as straightforward as the original Vive Pro setup. Whereas the original Vive Pro integrated directly with SteamVR and did not require additional software, the Vive Pro 2, like the Vive Cosmos, requires other software from HTC to make it function. The Vive Pro 2 software setup installs HTC's Viveport distribution platform, which you can opt-out of using, but cannot opt-out of installing.

The setup also includes the Vive Console software, which gives you access to the settings for the headset, such as resolution and refresh rate. The software has five display modes available. Somewhat annoyingly, HTC does not allow you to configure the resolution and refresh rate independently, and the pre-configured options do not allow you to use 120 Hz on all resolution options. The fast refresh rate is restricted to the highest and lowest resolution options.

Performance mode sets the resolution to 2448 x 1224 (lower than the original Vive Pro resolution) and adjusts the refresh rate to 120 Hz. This mode would enable lower-end computers to drive a high framerate experience with reduced image quality. Balanced (3264 x 1632), High (3672 x 1636) and Ultra (4896 x 2448) operate at 90 Hz. As the name suggests, Extreme mode is the most demanding option, with the full 5K resolution and 120 Hz enabled.

But the resolution settings in Vive Console are more like suggestions than hard settings. Despite the resolution setting in Vive Console, SteamVR will choose its own resolution, based on the hardware in your computer. If Steam senses that your system isn't up to par, it will lower the resolution accordingly.

For example, we tested the Vive Pro in Extreme mode and Ultra mode, which should give us 4896 x 2448 pixels at 120 Hz and 90 Hz, respectively. However, with our RTX 2080, SteamVR's 100% render target for 90 Hz is 2138 x 2138, and for 120 Hz it drops to 1880 x 1880 per eye.

HTC Vive Pro 2 Image Quality

If you're coming from an original Vive, the Vive Pro 2 offers a significant screen upgrade, but it's not as noticeable if you're already running a Vive Pro or similar headset.

Image quality is the primary reason to consider the Vive Pro 2. During testing, the increased resolution made a big difference in clarity, allowing us to read text or pick out fine details in textures and 3D objects. The crispness of the Vive Pro 2 rivals headsets with the best image quality we’ve seen, including the HP Reverb G2 and the Pimax 8K X. The Vive Pro 2 lands somewhere between the Reverb G2 and the Pimax 8K X for finest visual fidelity, with the G2 still holding that crown -- that is, if your computer can drive the screens at their full resolution.

If you need to run the headset at lower settings, you're not getting any of the advantages of the Vive Pro 2 and would likely be better off with a Vive Pro or Valve Index.

The high resolution RGB subpixel displays do wonders at hiding the gaps between pixels that usually cause the dreaded screen door effect. If we looked closely in some scenes, we could make out a faint dot pattern, but we needed to go out of our way to spot it. You wouldn’t notice a problem during normal use.

HTC may have beat the screen door effect, but it has not vanquished every issue that plagued the original Vive. Sadly, the new lenses do not solve the dreaded godray distortion effect. The godrays in the Vive Pro 2 are arguably worse than the original Vive headset. If you're looking at white text or objects on a black background, the distortion effect is prominent, but it's also visible in bright scenes, like the SteamVR Home environment. The refraction effect also works in reverse. If you have any light leak from the physical environment, it will refract off the lenses and affect your view.

Godrays aside, the new lenses appear to have a defined virtual focal depth. If you get too close to virtual items, the visuals start to get slightly hazy and out of focus. We found the sharpest images at approximately 1-2 feet away from the eyes.

The new lenses also have a very tight sweet spot. If we didn’t dial the IPD in just right and place the headset at the optimal height for our pupils, the screens got highly blurry. The dramatic distortion makes it easy to identify the clearest position for you, but you'll have a hard time seeing fine details if you don't dial it in perfectly. When you line it up properly, you'll be greeted with exceptional image quality.

HTC Vive Pro 2 System Requirements

Test Setup

We put the HTC Vive Pro 2 to the test on our dedicated VR test system, which consists of an Intel Core i7-8700K in an Asus Prime Z370-A, paired with two sticks of G.Skill Ripjawz DDR4-3600 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition.

HTC says the Vive Pro 2 is compatible with any 2000-series or better Nvidia GPU or 5000 series or better from AMD because the headset leverages display stream compression (DSC) to receive the high-fidelity signal from your computer. We suggest targeting a higher end GPU (if you can get your hands on one) because our RTX 2080 wasn’t quite powerful enough to enjoy the full resolution and framerate that the Pro 2 is meant for.

We used Nvidia Game Ready Driver version 466.63, and the performance tests were recorded on SteamVR version 1.17.12. Vive Console was updated to version 2.0.17.0 (Beta).

As usual, we tested the HMD with Beat Saber, Half-Life: Alyx, Pistol Whip and Shadow Legend VR. We captured our performance tests with the Vive Pro 2 configured in Ultra mode and Extreme mode.

We ran our performance tests with SteamVR's 100% render value, which would normally be close to the actual panel resolution. However, SteamVR picked a much lower render target than the native resolution. We also included tests at 150% render scale, which adjusts the pixel count much closer to the native resolution. At 90 Hz, 150% gave us 2620 x 2620 per eye, and at 120 Hz, 150% gave us 2352 x 2352 per eye.

Beat Saber

Beat Saber is the type of game that benefits more from the increased framerate than then increased visual fidelity. We recommend dialling down the resolution in favor of an increased refresh rate if you're a competitive gamer. The extra framerate makes it feel like you have more time to consider your next swing. When the framerate dips, it's much easier to get overwhelmed and mess up your rhythm.

The high resolution of the Vive Pro 2 combined with the 120 Hz max framerate proved too much for our RTX 2080, and we had to scale back the refresh rate in order to avoid relying on frame reprojection to keep the displays fed. It's clear that to get the most out of this headset, you'll want to pair it with an even faster GPU than we had on-hand.

At 90 Hz, the RTX 2080 delivered all frames on time for both resolution settings, but we averaged 89.62 frames per second (fps) when we tried to run the game at 120 Hz with 150% render scale. With the resolution set to 1888 x 1888, our GPU delivered an average of 119.8 fps.

Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life Alyx demonstrates the value of having a high-resolution headset like the Vive Pro 2. The details of the textures in this game far exceed what you can perceive in a last-generation headset, like Valve's Index, the Vive Pro or Vive Cosmos. If you played this game on a first-gen headset, like a Vive or an Oculus Rift, playing again with a Pro 2 would be comparable to playing the same game on two successive console generations. The difference is staggering.

Half-Life: Alyx is a well-optimized game, and our system had no trouble delivering ample performance to play the game at 90 Hz on the Vive Pro 2. We experienced no frame drops at 2138 x 2138 and observed just over 1% missed frames at 2620 x 2620.

With 120 Hz mode active, our system handled 100% render scale just fine with an average of 119.2 fps. Bumping the resolution to 150% render scale proved too much for our system to handle, and we experienced 15.4% late frames, with an average framerate of 105.6 fps.

Pistol Whip

Pistol Whip is another game that gets a striking boost when played at high framerates. We noticed a considerable and consistent score deficit when we ran the game at lower refresh rates. Fortunately, Pistol Whip is a well-optimized title, and our system handled it well.

We experience no rendering performance issues at either resolution in either refresh rate. This is one of the few VR games that we could justifiably increase the render scale without a major performance hit. That said, it’s also a title that doesn’t gain any real advantage when ran at a higher resolution.

Shadow Legend VR

Shadow Legend VR looks amazing through the Vive Pro 2. We could easily read the text in the menus and the documents throughout the game. The details of this fantasy world really stood out with this high-resolution headset.

Our system showed little sign of performance issues with either of our 90 Hz tests, both achieving over 88 fps average and never tapping reprojection to maintain perceptive performance. When we increased the refresh rate to 120 Hz, we started seeing lost frames.

With the resolution set to 1888 x 1888, our RTX 2080 managed to deliver 117.6 fps with 100% of the GPU's workload completed on time. We lost 2.7% of our rendered frames to reprojection when we increased the render target to 150%.

Business Over Pleasure

HTC has received much flack from VR fans for its perceived indifference towards the gaming community. The original Vive was a relatively consumer-friendly device in terms of pricing. It was the most expensive VR solution consumers could buy at the time, but at $800 for the headset, base stations and a pair of 6DoF controllers, the first Vive presented an outstanding value. This is especially true in comparison to the competing Rift, which didn't offer room-scale tracking nor included tracked controllers.

When the Vive Pro launched at $799 for just the headset, people were understandably upset at the price tag. It was still an excellent VR device but never a great value option for gamers. Likewise, the Vive Pro 2 is a good VR headset, but it's probably not a great option for most gamers unless you’re a hardcore flight simulator fanatic or in one of the other few niches that’d benefit from the increased visual fidelity. You must also possess a computer that can drive the framerate to match the 120 Hz panels. In that case, you'll probably see much value in the Vive Pro 2. But for the most part, HTC targets the right audience when it says the Pro 2 is for business use.

Most gamers would be better served with a headset like the Valve Index, which provides a better audio experience and good enough visual experience while offering high refresh rates at a resolution that most modern GPUs can push. And if a broader FOV is of interest, Pimax's headsets will give you a much wider window into virtual worlds than HTC’s current offerings.

For business owners, the Vive Pro 2, and for that matter, the whole Vive Pro lineup, offer substantial benefits over rivals. HTC's professional warranty covers all hardware for two years, with a no-questions-asked priority replacement service. The Pro 2 also includes a commercial license, which means businesses can sell training solutions with Vive Pro headsets with no additional licensing costs. The Pro 2 is also an easy upgrade for companies that have already invested in a SteamVR solution.

Bottom Line

The Vive Pro 2 is an excellent headset for the target audience that it is meant for, but it's probably not the best option for most gamers.

If you have been using an original Vive for the last five years and are looking for a resolution upgrade, the Vive Pro 2 would certainly fit that bill. It’s compatible with all legacy Vive and SteamVR accessories and is a significant upgrade from the original headset.

But it’s not a significant enough improvement compared to the original Vive Pro or Valve Index to merit the upgrade unless you're the type of person that needs to have the latest and greatest toys.

On paper, the HTC Vive Focus 3 is easily the best VR headset in the standalone form factor (no connection to a system required) that has ever been released. It is precisely what we'd expect from a high-end VR system for gamers with deep pockets and a desire for the best of the best.

The Focus 3 ($1,300 as of writing) is the most well-equipped standalone headset that we have ever tested except for one thing: it doesn't have a consumer-facing software marketplace, making it effectively useless for gamers and only viable for businesses or developers. HTC was clear from day one that the Focus 3 would be a business device, but it would have been nice to see a high-end competitor shake Facebook's grasp on the standalone market.

HTC Vive Focus 3 Specs

Meet the HTC Vive Focus 3 

The Vive Focus 3 is HTC's third standalone VR headset, but it is the first one to get an official Western release. Sadly, HTC targets businesses with the Focus 3, which is not meant for a consumer audience, which is a shame because it is a capable device that gamers would appreciate, if not for the hefty $1,300 price tag.

The Focus 3 is an Android-based device powered by a Qualcomm processing unit. HTC equipped the device with a Snapdragon XR2 SoC, the same processing unit found in Facebook's Oculus Quest 2. HTC has not released detailed configuration specifications with the clock speed of the CPU and GPU. However, a representative told us it added a fan for active cooling to achieve higher sustained performance from the processing unit. Unfortunately, we have no way to verify that claim independently. 

The headset includes 8GB of RAM and features 128GB of internal storage. A previous version of this review noted that we could not find an SD card slot, even though the storage management app indicated there was an 8GB Sandisk SD card installed. HTC has since pointed out that the slot is located under the face cushion near the left side of the headset. It is an unmarked slot, and with a Micro SD card already installed, it blended in and we missed it. The card was hidden in plain sight.

Our review sample came with an 8GB card pre-installed, which contained a 360-degree video sample or The Sick Rose poem. The card slot can read Micro SD cards up to 2TB in capacity, making it easier to load movies and custom applications on the headset. From a developer standpoint, the card slot would be very helpful for deploying private software without an internet connection. From a consumer standpoint, the card slot would allow you to easily view home videos captured with a 360 camera.

The Focus 3 features the same 2448 x 2448 per eye RGB displays as found in the Vive Pro 2, although the standalone device's refresh rate is limited to 9 0Hz. The headset also features HTC's newly developed dual-element lenses, which give you a wide, 120-degrees field of view. On the bottom, there's an analog IPD adjustment dial, which provides you with a range of 57 to 72mm.

Compared to the Quest 2's tunnel vision effect, the viewport in the Focus 3 feels expansive. Unfortunately, these lenses produce very noticeable godray refractions, which negatively impact image clarity. The lenses in the Quest 2 have less refraction, but the screens in the Focus 3 are much crisper. It's hard to say which is better. 

Aside from the new lenses and high-resolution displays, HTC crammed many innovations into the Focus 3. For example, the headset features a brand new head strap design that changes how the headset sits on your head. Unlike previous Vive headsets, which cupped the lower part of the back of your skull, the Vive Focus 3 sits more like a baseball cap on top of your head. The strap angles up from the visor and the rigid structure extends above your ears to the back of your head. 

The rear of the strap features a mechanical dial to tighten the fit. Below the dial, you'll find a button that releases the tension when you want to remove the headset or resize it for someone else. The sides of the head strap feature integrated down-firing speakers. The internal speakers give plenty of volume for most use cases, but you can also plug in headphones if you desire a better audio experience. 

The front of the headset features a glossy section with the Vive logo. The rest of the visor is constructed of lightweight magnesium alloy. The material helps keep the weight to a minimum while also facilitating cooling for the internal components. In addition, HTC installed a heatsink inside the visor, which you can see through vent holes on the top and bottom of the headset, which is actively cooled by a small fan. When the headset is running, you can hear the fan spinning.

The fan also pushes a slight breeze into the visor, which can dry out your eyes after long periods of use.

The Vive Focus 3 features four visor-mounted cameras which handle spatial awareness and controller tracking. HTC used the same camera position configuration, and Facebook did with the Quest 2. The headset includes cameras on the upper front corners, which face slightly upwards and partially forwards. The two lower cameras are not as close to the corners and face somewhat towards the ground. Combined, these four cameras give you ample controller tracking range with next to no blind spots except behind you. The tracking accuracy is at least on par with the Quest 2. 

On the left side of the headset, you'll find the menu button. On the opposite side, there's a headphone jack and a USB Type-C port. The headset does not charge through the USB port, but it can power up the controllers through the Type-C port. The headset must be on to pass power through to the controllers, and HTC includes a Y-cable to power both controllers at once. 

On the bottom side of the headset, you'll find the volume rocker button and the IPD adjustment dial. A small magnetic panel in front of the IPD dial covers an additional USB-C port.    

The Focus 3 is the first headset that we've tested that does not need any hygienic upgrades. The face cushion features a soft memory foam wrapped with a moisture-resistant PU leather covering. The face cushion is also mounted to a magnetic bracket that allows you to remove it for cleaning or swap it for a fresh one. The rear cushion is also moisture resistant, removable, and washable, although it's not as soft as the face cushion.

Removing the rear cushion exposes the battery pack for the headset, which is also removable. The battery can be charged while inside the headset, but you can also charge the batteries outside the device. The battery pack has a barrel connector, which accepts the 12v power adaptor that HTC has used to power all its past headsets. 

With the battery pack on the rear of the headset, so too is the power button. The button is actually on the battery pack, and it doubles as a power button and a charge check button. If you press it for one second, four LEDs will light up, indicating the level of charge the battery holds. Likewise, pressing the button for three continuous seconds will power the device on or off. 

Mediocre Controllers 

It feels like much thought was put into the design of the Focus 3 headset, but the controllers don't give the same impression. While they aren't the worst motion controllers we've ever used, HTC still hasn't learned its lesson regarding peripheral ergonomics. For example, the shape of the handles is not well optimized for the form of the human hand. The extended length of the handles is excellent, but they do not contour your hands well. 

On the bright side, the Focus 3 controllers have input parity with the Quest controllers. They include A, B and X, Y buttons, a thumbstick on each side, and a Vive home and menu button. Each controller also gives you a trigger and grip button. 

The Focus 3 controllers feature internal lithium-ion batteries with a USB Type-C charge port on the bottom of each handle. Like the Quest controllers, the Focus 3 controller features a halo with infrared LEDs for tracking. 

Using the Focus 3

The headset that HTC provided us for this evaluation is a pre-release model which does not have all of its features enabled. However, the headset came pre-loaded with a small selection of apps for reviewers, which we'll get into in the dedicated section below. 

When I first started the headset, we were greeted with a message telling us to download the companion app for my smartphone or the desktop software for my computer. Unfortunately, those apps were not available ahead of launch, so we have not tested them out.

To bypass the app install screen, press and hold the menu button on the left side of the headset. A progress bar will fill up as you hold the button, and when it completes, the app message goes away, and you'll find yourself in passthrough mode with an initial configuration process to follow.

First, you set the language. Next, it explains how to find the sweet spot for the lenses with a calibration image to help you line it up exactly right. You start with the vertical alignment, where it teaches you to move the headset up and down until the horizontal lines look perfect. Finally, tighten the overhead strap to hold it in place.

The next step is the IPD adjustment, which is done with a dial found below your nose on the bottom of the visor. The on-screen calibration gives you a readout with two decimal points, but the dial isn't that precise, and we found that the measurement update interval doesn't keep up with the dial movement.

The next step is to connect the controllers. The process is simple and involves pressing the Vive logo button on the right controller and the hamburger button on the left controller. The pairing process took less than a second.

Calibrating the tracking guardian works exactly how it does with the Quest 2. First, confirm the ground height. If the headset is not detecting the correct height, reach to the floor with one of the controllers to set the floor position. Next, trace the border of your safe place space by pointing the controller at the ground while pulling the trigger. Once you've set the guardian, the passthrough view fades away to the virtual environment.

Home Environment

The Vive Focus 3 home looks like a modern office space that overlooks a desert scene. The environment is fancy, but the menu system is relatively basic. We could log in to our Viveport account; However, it did not give us access to the Viveport marketplace. You can access the content library, which provides you with a tiled listing of the installed software. You also get a settings menu to adjust some of the configuration options for the headset.

In the settings general menu, you can set the time, date, see the headset software version and prompt it to check for updates, and enable double-click passthrough view.  In the boundary section, you can change the color and opacity of the boundary, enable automatic passthrough when you step through the boundary, and recalibrate the floor and safe area.

The connectivity tab allows you to enable Bluetooth and monitor the controller pairing. The network section gives you the Wifi configuration settings and the ability to configure a VPN connection. The Kiosk Mode section allows you to configure the headset to launch directly to one or more apps without giving users access to the menu and entire content library.

The storage section allows you to see the available free space and uninstall apps. It does not give you access to a file manager to open locally saved files or run private APK installers. The advanced section gives you access to USB debugging, enables installs from unknown sources, sets the sleep mode timer, and adjusts the camera polling setting. The factory reset button is also under Advanced.

The Vive Focus 3 is a Snapdragon XR2-based headset, the same processing hardware found in Facebook's Oculus Quest 2. Therefore, games built for Quest should theoretically be compatible with Focus 3 with minor changes from the developer. Furthermore, Qualcomm developed a wireless streaming feature for the XR2 platform, so Focus 3 should be capable of streaming PC VR games wirelessly to the headset.

At present, neither of those two options is possible. However, we did locate an option in the system settings that suggests a future software update could enable SteamVR streaming in the future. If that happens, the Vive Focus 3 could develop a niche following of enthusiast gamers. However, most of these headsets will be used for business training, remote collaboration, product design or in location-based entertainment facilities.

The Focus 3 Is Fast

One of the most prominent things that stood out about the Focus 3 is how fast it is. From a cold boot, the headset takes just a few seconds to get you right to the home environment. The screens turn on immediately and the Vive logo spins in front of you while it boots, giving you something visually interesting to look at while you wait. At no point did it feel like we were waiting around too for something to happen.

Likewise, loading content from the home environment is rapid and always engaging. There's nothing worse in a VR headset than sitting at a blank screen while something loads in the background, and we never experience that problem in the Focus 3. Jumping from one app to the next is quick and getting back to the home screen is an almost immediate process.

HTC Vive Focus 3 Apps

As mentioned, we tried out the apps pre-loaded for reviews on the Vive Focus 3 to get an idea of the experiences business users can expect. HTC told us that the Vive Focus 3 would be compatible with SteamVR content with use of something called the Vive Business Steaming cable. The company didn't provide additional details about the cable, but we imagine it would be similar to Facebook's optical USB Link cable for the Quest 2. A wireless streaming app is also in development, and HTC said it would be available soon.

Hyper Dash was the only game. It's a team-based multiplayer shooter that's also available on consumer headsets. HTC said it included the game as an example of what you may see at a VR arcade. The game plays very well on HTC’s hardware, with no hint of performance issues while driving the high-resolution screens. This game also demonstrated the tracking quality, with no trouble keeping the weapon aimed where we wanted it to point.  

Playing Hyper Dash on the Focus 3 was an excellent experience. We didn't notice an appreciable difference between playing on the Focus 3 versus playing on the Quest 2, but the broader field of view makes keeping an eye on your enemies a bit easier in HTC's headset.

The headset also included Firefox Reality, the VR version of the Firefox web browser. Firefox Reality allows you to browse to any website, as you would with any device. Unlike most headsets, the Focus 3 has a high enough resolution actually to read text on websites.  

Firefox Reality also natively supports WebXR experiences, so you can seamlessly jump in to full 6DoF VR directly from a browser window. As immersive technologies are integrated further into our web experience, having a device like the Focus 3 will allow you to consume future web content easily.  

Bodyswaps by JCR Group is an immersive learning experience that teaches people to reflect on their behavior in work situations and to help promote a more empathetic approach to interacting with others. The virtual situations are created by behavioral scientists.  The Bodyswaps demo offers one experience and puts you through a roleplay scenario from the perspective of multiple parties to help you feel more empathetic towards others. The graphics in the app are cartoonish yet serious, with well-modelled avatars that depict realistic facial expressions. The simulation is well put together and does an excellent job of convincing you that you’re in the meeting with two other people. We can see this being a valuable tool for business training.  

Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass is a VR tour of part of the Louvre in France. The courtyard is fully rendered in near-photorealistic detail, and you can explore all around it via teleport. You can move right up to the paintings hanging in the Grand Gallery, and with the clarity of the Vive Focus 3’s screens, you can see enough detail to appreciate these masterpieces. For each painting, there is an accompanying narrative clip explaining the significance.  

All these apps are available via the Vive Business AppStore.

Final Thoughts

Spending more than a week with the Focus 3 made one thing abundantly clear: Facebook's effect on the VR market is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the consumer VR market needs affordable hardware to drive adoption. But, on the other hand, selling hardware at far below profitable margins has set an unrealistic expectation of price in the eyes of consumers, forcing would-be competitors to think twice about challenging Facebook.

Facebook priced the business version of its Oculus Quest 2 at $799, severely undercutting the competition. HTC built what is undeniably a better piece of hardware. However, it cannot sell the product at a price the consumer market would bear. The Focus 3 is a much better device than the Quest 2 for many reasons, but few people would see $1,000 worth of value in those differences. HTC is not alone. Very few companies could ever fathom competing at this level and hope to come out ahead on the other side, which is why no one else is competing in this space, even though Qualcomm did all the heavy lifting with its XR2 reference design.

HTC put together an excellent package with the Vive Focus 3. Businesses that adopt this platform will undoubtedly love the features and the performance. It's a shame that gamers won't see the benefits of a healthy competitor in the standalone consumer VR space just yet.

Editor's Note June 28, 2021: This review was originally published on June 24, 2021 and was updated on June 28, 2021 to include information on the Micro SD card slot. 

HTC kicked off its Vivecon 2021 virtual event with a big announcement. During the opening keynote today, the company revealed a pair of near-5K resolution VR headsets, the HTC Vive Pro 2, which connects to a PC, and a standalone product called the HTC Vive Focus 3. HTC said these upcoming devices are primarily for businesses, but the specs and features, including a data compression technique not yet seen among the best VR headsets, will also interest gamers with a penchant for a high-end headset upgrade.

HTC Vive Pro 2  

HTC new PC VR headset, the Vive Pro 2 is, more of an evolutionary change than a revolutionary change from the original HTC Vive Pro. HTC poured its attention into improving the visual experience you get from the new headset rather than redesigning the entire structure of the product.

The HMD maker worked with AMD and Nvidia to implement Display Stream Compression (DSC) on the Vive Pro 2 – a first for a VR headset – enabling lossless transmission of high-resolution data. The Vive Pro 2 includes dual fast-switching RGB subpixel displays, giving the headset a total resolution of 4898 x 2448. These displays also operate at a speeder 120 Hz refresh rate to reduce motion blur. Faster refresh rates also improve user comfort, as we learned with Valve's Index.

DSC, which is standardized by VESA, helps the high-bandwidth display signal stay within the constraints of DisplayPort 1.2. It even allows HTC's Vive Wireless Adapter accessory to carry the Vive Pro 2's high-bandwidth signal, which upon release will make it the highest resolution wireless PC VR solution. 

The Vive Pro 2 shares the same shape and design as the original Vive Pro, including a rigid, mechanical headstrap and built-in adjustable headphones. This time, however, the headphones feature 3D spatial audio and Hi-res-certified speakers. The new headset also retains compatibility with all SteamVR and Vive Pro accessories, such as the Vive Trackers, Vive Facial Tracker and Valve Index controllers. The screens and the lenses are the significant changes. 

HTC said you would need an Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card or an AMD Radeon 5000-series or better to get the full potential out of the Vive Pro 2. However, you can set the screens to run at 90 Hz if necessary, which should allow you to use the new headset on lower-end graphics cards while you wait out the GPU shortage.

Beyond increasing the resolution and refresh rate, HTC also expanded the field of view (FOV) by a slight margin compared to the original Vive Pro from 110 degrees to 120 degrees. The improvement closes the FOV gap between the Vive Pro and the Valve Index (adjustable up to 130 degrees), but it's still a far cry from ultrawide Pimax headsets. 

HTC developed new dual-element lenses to achieve the FOV improvements within the existing Vive Pro form factor by enabling the displays to sit closer to the lenses and retain focus.

HTC is approaching the market with the Vive Pro 2 the same way it did with the original Vive Pro headset. The headset will initially hit the market as an upgrade kit for people with an existing SteamVR-based VR system. It works with both the 1.0 and 2.0 versions of Valve's base stations. 

The headset alone will sell for $749 (£659 / €739), with pre-orders open today and hardware shipping before the end of the month. A complete Vive Pro 2 kit, with base stations and controllers, will be available on June 4 for $1,399 (£1,299 / €1,399).

HTC Vive Focus 3: A Standalone Vive

The Vive Pro 2 is HTC's top PC VR offering, but that's not the only incoming Vive headset. The Vive Focus 3, which doesn’t require tethering to a system, shares a handful of the new features introduced on the Vive Pro 2. 

HTC's new standalone includes the same dual-element lenses found in the Vive Pro 2, giving it the same 120-degree FOV as the PC VR headset. The Vive Focus 3 also has dual 2448 x 2448 RGB panels, but they’re limited to 90Hz. HTC’s new headset also features adjustable IPD (interpupillary distance, the amount of space between your pupils), with a granular range of 57-72mm.  

Unlike the Vive Pro 2, which borrows its exterior design from its predecessor, the Vive Focus 3 features an entirely new industrial design. HTC reduced the weight by 20% compared by building it from magnesium alloy instead of plastic. HTC said the metal housing is also 500% stronger than plastic. 

To help balance the weight evenly, HTC installed the battery pack under the rear cushion of the headstrap. The battery gives the headset roughly 2 hours of run time, with a charge time of approximately 30 minutes. The battery is also removable, so you can always keep a spare ready to go. The headset doesn't have a backup power source, so you can't hot-swap the batteries while it’s running.

The Vive Focus 3 has a pair of speakers embedded in the rigid head strap, plus a headphone jack so that you can use your favorite headphones with it. Four onboard cameras embedded in the front of the visor handle inside-out tracking and provide tracking for the two wand controllers that ship with the headset. 

In this era of working in a pandemic, no one wants to share something like a VR headset. That's why HTC looked to make the Vive Focus 3 simple to keep hygienic. The front and rear cushions are easy to remove for cleaning, thanks to a magnetic mounting mechanism.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 SoC does all the heavy lifting to power the Vive Focus 3. HTC installed a copper heatpipe and an active cooling fan to extract the most performance possible out of the XR2 platform. By contrast, Facebook throttled the XR2 in the Oculus Quest 2 standalone headset to keep it within certain temperature constraints. 

Not Really for Gamers 

On paper, the Vive Focus 3 looks like a worthy competitor to the Oculus Quest 2. Unfortunately, it's not priced for consumers and doesn't include a game library to back it up. However, HTC said the new headset will support streaming PC VR content wirelessly over WiF, so maybe we'll see support for PC VR gaming.

The Vive Focus 3 will be available on June 27. Buying one will set you back $1,300 (£1,060 / / €1,180). For this price, you get the headset with controllers and a business warranty. 

A Business Ecosystem 

HTC is offering more than just a pair of new VR headsets. The company has put together an entire ecosystem for using VR in business announced today. Vive Business provides a handful of business-focused VR solutions, such as the Vive Business Device Management System, which gives IT departments the tools necessary for keeping track of a fleet of devices. 

The Vive Business platform also includes an Android-based progress monitoring system for instructors called Vive Business Training and a VR meeting place called Vive Sync. 

Meanwhile, the Vive Business AppStore offers a curated collection of off-the-shelf business-related VR software for the Focus 3 headset. HTC said it would launch with roughly 20 titles, with more content in development from various ISV partners. 

With all of these tools, HTC hopes to accelerate the adoption of VR in the workplace. The company believes that as more people encounter VR for the first time at work, it will drive more adoption in the home. So don’t think we’ve seen the last gaming-centric Vive headset quite yet. 

Meet the HTC Vive Cosmos

Update March, 18, 2020: Today, HTC Vive made a new version of the Cosmos available. The HTC Vive Cosmos Elite ($899) adds an external tracking faceplate, and you can find your impressions in our HTC Vive Cosmos Elite review. Starting in April, you'll also be able to buy the Cosmos Elite's external tracking faceplate separately for $200, and the company is also planning the cheaper HTC Vive Cosmos Play SKU for later this year. 

Original article October 3, 2019: 

After over three years on the market, HTC Vive is finally ready to retire its original VR headset, the HTC Vive, and replace it with a new model. In many ways, the HTC Vive Cosmos is a big leap forward from the original headset. But in other ways, it feels like a step in the wrong direction.

The Cosmos seems full of potential. It has great displays, is well-built with nice speakers that produce clear, loud audio, and the inside-out tracking system removes a handful of pain points that have stopped many from investing in VR -- namely base stations.

But the Cosmos also has a few glaring problems. It’s more expensive ($699) and less comfortable than the original Vive ($499). I also have critiques on the controllers, and the platform drivers leave much to be desired.

All things considered, the Vive Cosmos is  a good headset and worthy of your consideration if you’re in the market for a new VR device. But it likely won't check all the boxes for you.

HTC Vive Cosmos Specs

Cosmos Controller Specs

Meet the Cosmos

At first glance, the Cosmos gives off an air of quality. The fit and finish are superior to many VR headsets that we’ve tested over the years, including Vive’s own hardware. The original Vive headset was good enough to be functional, but no one would call it elegant looking. The HTC Vive Pro demonstrated a major improvement in build quality but with a somewhat utilitarian feel. The Cosmos imbues the quality you'd expect from a company with a history of selling cutting-edge consumer electronics.

The Cosmos features a halo-style head strap (also known as a balanced crown), which puts the weight of the visor on your forehead and attempts to balance it with a rigid strap that clamps to the lower part of the back of your head. Like all halo-strap designs, the Cosmos includes a dial on the rear to adjust tension.

The halo strap design allows for the integration of a hinge, which lets you flip the visor up and away from your eyes. This is a very welcome addition. However, my problem with the halo design is that you don’t get as much wiggle room to find your visual sweet spot. With fabric head strap and deluxe audio head strap designs, you have the freedom to place the visor directly in front of your eyes and then position the strap where you need it to be. In order to get a good fitting with the halo design, the strap’s position must take priority over your visual clarity. In my case, even if I sacrificed the visual sweet spot, I struggled to find a position that didn't either hurt my head or feel so insecure that it might drop off my head if I bent forward.

I ultimately found a position that didn’t hurt my head and still offered good clarity. The Cosmos includes an overhead Velcro strap that helps to balance the headset. The head-mounted display (HMD) was most comfortable when I let the top strap carry some of the weight and kept the rear of the halo higher on my head. But I was still reluctant to lean forward while looking down (like in the game Richie’s Plank Experience).

System Requirements

The Vive Cosmos features a much higher resolution than the original Vive headset, but thanks to software advancements HTC's latest headset doesn't require much more power than the outgoing device. The older headset could run on a PC with 4GB of memory. The Cosmos requires 8GB to function properly.

Clever Headphone System

The Cosmos includes an integrated audio system, which is something I believe every VR headset should have. There's also a simple way to remove the headphones if you prefer to supply your own. Previous Vive audio solutions were removable but required a screwdriver and a process that wasn’t very user-friendly. The Cosmos, however, features an incredibly simple clamping system that takes less than a second to remove but isn't likely to come apart accidentally.

The top of each headphone has a metal clip that secures them in place. Simply lift the tab to release the clamp, and then lift the headphone off the strap. Without the clamp, they just hang onto the head strap. The headphones connect to a 3.5mm jack on the right side of the headset. The cable that attaches them together runs under the forehead cushion.

Removable Cushions

The Cosmos incorporates a variety of cushion pieces. The face cushion is a velour-like foam that's very soft to the touch and prone to absorbing sweat. It's split into two halves to make room for the hinge. The cushions are attached via Velcro, but unlike the Vive and Vive Pro, these Velcro strips are fused to the body of the device, which is a great improvement because the adhesive on the Velcro strips in previous models tended to let go over time. The face cushion interface is completely removable, which exposes the data cable port, headphone jack and a hidden USB Type-C port.

The cushions on the head strap are made of a more rugged, moisture-proof faux leather. These cushions attach with a series of clips, which require a bit of force to remove. 

Finally, there are two small pieces of felt on either side of the head strap that cover the clamps from the headphones.

Image Clarity

The displays in the Cosmos headset produce some of the clearest images that I’ve yet seen in VR. The headset features two 3.4-inch LCD panels with a 90 Hz refresh rate and a combined resolution of 2880 x 1700.

The Cosmos also boasts an RGB subpixel array, which further enhances the clarity of the image and helps to reduce the perceived screen door effect. The HP Reverb, with its dual 4K resolution RGB panels, still offers a higher overall resolution, but the Cosmos is easily as good as the Valve Index, with a slight increase in vertical field of view (FOV). Because the screens are LCD panels, you won't get the same deep blacks that you see with the Vive Pro's AMOLED panels. 

IPD, but no Lens Relief

The Cosmos includes a mechanical adjustment for IPD (interpupillary distance, the space between your pupils), just like the Vive and Vive Pro. The pupil distance of lenses in the headset can be adjusted from 61-73mm. There's fabric between the lenses to keep out dust, which is a feature first introduced by the Oculus Rift CV1.  Fabric also keeps the dust out of the Pimax 5K Plus and Pimax 8K headsets.

Unlike previous Vive headsets, the Cosmos does not include an eye relief adjustment, which means there’s no way to move the lenses closer to or further from your eyes to make room for eyewear. Unfortunately, that also means the maximum FOV is narrower than that of other Vives because you can’t bring the lenses as close to your eyes as the older models.

Vive advertises the Cosmos' FOV as 110 degrees, which is the same rating as the Vive and Vive Pro. However, the perceived FOV feels narrower in the new headset. I would say that the FOV of the Cosmos in actual usage feels more comparable to the Oculus Rift's FOV, which is closer to 100 degrees.

Inside-out Tracking

The Cosmos is the first PC-based VR system from Vive that departs from Valve’s Tracking solution. Instead, it features camera-based inside-out tracking, which means it doesn’t require external base stations like the previous Vive headsets.

The Cosmos isn’t Vive’s first inside-out tracked headset; that honor belongs to the HTC Vive Focus, an enterprise VR headset. The Cosmos has a far superior camera array, though. While the Vive Focus uses two front-facing cameras for depth and controller tracking, the Cosmos uses six cameras for a much more comprehensive tracking range. In addition to two front-facing cameras, the Cosmos also has cameras on its right and left sides, plus cameras on the top and bottom, which monitor the vertical space from floor to ceiling. This combination of cameras delivers robust tracking performance for both head tracking and hand tracking.

The Oculus Quest, a standalone VR headset that doesn't require a PC or smartphone, uses a similar system for tracking but relies on four cameras, and the Oculus Rift S uses five cameras. Both of those Oculus headsets work impressively well. However, the Cosmos seems to have a slightly wider range of hand tracking that enabled me to reach further behind my head before losing my hands on screen. The Cosmos also seemed to do a better job than the Oculus headsets at tracking the controllers during very rapid movements.

That said, the cameras on the Cosmos are much less forgiving about your room's lighting. The Cosmos did not work at all in low light. I also experienced a peculiar issue with the headset equating dark objects to being in a dark room. The office where I do most of my testing has a handful of desktop PCs and monitors lining a wall. When I faced that direction with the PCs and monitors off, the headset would warn me that the room was too dark, even though I was in a well-lit room. HTC Vive told us that an update today should address this, and we'll update this review once we confirm. 

New Tracking System Simplifies Setup

The main benefit of the inside-out tracking system is that it eliminates the burden of external base stations. With all previous iterations of PC-based Vive headsets, you had to install Lighthouse base stations in the corners of your room in order to produce the infrared grid used for SteamVR Tracking. While it isn’t tremendously difficult to install a pair of base stations, it was something that many people didn’t want or have the space to do.

Since the Cosmos doesn't require external trackers, the setup process is much easier. All you need to do is plug in the USB cable, connect the DisplayPort cable and attach the power source. The Cosmos still comes with the Vive Link Box that originated with the standard Vive headset. It lets you leave the cables plugged into the back of your computer and attach a single cable when you want to use the headset. That may not seem like a big deal, but thoughtful considerations like this help HMDs avoid sitting on a shelf collecting dust. 

Cosmos Controllers

HTC Vive has never been very good at making VR controllers. The original Vive wands work but have poor ergonomics and long-term reliability concerns. Vive never released the Vive Focus to consumers (businesses only); however, I've played with one before, and those controllers are no better than the original wands.

With the Cosmos, HTC Vive went back to the drawing board and completely overhauled its controller design approach. I wouldn’t call these a completely original design (they borrow much from Oculus Touch controllers). Ultimately, the Cosmos controllers are a huge improvement in many ways but are far from perfect.

The Cosmos controllers are very similar to the new Touch controllers, which makes it easy for developers to offer input parity. They include a clickable thumbstick and X/Y and A/B buttons on the left and right controllers, respectively. They also have grip buttons for your middle finger and R1 and R2 shoulder buttons. Finally, each controller has a Vive button, which triggers the Viveport software and SteamVR.

Button parity with Oculus is a large step in the right direction, but Vive went backwards in other ways. For example, the original Vive wands included internal rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that charged via USB. Unfortunately, you couldn't replace the batteries, but the battery packs provided about 6 hours of play, which is more than most people would ever need in a day. The Cosmos controllers require two AA batteries each, and the charge lasts approximately 2 hours. A few sets of rechargeable AA batteries would be a good investment if you buy a Cosmos.

Like the Touch controllers, the Cosmos controllers each have a circular loop surrounding the top of the handle. The loop is adorned with a soft white light pattern that enables the cameras to track the controllers. The light pattern shines very brightly, so I suspect it's part of why the battery doesn't last very long.

When gaming, the controllers were somewhat difficult to hold securely. The handles are pretty thick, and there's a bulky tracking halo. The controllers are comfortable enough, but I couldn’t get a secure hold on them because there’s nowhere to hold the controller with your thumb when you're not pressing a button. This wasn't a problem for most games, but I wouldn’t want to play a round of Beat Saber without the straps for security, especially considering the controllers' weight. 

The Cosmos controllers weigh 211g (0.5 pounds) each with the batteries, which is exactly 1g more than the Vive wands. For comparison, new Touch controllers weigh 129g (0.3 pounds) each.  

Vive recommended that I try a game called Audica, which is basically Audioshield with guns, to test the accuracy of the controllers. At the end of each round, Audica spit out a report about how accurate my aim was, and I was amazed at the consistency of the precision. My shots were almost always within 1.1 degrees of the center. Pretty uncanny.

Future Upgrades

If you don’t like the Cosmos controllers, there is an upcoming solution. Vive engineered the Cosmos headset for future upgradeability with a modular faceplate system that allows you to change the device’s capabilities. The first planned accessory is a SteamVR Tracking faceplate that is compatible with Valve’s tracking system. This upgrade will let you use the original wands or Valve’s recently released Index controllers with the Cosmos. The SteamVR faceplate also restores compatibility with the Vive Tracker accessory lineup.

Vive has not discussed any other faceplate upgrade plans but said that HTC Vive's wireless adapter kit will be available for the Cosmos soon.

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HTC Vive Cosmos Tested: Benchmarks and Performance

SteamVR or Viveport? HTC, Make up Your Mind! 

The Cosmos hardware isn’t perfect, but for the most part it's an improvement over previous Vive headsets. The software, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. When Vive first introduced the Viveport platform, it pitched it as an improved marketplace that would offer a better experience for consumers and higher revenue share for developers—presumably a win-win situation for everyone. However, the execution and delivery of Viveport hasn't lived up to the goal.

That was never a problem before because the Vive and Vive Pro headsets were developed first for SteamVR, and Viveport was built around the headsets. The Cosmos is the first PC-connected headset that Vive designed for Viveport first, SteamVR second, but the Cosmos still requires SteamVR to function. During the setup process, you must either log into an existing Steam account or create a new one and install Steam. To access Viveport, you press the Vive button on the right controller, and to access SteamVR, you double-tap the Vive button on the left controller.

Viveport is supposed to be easier to use than SteamVR’s software library and marketplace, but when you first put the headset on, you’re thrust into the SteamVR Home environment, not Viveport. It's confusing and, frankly, hindered my ability to navigate either platform effectively. 

What’s worse, Viveport doesn’t to do a better job at curating titles that work with the Cosmos. I am writing this ahead of the consumer launch of the headset, so some developers may not yet be prepared with Cosmos-ready builds of their titles. That said, not even all the games marked as “Top-50 for Cosmos” worked with my Cosmos. 

After spending the weekend fumbling around trying to navigate between SteamVR and Viveport content, I would much rather use SteamVR alone rather than a combination of the two content delivery systems. Sadly, that does not appear to be possible.

Game Compatibility

The biggest problem that I encountered while testing the Cosmos is the controllers’ compatibility with games. Many of the games that I tried to play simply would not work properly because the buttons would not respond to my inputs.

For instance, Arizona Sunshine has been part of our performance testing suite ever since we’ve done VR performance testing. However, I was unable to test how the game runs on the Cosmos because the controllers' grip buttons wouldn't register, which left me unable to progress beyond the initial menu environment because I couldn’t pick up the tapes that launch the settings and games scenarios. 

Skyworld is another game where I encountered trouble. The right controller registered fine, but for some reason, the face buttons on the left controller wouldn't work. Many of the game’s functions worked fine with the left controller, but since I couldn't get the left controller to work, I couldn't pull up cards during battle. As a result, I also had to drop this game from the test lineup.

At first, I assumed the problem was that I was playing SteamVR versions of these games instead of Viveport versions. However, I ran into the same problems with the Viveport copies that I later installed. The buttons on the Cosmos controllers, while achieving physical parity with competing controllers, rely on different software mapping. HTC Vive confirmed to me that developers will need to update their games before the Cosmos is fully compatible with existing titles and that updates will roll out "shortly."

Despite the trouble with some games, other titles worked just fine, including Space Pirate Trainer, Beat Saber and Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope. Oddly, the controller model that displayed in Serious Sam was that of a standard Vive wand, but it had no ill effect on gameplay.

Performance Tests

Despite trouble getting many games to run properly, I managed to capture performance metrics from a handful of games. Audica, Space Pirate Trainer, Serious Sam and Beat Saber are the test suite for this review.  

Test Setup

For performance testing, I used a desktop computer equipped with an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU, 16GB of DDR4-3666 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition graphics card. I also ran tests with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card to get an idea of the low bar for performance.

For the RTX 2080 tests, I locked in SteamVR’s render quality at 120%, which worked out to 2208 x 2604 pixels per eye. The GTX 970 was unable to perform at 120%, so I allowed SteamVR to set the recommended resolution, which ended up being 44% render quality.

Audica

From a graphics performance standpoint, Audica does not push the limits of your graphics card. With both graphics cards, our system had no trouble keeping the framerate above the 90 frames per second (fps) threshold when you stay within the recommended render quality settings.

Space Pirate Trainer

Space Pirate Trainer is an old mainstay in our performance testing suite. The game doesn’t really tax your graphics card at all. In fact, in the past I've managed to play Space Pirate Trainer with integrated graphics on a Windows Mixed Reality headset.

I thought that the game may run at 120% render scale on the GTX 970, but that proved to be incorrect. With the render scale set that high, the GPU barely delivered 65 fps, and it dropped roughly 1,000 frames out of a 6,000-frame test. 

With the render settings configured appropriately, both GPUs delivered 90 fps with no appreciable dip in performance. 

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope  ran very smooth, and I found no problems with the recommended render settings.

Both the RTX 2080 and GTX 970 delivered a consistent 90 fps with fewer than 5 dropped frames per session.

Beat Saber

Beat Saber is surprisingly hard on GPUs. By default, I had the in-game render scale set to 1.7x over SteamVR’s recommended settings. This proved to be too much for the test system, and I was forced to lower the render scale to achieve good performance.

With the high render setting, my RTX 2080 delivered a framerate of 45 fps. During these tests, the GPU dropped nearly 50% of all frames attempted.

With the in-game render scale turned down, both GPUs handled the task well at their respective resolutions. The RTX 2080 managed to top 154 fps unconstrained. Meanwhile, the GTX 970 achieved 114 fps, which is pretty high and suggests there’s some more wiggle room to increase the graphics quality.

Bottom Line

The HTC Vive Cosmos isn't a perfect piece of hardware, but what is? Yes, the headset has a few shortcomings, but it’s still a pretty great device. Going back and forth from the Cosmos to the HTC Vive Pro, Valve Index and Oculus Rift S gave me further appreciation for the Cosmos.

The Vive Pro is a well-built piece of tech but feels rickety in comparison to the Cosmos. I’ve tested the best VR headsets, and I can honestly say that I’ve yet to try on another headset that feels as high-quality as the Cosmos.

I have reservations about the Cosmos controllers' ergonomics, and I wish that more games worked with the controllers upon release (although this will likely change). Plus, there's no lens relief adjustment. However, those are pretty small concerns.

As I said, no headset is perfect. However, the shortcomings of the Cosmos are worth looking past because the rest of the package is quite impressive and a notable improvement over the original HTC Vive.

Image Credits: Tom's Hardware

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In our HTC Vive Cosmos review last fall, we checked out the vendor’s latest take on the best VR headset for consumers. The PC-connected headset boasts a handful of advantages over previous Vive headsets and other competing VR head-mounted displays (HMDs). It includes a pair of 1440 x 1700 resolution LCD panels with RGB subpixel arrangements for superior image clarity—save for those deep blacks. And it adds a flip-up visor that makes it easy to jump back and forth from VR to the real world.

The Vive Cosmos also introduced a new tracking solution, but that feature didn’t live up to expectations. Earlier, Vive models relied on Valve’s SteamVR tracking technology and used external base stations, whereas the Cosmos uses an inside-out tracking solution powered by six on-board cameras.The camera-based tracking solution allowed for a streamlined setup process that didn’t include mounting base stations in opposing corners of your room. However, it felt like a step backwards in some respects and segregated the Vive Cosmos from the rest of HTC’s Vive ecosystem, such as the Vive Tracker accessory lineup introduced in 2017 that lets you enhance body tracking and use controllers with familiar shapes, like that of a sports racket. 

Fortunately, HTC designed the Cosmos with a modular design that allows for swappable faceplates that change the function of the device so it can grow with you over time. The modular device should enable compatibility with future technology advancements and has enabled HTC to offer backwards compatibility with SteamVR hardware.

When the Cosmos hit the market in Q4 2019, the 6-camera faceplate was the only option. As of today, you have the option of buying the Cosmos Elite SKU ($899), which features the Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate with SteamVR tracking sensors, plus two Vive controllers and two Lighthouse 1.0 base stations. Starting April 30, HTC Vive will sell the Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate separately for $199, which you can use with a Cosmos and base stations you already own. 

The Elite version of the headset features a black finish that matches the new faceplate. We already had a Cosmos in our lab, so HTC sent us a faceplate to fit on our blue headset for testing. HTC said there should be no difference between the two external tracking configurations.

HTC Vive Cosmos Elite Specs 

The Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate 

When I first took the Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate out of the box, I was surprised by how little there is to it. It’s very light and doesn’t include much in the way of electronics. There is a data port that connects to the headset and a small PCB that connects to the array of sensors embedded in the faceplate. The faceplate also includes a receiver for the Vive controllers.

A translucent plastic covers the front of the faceplate and allows you to see the tracking sensors inside. The External Tracking Faceplate features 30 Triad Semiconductors TS4231 sensors, which are compatible with both first-generation and second-generation SteamVR base stations. 

The new faceplate includes three air vents on the top and three on the bottom to allow heat to escape. It also includes a vent for the internal fan and ports for the two front-facing cameras.

Installing the Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate 

The installation process was easier than I anticipated. Since I already owned and used a Cosmos, I first unplugged it from the Link Box that comes with the Cosmos for connecting it to PCs. This ensured that no power was running through it as I swapped components. Next, I located the faceplate release switch next to the left lens inside the visor and pressed it down.

The release may be stiff and could require a moderate amount of pressure. You should feel a slight click when the faceplate lock releases. I was able to gently pull the faceplate off the front of the headset; it should not require much force. If the faceplate doesn’t come off easily, press the release button again.

To install the new faceplate, I lined up the data port with the socket on the headset. Afterward, I gently positioned the faceplate and then lightly pushed it down until it snapped into place. You may need to push it in on the top and bottom as well as in between the front cameras to ensure it fits securely. Once I had the faceplate installed, I reconnected the headset to my PC.

Software Configuration 

If this is the first time that you’ve used a Cosmos headset on this computer, you will need to install Viveport and the Vive software. You can find the installation files on Vive’s website. If you already have the Vive software installed, it should automatically prompt you to update when the new faceplate is detected.

The Vive software installation is slightly different when the External Tracking Faceplate is present. Rather than going through the Vive room-scale configuration, the software prompted me to do the setup through SteamVR. The Vive software even directed me to SteamVR to monitor controllers and other accessories.

The Cosmos Elite comes with a pair of Vive controllers. For my review unit, the company must have paired them to the faceplate before shipping them, as the controllers connected to SteamVR immediately after I turned them on. I later connected a set of Valve Index controllers to the Cosmos Elite, and the process was identical as when pairing controllers to the HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro and Valve Index VR headsets.

To pair controllers, you open SteamVR, click on the hamburger menu in the upper left, scroll to Devices and select Pair Controller. SteamVR will walk you through the process of pairing your input devices. By default, SteamVR will look for Vive controllers, but it also allows you to connect Index controllers and Vive Trackers.

Like the Vive and Vive Pro, the Vive Cosmos supports two controllers natively. To add additional tracked objects, you must have USB receivers for each device. I have four Vive Trackers on hand and successfully paired all four alongside my controllers. I did have a bit of trouble using the Vive Trackers in some games, as they would register as my input device and prevent the controllers from working. To get around this, I made sure the controllers were on and tracking before powering on the Vive Trackers. I don’t blame that on the External Tracking Faceplate, though; I blame the Vive Trackers for their finicky behavior.

Excellent Tracking 

When we first tested the Cosmos, the biggest problem we had with it was tracking accuracy in low-light situations. HTC has done a lot of work to improve the inside-out tracking system with software updates, but you don’t have to worry about any of that if you have an External Tracking Faceplate on your Cosmos.

The proven tracking accuracy of the Vive base station solution translates perfectly to the Cosmos. HTC managed to create a shape that, from all angles, captures the infrared light that the base stations cast into the play space.

If your prefer VR experiences involve standing up and moving around, the External Tracking Faceplate should give you comparable tracking to that of a Vive or Vive Pro. However, if you’re playing a seating game like, Elite Dangerous or Project Cars 2, you should ensure that you face a base station while playing because there aren’t many sensors on the sides, and none of them face backwards. If you have heavy traffic in your room, you may find the built-in cameras provide better tracking accuracy because the base stations require line-of-sight to the headset for SteamVR tracking to function.

In most cases, SteamVR tracking will work exceptionally well.

Disables Tracking Cameras 

The Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate replaces two of the six cameras on the Cosmos headset, leaving the front and side-facing cameras. We assumed that would mean that we could still use the Vive Cosmos controllers, but alas, that is not the case. With the External Tracking Faceplate installed, the Cosmos controllers become neat shelf decorations.

The front-facing cameras don’t even provide a passthrough view for the chaperone. HTC recommends flipping the visor if you need to see the real world. It’s unclear if a future software update may change that, but currently, the Cosmos’s cameras only work with the inside-out tracking faceplate installed.

HTC recently revealed a Cosmos XR model, which includes pass-through cameras for augmented reality (AR) experiences, although we may never get to use that one since it’s for currently for developers only. 

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Performance Tests 

Going into this review, we didn’t have much reason to believe that changing the tracking system would have much--if any--impact on game performance compared to the standard Cosmos. The fundamentals of the headset, such as the refresh rate and the display resolution, are unaffected by changing the faceplate. But when we ran a few tests the results surprised us. 

Beat Saber

Beat Saber was the first game that we captured results for, and we were not surprised to see that the performance hadn’t changed after swapping faceplates. 

The average frame rate was within 33 100ths of a frame per second (fps), and the GPU frame time was virtually identical. 

Even the CPU frametime results were nearly the same, with only fractions of a millisecond between each run. 

Space Pirate Trainer

The results we pulled from our Space Pirate Trainer tests weren’t much of a surprise either. We didn’t observe any difference in GPU performance--not that we expected to, especially because we didn’t boost the supersampling to give the GPU a heavier workload. 

The average frame remained just shy of 90 fps. 

The frame time results showed that using SteamVR tracking with the External Tracking Faceplate resulted in a slight bump in frametime at the 99.9th percentile again. 

The External Tracking Faceplate appeared to give our CPU a slightly harder time than the camera faceplate. At the median level, we saw equal performance, but at the 99.9th percentile SteamVR tracking cost us nearly 1ms in frame time latency. 

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope

The first two games began to show a pattern, but Serious Sam VR flipped that on its head. With this game, we noticed significant performance drops while using the camera-based tracking system compared to SteamVR.

Serious Sam VR is quite a demanding game, and we often see performance dips when the action picks up. However, the delta between the average frame rate of the Cosmos Elite and standard Cosmos headset was significant at 4.87 fps. 

Serious Sam VR’s frame time results also tipped in favor of SteamVR tracking. Both configurations suffered less than optimal performance here, but the internal tracking system seemed to hurt us more than the external setup. 

Curiously, the CPU didn’t appear to be phased by the different tracking systems in this game. The GPU took the brunt of the hit, which is bizarre to say the least.  

With tests performed, we can conclude that the hit in performance if one opted for the Cosmos instead of the Cosmos Elite is somewhat insignificant. Even the loss of 4.87 fps in Serious Sam is of no real concern, especially when we weren’t hitting an average of 90 fps with either faceplate installed anyway. 

Is It Worth It? 

When the Vive Cosmos hit the market, HTC received a lot of criticism over the price of the headset. The company has a reputation for high prices on its VR hardware, but the $699 price tag of the headset didn’t seem to add up. It was more money than the outgoing Vive by several hundred dollars and didn’t include the expensive base stations that drove the cost up for previous Vive models. What’s more, HTC priced the Cosmos well beyond the price of its closest rival, the Oculus Rift S, which sells for $400. 

With the release of the External Tracking Faceplate, the Cosmos gets even more expensive at $800 for the full kit or $200 for the faceplate alone, which would still bring the total cost up to $800. However, you would also require a pair or SteamVR base stations and a pair of controllers to make use of this configuration, so this only works as an upgrade path for people who already own a Vive and already upgraded to a Cosmos. HTC Vive is also prepping the lower-priced HTC Vive Cosmos Play SKU for this year. It’ll target entry-level apps with four tracking cameras and doesn’t have an official price yet but will be less expensive than the $699 Cosmos and offer HTC Vive’s cheapest entry-point into VR. 

No matter which way you slice it, the Cosmos Elite with external cosmos tracking is going to cost you a pretty penny. And that begs the question, is it worth it? There are many PC-connected VR headsets on the market at many different price points—but for the most part, their prices make sense.

We justified the high cost of the HTC Vive Pro by considering the target audience: professionals that need an enterprise-friendly solution. Valve’s Index is best-suited for VR hobbyists with deep pockets and a desire for the best. The Rift S is a nice entry-level headset that cuts a few corners to keep the price down while still offering a premium feeling product.

The Cosmos Elite doesn’t really fit into any of those categories. It’s nearly as expensive as a Valve Index but doesn’t include the expensive and excellent Index controllers and 2.0 base stations. It’s not an enterprise-focused device, so it doesn’t include a business warranty. And the Cosmos Elite is way out of the price range of most Rift S buyers. That said, I would not be dissatisfied if this were the only VR headset that I had access to.

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 9, 2019, but we weren’t able to give it a full rating due to technical issues with our review sample. We’ve since received a new, working headset and have updated the review with more testing and a score.  

Meet the Valve Index VR

Valve is finally stepping out of the shadows to claim its place in the VR hardware market, and it’s aiming straight at the high-end. The PC-connected Valve Index is currently one of best VR headsets on the market. That experience is only amplified by the included Index controllers, especially when compared to those of first-generation VR headsets.

Valve’s new headset is a big improvement in both design and features over competing headsets in consumer VR. My first impressions of the headset were very positive. The build quality is about as good as it gets, the material selection is fantastic and the device’s feature set leaves practically nothing to be desired.

Valve Index VR Headset Kit Specs

Technical Difficulties 

In the week leading up to the Index’s release in August, our Index headset started to malfunction. SteamVR kicked an error that indicated that it couldn’t detect the headset after rebooting the software to initiate a refresh rate change. 

After learning of our headset troubles, Valve sent us a replacement Index, which has works flawlessly and has continued to shine after several months of regular use.

The problem with the first unit was likely a unique case. I haven’t found any reports of other Index headsets failing as ours did. 

However, it’s worth noting that the Valve Index subreddit reveals many threads with people complaining about trouble with their headsets and the controllers. Many reported issues with the thumbsticks on the Index controllers; others reported problems with the displays inside their headsets, such as seeing horizontal or vertical lines on one or both screens. To their credit, we found a few examples of people who went through five or more RMA replacements without hassle.  

What’s In the Box?

The Index product line is available as an a-la-carte upgrade solution for existing HTC Vive and HTC Vive Pro owners, with the Index headset, Index controllers and second-generation Lighthouse base stations available individually for $499, $279 and $149, respectively. Valve also sells bundles with the headset and controllers together for $749, or complete packages that also include two base stations for $999. Our review is based on a full kit. 

The first thing that I noticed about Valve’s new headset is that every detail exudes an air of quality. Everything from the presentation of the packaging to the materials used is top-notch.

In addition to the two base stations, two controllers and the headset, you get a tether cable and appropriate power cables for the base stations and headset. If you live in the U.S., you should receive power cables with the North American plug configuration. Overseas customers should receive plugs with two interchangeable ends for compatibility across the EU. Valve also includes a pair of wall mounts for the base stations.

The complete Index kit includes almost everything you could need except for one glaring oversight. The Index controllers include internal rechargeable batteries, like the Vive wand controllers and Valve included a pair of USB Type-C cables to charge them; however, we did not find wall plugs in the box to charge the controllers.

It is annoying when companies assume that customers already have a USB charger, let alone two. I used the chargers that came with my Vive, but if I didn’t have that matching pair I would have been forced to charge my controllers one by one or with charge plugs from different manufacturers. I would prefer to know that both controllers charge at the same pace, with chargers that the hardware manufacturer specified.

High-Quality, but Heavy, Build

There's no way to sugar coat it; the Index is weighty (1.78 pounds/809g). If you were hoping for a super-light headset, look at the HP Reverb (498g). The Index headset isn't quite as heavy as the Vive Pro (1,017g), but the weight isn’t as well balanced, so it feels more substantial than the Vive Pro. Valve’s headset also includes a heavy-duty data cable, which adds to the perceived weight.  Over 800g is not an insignificant amount of weight for your neck to carry.

Despite the disappointingly heavy frame, Valve’s Index is a big step forward for head-mounted display (HMD) design. Even before plugging it in, I could tell that it is the most well-built headsets I’ve ever tested. Valve’s material selection is top-notch, and I find it hard to complain about most of the company’s design choices.

Valve’s Index headset gave me a bit of deja-vu but in a good way. It reminded me of my experience with HTC’s Vive Pro headset, which remained my pick for best VR headset from the day that I received it until the day that I received the Index. When I evaluated HTC’s Vive Pro last year, I was immediately impressed with the build quality and the industrial design of the device. Now that I’ve spent a few weeks with Valve’s Index, I can’t help but think that the Vive Pro feels cheap in comparison.

Mechanical Head Strap

The Index has a rigid, mechanically adjustable head strap that resembles the Vive’s Deluxe Audio Head Strap upgrade. The head strap wraps around the back of your head and includes a lower section that cradles to the bottom of your skull for a secure fitment. The rear of the strap comprises a small dial that controls the size adjustment. The size adjustment feels smooth and precise, and unlike some headsets that we’ve tested, the mechanism feels like it includes precision gears that would last a long time.

Valve’s Index also includes an overhead fabric strap with a Velcro adjustment that helps relieve your cheeks of the stress of the headset’s weight.

Soft, Anti-Microbial Cushions

Apart from the precision mechanical adjustments that help provide a comfortable fitment, Valve sourced high-quality material for the cushions. From a distance, the pattern of the fabric makes it look like the Index features firm closed-cell foam cushions, but it’s one of the softest materials that I’ve ever put on my face. 

The cushions are made of a thin, breathable foam material wrapped in an anti-microbial microfiber cloth. They're among the most comfortable of any VR headset that we’ve tested, but the company made a critical mistake with the cushion design; the cushions are not removable. 

Replaceable Facial Interface

Technically, you can replace the facial interface to get a fresh cushion (Valve sells 2-packs for $39.99), but that would require replacing the entire plastic frame, which includes the flaps that block light at your nose. Fortunately, the facial interface is incredibly easy to remove. The component is secured with four magnets, so give the mask a light tug, and it will pop right off. 

Valve said it would release the specifications for the interface, which would enable companies such as VR Cover to create aftermarket replacement, but it’s not too much to ask for a Velcro solution to enable cheap cushion replacements. 

Permanent Rear Cushion

The cushion on the rear of the head strap is an entirely different story. But it can’t be removed at all, so when the cushion gets sweaty after an active workout in a game like Box VR, it won’t be easy to clean.

Valve includes a potential solution for the sweaty rear cushion in the box. The headset comes bundled with a foam rubber spacer, which slips into the opening below the dial. The spacer makes it possible for people with smaller heads to wear the Index, but it could double as a sweat barrier if your head is small enough to make use of it.

Goodbye Headphones, Hello Ear Speakers

The Index headset has integrated speakers, so you don’t need to fumble with additional headphones. Unlike other VR devices, Valve’s new headset doesn’t include traditional over-the-ear headphones. The Index includes innovative mini open-backed speakers that hover near your ears but don’t touch them.

I didn’t expect Valve’s bizarre speaker system to work well, but it didn’t take long to convince me otherwise. The speakers produce clear audio, with plenty of volume. Because they hover away from your head, you can still hear surrounding noise, like if someone is calling your name. Yet, the sound quality is so good you don’t have to worry about ambient noises impeding your immersion.

Valve provided an in-depth look at the tech, development and logic behind these speakers. You can read it here.  

Adjustable IPD

The left side of the headset features a dial like the one on the rear, but this one controls the Index’s lens relief system, which allows you to bring the lenses as close as possible to your face. The Index’s lenses sit in tower-like structures that protrude towards your face from inside the visor. The dial allows you to adjust how far the lenses protrude from the inside. Valve recommends bringing the lenses as close to your eyes as possible to maximize the field of view (FOV) that you can see. There can be as much as a 10-degree difference in FOV with a 1cm distance adjustment.

In addition to the lens’s depth, the Index supports mechanical IPD (interpupillary distance) adjustment. On the bottom left side of the visor, you’ll find a slider that controls the distance between the two lenses. It supports 58-72mm pupil distances. Once again, the mechanical adjustment feels like it’s constructed with precision parts that would last a long time.

The Controllers Formerly Known as Knuckles

The Index controllers are arguably the most exciting part about Valve’s foray into VR hardware. In late 2016, Valve revealed the prototype of what would eventually become the Index controllers. These innovative input devices enabled a new, even more immersive form of interaction with virtual objects—but they were available only to a small group of select developers. Until now!

Unlike every input device that you’ve ever used for a video game, you don’t need to hold the Index controllers. They strap to your hand, which gives you the freedom to let go of them without worrying about dropping them. This enables actions like throwing a ball or opening your hand to pick something up.

The Index controllers have straps that secure the handle to your palm. The strap wraps around the outside of your hand and uses a drawstring to secure it in place. The top of the strap can be adjusted to 4 different positions and features a swivel hinge to accommodate different size and shape hands.

The Index controllers also feature capacitive touch sensors in the handle and on the face buttons for animated finger movement. The handle has sensors for your pinky, ring and middle fingers; the trigger has a sensor for your index finger and the A, B, touchpad and thumbstick inputs have sensors for your thumb. The thumb sensors also give you two thumb positions; the A and B buttons place your thumb beside your hand and the thumbstick puts your thumb above your hand.

Additionally, the Index controllers have pressure sensors to detect how hard you squeeze the handles, allowing supporting games to differentiate between a light grip and a firm grip.

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A Wider Window Into the Virtual World

Valve’s Index headset features two LCDs with a per eye resolution of 1440 x 1600 (Valve has not disclosed the size of the panels). That's the same resolution as the HTC Vive Pro and Samsung’s Odyssey (Plus) headsets. However, you get a more full FOV with the Index.

Valve designed custom dual-element lenses for the Index. It said that these lenses provide “high geometric stability” and “minimal shape distortion,” which enables Valve to “maximize FOV without sacrificing edge-to-edge clarity.” In other words, the Index can make use of more of its display than older headsets.

Valve also installed the displays in the Index at a 5-degree outward cant to maximize the peripheral view. The company said that the difference in FOV between the Index and Vive could be as significant as 20 degrees for typical users.

I have a 6mm VR Cover installed on my Vive, which improves the FOV, so the difference wasn’t as pronounced as it could have been from my perspective. But the Index still offers a broader view of the virtual world than the Vive. Pimax headsets, like the Pimax 5K Plus, Pimax 8K Plus and Pimax 8K X, are your best options for the broadest FOV. 

RGB Subpixels Make a Huge Difference

The Index has the same resolution as the Vive Pro and Odyssey, but not the same display technology. Whereas the Vive Pro and the Odyssey feature AMOLED displays, which produce excellent contrast and deep blacks, the Index features ultra-low persistence LCDs. While it’s true that the LCD panels can’t produce true blacks because they require backlighting to function, LCD panels can take advantage of RGB subpixel arrays that improve image sharpness and eliminate screen door effect.

Valve claimed that the RGB LCDs provide “50% more subpixels than OLED” displays, which results in “three times better” fill-factor, and I’m inclined to agree. The image clarity in the Index headset is second only to HP’s 4K per eye Reverb headset. I would say it provides better image clarity than my Pimax 5K Plus.

80 Hz, 90 Hz, 120 Hz, or 144 Hz? The Choice Is Your GPU’s!

The LCD panels in the Index also provide another distinct advantage over OLED panels: They’re available with higher refresh rates. Valve’s Index is the first PC-VR headset to offer panels that support 120 Hz and even 144 Hz operation, although the latter is an experimental feature. 

The SteamVR software enables you to select 80 Hz, 90 Hz, 120 Hz or 144 Hz, which allows the device to scale with your computer. If your PC isn’t quite up to par for the higher refresh rates, you can dial the settings back until your next system upgrade. To be honest, you’ll likely need to keep the settings dialed back for a while. 90 Hz is already a pretty tall order for most graphics cards in many games. You will need a top-tier GPU to run your Index at 120 Hz or higher, as our benchmark results illustrate. 

Ready for the Future

Valve is so serious about making the Index a premium device that it even planned for future expansion and advancements. The front faceplate of the Index headset features a removable panel that covers a cavity that Valve calls the “Frunk.” Valve doesn’t have any specific plans for the front compartment but put a USB port there so that developers and hardware makers can experiment with it. Some have assumed the Frunk would fit a Leap Motion controller. You can slip one in the slot, but there’s not enough room for the USB cable, so it doesn’t quite fit.

Valve also installed a pair of front-facing, global-shutter RGB cameras on the Index. Currently, the cameras don’t have a specific use, but Valve said they were designed for computer vision and they're looking forward to computer vision experts to make use of them. At the very least, we hope to see the adoption of stereo passthrough for augmented reality experiences. Valve said it would have more to share about the cameras later this summer.

Performance Testing

As usual, my VR headset test system consists of an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU overclocked to a clock speed of 4.8 GHz, 16GB of G.Skill SniperX DDR4-3600 RAM, a Crucial 500GB MX200 SSD and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition graphics card.

For this evaluation, all tests were conducted with version 441.87 of Nvidia’s Game Ready GeForce driver installed. 

Test Method

We use Nvidia’s FCAT VR tool to capture the real-time frame rate and frame time data from SteamVR. For each variable change, we capture three 60-second tests. I chose to focus my attention on the adjustable refresh rate rather than adjust the display resolution. I set SteamVR’s rendering scale to 100%, which resulted in 2016 x 2240 pixels per eye.

I focused on 90 Hz, 120 Hz and 144 Hz. I ignored the 80 Hz mode because the RTX 2080 had no trouble with 90 Hz, so reducing the frequency served no purpose. I also ran tests with motion smoothing enabled and disabled to see what effect it has on performance—both objectively and subjectively.

Elite Dangerous

We don’t often use Elite Dangerous for our VR tests, but we brought it into the mix because it’s the best way we could think of to evaluate how well the LCD panels handle dark environments. It’s also a very demanding game, so it makes a good benchmark test.

Elite Dangerous was not originally designed for VR, and as such, playing this game in VR puts your PC to the test. Frontier Developments created VR graphics pre-sets, which were optimized for the original Vive headset. We set the game to VR medium for our Index tests because VR high was too much for our i7-8700K and RTX 2080 combo—even at 80Hz. 

Project Cars 2

Project Cars 2 is the game where we noticed the biggest difference between refresh rates. At 80Hz, our system had no problem delivering the necessary frame rate to keep things moving smoothly, and we experienced no missed frames.

It wasn’t until we bumped the refresh rate to 90 Hz that we noticed that 80 Hz was holding us back. System performance wasn’t a problem, but our driving performance was affected. Flipping back and forth from 80 Hz to 90 Hz yielded the same results. Our lap time was consistently slower, with the lower refresh rate enabled.

Moving up to 120 Hz didn’t give us the same positive results. Our system struggled to achieve a higher frame rate than 90 Hz, which resulted in more than 10% missed frames. Despite achieving a similar average frame rate, the 120 Hz refresh rate negatively impacted our lap time performance.

Since our system struggled at 120 Hz here, we didn’t run Project Cars 2 at 144 Hz. 

Beat Saber

We were surprised to learn that higher refresh rates help in Beat Saber, too. The higher we set the refresh rate, the easier it became to prepare for each swing. The boxes come at you so fast that we wouldn’t have guessed that it would make a difference, but it did. 

The faster the refresh, the smoother the animation appeared, and that somehow translated to faster calculation of when to swing and which arm to swing. It felt like time slowed down, and our score improved as a result. 

Doom VFR

We didn’t notice any improvements to our abilities in Doom VFR using the Index headset. 

We couldn’t tell the difference between the varying refresh rates in this game until we cranked up the resolution. At that point, the performance hit affected the frame rate such that the game became more difficult and less comfortable to play.

I would probably sacrifice that higher refresh rate for more frames per second for Doom VFR. That said, if your GPU can handle it, you’ll benefit from less motion blur when running the game at 120 Hz or more.

Boneworks

Boneworks is one of the first VR titles designed for the Index controllers, and this is the first time we’ve used it as a benchmark test. It incorporates the finger tracking and pressure sensing features of the Index controllers to enable fancy hand interactions that aren’t possible with other VR  controllers. To get the ultimate experience out of this game, you need a pair of Index controllers.

We were surprised to see how well the performance scaled to higher refresh rates. We ran our tests with 2x MSAA, but it appears we could have justified at least 4x on our system.

We didn’t notice a significant difference in gameplay between the varying refresh rates. 144 Hz felt somewhat smoother than 80 Hz, but wasn’t a groundbreaking change.Strive for the highest refresh rate your GPU can manage, but you’re really not missing much if you can’t go beyond 90 Hz. 

Final Thoughts

Valve didn’t initially plan to make its own VR headset but developed the class-leading Lighthouse tracking technology, made licenses available for free and worked with HTC, which licensed both generations of Valve’s tracking system. However, HTC appears to be moving away from Valve’s base station-based tracking solution in favor of inside-out tracking (no base stations required), as found on the HTC Vive Cosmos and HTC Vive Focus Plus. 

Valve developed the Index headset in-house, and, as a result, it was able to control every aspect of its design, allowing for several innovative design choices that will surely inspire headset design for years to come.

If there's a better VR headset for consumers, I haven't tried it yet. There is certainly room for improvement with the Index—most notably, I would like to see it go on a diet. If you have money to burn, and you want the best home VR experience that money can buy, the Index headset combined with the controllers delivers a champion-level consumer VR experience.

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Google announced the new Pixel 4 smartphone yesterday. The company revealed plenty of information about the device: it features a new camera system, updated Google Assistant and other improvements over the Pixel 3. But one thing Google's flagship smartphone won't have, according to Variety, is support for Daydream VR. It turns out that's because Google is quietly killing the Daydream VR platform--or at least taking it off life support. 

The company will no longer sell its Daydream View VR headset and has already pulled it from the Google Store. Lenovo's Mirage Solo standalone Daydream VR headset is also unavailable. That leaves the Daydream market empty (or should we say even emptier?).

But it's not like Daydream was ever truly successful. HTC canceled its standalone Daydream headset--which was supposed to be the first to market--in 2017. Lenovo released its Mirage Solo, then Google updated the Daydream View headset and then... nothing.

Google confirmed that Daydream wasn't as popular as it would've liked to Variety. 

"There hasn't been the broad consumer or developer adoption we had hoped, and we've seen decreasing usage over time of the Daydream View headset. So while we are no longer selling Daydream View or supporting Daydream on Pixel 4, the Daydream app and store will remain available for existing users," a spokesperson said. 

Other companies will continue to chase standalone VR. The HTC Vive Focus Plus is HTC's first standalone room-scale VR headset and came out earlier this year. Oculus has already released the standalone Oculus Go and Oculus Quest headsets. Smaller companies have also worked on similar devices.

So now Daydream will be a forgotten dream. We expect it's only a matter of time until Google also takes down its app store and ends support for the Daydream View headsets it's already sold. Eventually, the last smartphones to support Daydream will find their way into junk drawers and recycling centers. By then Daydream will be nothing but a, well, you know...daydream. 

Nvidia released the GeForce Game Ready 436.48 WHQL driver today with improved support for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, the upcoming HTC Vive Cosmos headset and the Oculus Studios title Asgard's Wrath.

Breakpoint is the latest entry in Ubisoft's long-running Ghost Recon franchise set to debut October 4. The game features drop-in drop-out online co-op, a new injury system that make getting shot more than just a momentary inconvenience and other changes to the series formula. (It also features Jon Bernthal from The Punisher and The Walking Dead, which means this entry's voice acting is all but guaranteed to be more badass than ever.)

As for the Cosmos, it's HTC's latest VR headset and will be released October 3. Pre-orders started September 12. The device features redesigned Vive Reality System software, inside-out room-scale tracking that removes the need for additional base stations and other improvements over HTC's previous headsets. Nvidia extended the VR love to Oculus, too, by improving support for the Asgard's Wrath adventure game it's releasing October 10.

Nvidia said in the driver's full release notes that it also fixed a problem with Tom Clancy's The Division 2 that resulted in the game crashing when played in DirectX 12 mode, an issue that led to an error message appearing when using some of its tools in Vulkan-based games and other miscellaneous improvements. The GeForce Game Ready 436.48 WHQL driver is available now via GeForce Experience and Nvidia's website. 

HTC Vive is known for premium-level VR, but that’s always come at the cost of setting up intrusive base stations around your living room to enable the headset’s tracking abilities. But the HTC Vive Cosmos will change that with a base station-free design, and HTC today announced that it’ll cost $699 for gamers and tech enthusiasts to try it out. Pre-orders have already started, and the headset hits stores October 3.

The Cosmos is debuting with a feature similar to the Valve Index’s interestingly named Frunk. Like the Index, the Cosmos’ faceplate is removable and has a USB port underneath for modding or adding third-party attachments. However, the Index has a Type-A port, while the Cosmos rocks USB-C.

The Cosmos already has its first mod planned, the Vive Cosmos External Tracking Mod, which let you continue to use Lighthouse tracking base stations, presumably for even better performance. It’ll debut in Q1 2020.

Meanwhile, HTC promises the Cosmos’ controllers are more comfortable and functional than their predecessor. At the very least, they certainly look snazzier than the old plastic-looking Vive controllers, with help from the addition of white lighting worthy of the Cosmos branding. They run on two AA batteries, include a system button, trigger, bumper, joystick grip button and 2 action buttons on run on gyro and G sensors, a hall sensor and touch sensors.

The Cosmos’ room-scale inside-out tracking (which means no external base stations are required, as is with all other Vive headsets), uses six camera sensors and requires a space of at least 2x1.5m. Display resolution is set at 2880 x 1700 total, which is 88% greater than the original HTC Vive headset. The head-mounted display (HMD) will run a 90 frames per second with RGB panels, which feature RGB subpixels (meaning each pixel gets a red, green and blue subpixel, rather than OLED competitors’ PenTile layout, with just two subpixels per pixel). The Index, HP Reverb and Oculus Rift S use RGB panels as well.

The Cosmos also has a flip-up panel so gamers can jump between virtual reality and real reality easily. We haven’t tried this out, but it sounds much better than lifting a decently weighted piece of hardware off your head to see what’s going on in your living room (weight wasn't disclosed).

Unlike standalone headsets, like the Oculus Quest, the Cosmos has to be tethered to a gaming PC to work. However, it works with the HTC Vive Wireless Adapter for tether-free VR.

HTC is trying to entice shoppers further with a free 12-month Viveport Infinity subscription with pre-orders by October 2. The service lets gamers access VR games, apps and videos, sort of like Netflix for VR. A 12-month subscription currently costs $107.88.

New Software

The Cosmos will be the first VR headset to run the Vive Reality System software, a total redesign, according to HTC, including a new user interface called Lens. There’s also a new home menu, Origin, where launching apps is supposed to feel more like entering a new world.

The Vive Cosmos is available for pre-order via Vive, as well as Amazon, Best Buy Canada, B&H Photo, GameStop, Newegg, and Walmart. 

HTC Vive Cosmos Specs

Photo Credits: Tom's Hardware, HTC Vive

Update 6/25/2019, 5:00 p.m. ET: HTC Vive disclosed new information today about its next consumer VR headset, the HTC Vive Cosmos.

Upon release, the Vive Cosmos will have a higher total resolution than any other Vive headset. The LCD display will have a 2880 x 1700 combined resolution, which is 88% bigger than the original HTC Vive headset.

According to HTC, VR games will play at up to 90 frames per second with a “reduced” screen-door effect. HTC Vive is banking on ithe HMD’s RGB panels with subpixels to help with image clarity. For example, both the HP Reverb, Oculus RIft S and upcoming Valve Index also opt for RGB subpixels (meaning each pixel gets a red, green and blue subpixel) rather than OLED competitors’ PenTile layout, with just two subpixels per pixel.

Last week, HTC Vive also revealed that the Vive Cosmos will have 6 cameras for room-scale inside-out tracking (no base stations needed) and responsive controllers plus a flip-up design so you can see the real world without completely removing the headset. The Vive Cosmos will also arrive with a swappable faceplate for future XR applications and a vented front design for keeping you cool while VR gaming.

The company is still keeping quiet on the Vive Cosmos’ price and release date, but we’re expecting it to arrive in Q3.

Original article, 1/8/2019:

At its CES press conference, HTC Vive just announced two new VR headsets: the HTC Vive Cosmos and HTC Vive Pro Eye. The former targets consumers and is said to be more lightweight and portable while the latter adds some features for businesses.

HTC Vive Cosmos

The Vive Cosmos is designed to make VR more accessible to the masses. HTC claims the headset will be easy to setup and more portable with a redesigned headstrap and lighter materials. There's also no external tracking required. Plus, it comes with a flip-up design, so you can swap between reality and virtual reality instantly. 

The Vive Cosmos will be able to be powered by a gaming PC, but HTC hinted that a mobile version could be coming.

Vive Cosmos will come with the debut of Vive Reality System, which offers "core software experiences for a new age of spatial computing." The goal is to bring the power of spatial computing to a broad consumer audience and glue together HTC's hardware, software and services for seamless experience. And using its Mozilla partnership, it hopes to bring more web content to VR customers, including plans to launch the first Vive-dedicated VR browser.

HTC Vive Cosmos developer kits will arrive early this year, with general availability and pricing info to be revealed later in 2019. 

HTC Vive Pro Eye

Update 1/8/2019, 8:11 a.m. ET: It was announced today that the integrated eye tracking in the upcoming HTC Vive Pro Eye will come from Tobii.

Following last year's introduction of the Vive Pro for business customers, HTC today unveiled the HTC Vive Pro Eye, a headset with integrated eye tracking. The vendor said this means businesses can build even better training programs. HTC is also claiming increased VR interaction speeds and more efficient CPU and GPU usage. 

Eye tracking also brings foveated rendering, which increases quality in the portion of the images where your eye is actually looking. It'll use Nvidia's latest RTX cards to do so. 

Partners for the HTC Vive Pro Eye already include the MLB, among others. It'll arrive in Q2. 

HTC Viveport Infinity

On the services side, HTC announced Viveport Infinity, a long-term VR subscription service giving customers access to over 500 apps, including "top games" and educational apps, for a monthly fee. 

Viveport Inifity launches April 5.

Stay tuned for our hands-on experiences with some of these offerings as we keep spending time with HTC Vive VR at CES. 

Update 6/6/2019: The HTC Vive Pro Eye was made available today at Vive.com and select retailers, priced at $1,599. The headset will include the options for users to send HTC Vive feedback through heatmapping and gaze tracking, providing HTC Vive “insight into user behavior and decision processes.”

We asked HTC VIve about whether this feature can be disabled. A spokesperson said it depends on the application and whether the developer created content that allows for that.

HTC Vive’s announcement also noted that the Vive Pro Eye uses foveated rendering to direct GPU efforts toward where the user is looking.

Original article 1/8/2019:

Hands are old news. VR navigation, control and selection is best done with the eyes--at least that’s what HTC Vive is banking on with the upcoming HTC Vive Pro Eye, a VR headset with integrated Tobii eye tracking initially targeting businesses. I tried out a beta version of the feature myself on MLB Home Run Derby VR. It’s still in development and, thus, was a little wonky, but I can’t deny its cool factor.

HTC announced the new headset Tuesday at the CES tech show in Las Vegas. The idea is that by having eye tracking built into the headset, better use cases, such as enhanced training programs, can be introduced. The VR player also says users can expect faster VR interactions and better efficiency in terms of tapping your PC’s CPU and GPU.

Of course, before my peepers could be tracked I needed to calibrate the headset for my special eyes. It was quite simple, after adjusting the interpupillary distance appropriately, the headset had me stare at a blue dot that bounced around my field of view (FOV). The whole thing took less than a minute.

With the power of eye tracking, I was able to look at different menu options. Without the need to turn my head, not even for accessing items in the lowest parts of my FOV, I could place the cursor where I wanted just by staring at the desired location. When I maintained my gaze, a small circle appeared--in this case shaped like a baseball--and once the circle filled with color after a couple seconds, my selection was made. 

I tried highlighting and selecting a few different menu options but only managed to properly select two. Sometimes I tried to stare at where I wanted to make my selection, but the cursor would drift out of the desired area before the game recognized my choice. However, I was told this is a beta and that the eye tracking should be more fluid upon the headset’s release in Q2.

While a lavish, futuristic-seeming feature, eye tracking can certainly come in handy with VR gaming. For example, in Home Run Derby, you play with a bat. With integrated eye tracking, there’s no need to switch between the bat and VR controllers to alter game modes or settings.

Plus, controlling things with your eyes is the superpower I didn’t know I wanted. It gave me an enhanced feeling of being in control and is as close to mimicking the telekinesis of Jean Grey’s from the X-Men without the occasional mind-splitting headaches (hopefully) that I've ever gotten. 

I’d love to see how game developers create ways to use the eye tracking in actual gameplay. Imagine being able to look at a baseball and drive better accuracy with your bat, just like in real baseball (I could use the help, I managed a mere two home runs in 30 seconds). Or picture being able to take down a virtual opponent with your looks. If looks could kill, right? 

HTC is staying mum on any other specs for the Vive Pro Eye at the moment. But I was told the main difference between the already-available HTC Vive Pro and upcoming HTC Vive Pro Eye is, indeed, the integrated Tobii eye tracking. So we’re expecting similar specs to that of the Vive Pro. Hopefully, though, the eye tracking won’t come at too much of a premium, especially considering the Vive Pro’s already ample $800 price tag. Otherwise, we're not so sure if the headset will make its way into practical, consumer VR gaming. 

With upcoming headset releases from Oculus in the form of the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S, and fresh competition—yes, of course I’m talking about the Valve Index—the state of VR hardware is as vibrant as ever. Since the Oculus Rift came out for consumers 3 years ago, VR headsets and controllers, as well as GPUs have all improved. While the latest hardware is not necessarily leaps and bounds better, it is certainly better: 2K or not quite 2K panels are now pretty much standard, we're starting to move away from requiring base stations and we have virtual fingers!

There have been significant quality of life improvements as well. We have better lenses, faster refresh rates, a larger FOV and, eventually, eye tracking, all of which bring clarity to the virtual world.

While the hardware improvements are great, and needed, VR is still not mainstream. Nor have we obtained the crystal clear promise of truly immersive VR, even the best VR headsets have flaws. 

I’m skeptical that, even if we had the VR hardware, our current GPUs would be able to muster the processing oomph to power them. Additionally, next-gen headsets will require a much greater leap in components. I want 4K panels for each eye. I want a refresh rate as fast as a top-of-the-line gaming monitor and a variable one to boot. I want eye tracking software that selectively processes pixels depending on where you look on the screen and perfect hand tracking. Clearly, I’m a needy person.

While the pinnacle of VR hardware may still be a bit of a ways off, the industry is still at pace for healthy growth and development. Games may be lacking (where’s my Half Life 3?), but the state of VR is good, and given its infancy, possibly even great.

And that brings us to this week’s Community Questions: What do you think of the state of VR? Have you bought in yet, or are you still in wait-and-see mode? Why? Let us know in the forums.

HTC released the Vive Wireless Adapter in September 2018 to do away with the cables that kept VR users firmly tethered to this reality--and their systems--while they were trying to escape to another one. Nearly eight months later, the company has partnered up with Intel and AMD to figure out why the Vive Wireless Adapter has caused blue screen of death (BSOD) and other issues when it's used with certain AMD processors.

These problems aren't just coming to light: we noted that the Vive Wireless Adapter had compatibility issues with some Ryzen processors in our November 2018 review. HTC acknowledged the problem that same month, saying that it "[had] seen and [was] actively looking into multiple reports of Ryzen incompatibility with Vive Wireless Adapter." The company said the investigation could take time--it seems to have been right.

Because the adapter is based partly on Intel's WiGig technology, which allows the connected Vive headset to communicate with the PC that's powering it, conspiracy theorists were easily able to swap out their VR headsets for tinfoil hats and say AMD was being sabotaged. But now all three companies are working to figure out why the Vive Wireless Adapter has problems with systems featuring the 50-year-old red team's CPUs.

The first step towards solving the problem was made on April 25 when HTC released a hotfix for the issue to version 1.20190410.0 of the Vive Wireless Adapter Connection Utility. (Which can be installed by hitting the "Update now" button within the Connection Utility itself.) We suspect a more permanent solution will arrive eventually, but at least now AMD users who bore with the adapter's issues should have a better experience.

It's just a shame this has taken so long. Untethered headsets aren't nearly as novel as they were back when the Vive Wireless Adapter was announced in 2017, and HTC itself released the wireless Vive Focus Plus to developers on April 15. Hopefully any solution that improves the Vive Wireless Adapter at this point can also make sure people who buy the company's untethered headset won't have to deal with similar issues.

HTC is gearing up to transform the VR industry with its first standalone room-scale VR headset. Today at its annual Vive Ecosystem Conference, the company announced that the Vive Focus Plus VR headset with motion controllers would be available on April 15 for $799.

The Vive Focus headset has been a long time coming. HTC first revealed plans to build this device in 2017 when it announced that it would participate Google’s Daydream platform. However, later that year the company backed out of its partnership with Google, so the Daydream headset never saw the light of day.

HTC took the development of its standalone VR headset in-house and later revealed the Vive Focus, which featured a Qualcomm SoC architecture and inside-out room-scale tracking. Unfortunately, the untethered, room-scale device was hampered a lack of motion controls. Happily, that’s no longer the case.

6-Degrees of Freedom

The original Vive Focus headset didn’t support 6-degrees of freedom motion controller, but HTC’s recently revealed Vive Focus Plus fixes that shortcoming. The new headset includes a pair of tracked wand controllers that enable you to interact with the virtual world the same way you can with the Vive headset and its wand controllers.  

No More Screen Door

Along with the availability announcement, HTC revealed that the new Vive Focus Plus includes all-new Fresnel lenses that significantlyreduce the screen door effect that has plagued VR users since day one.

"With the unveiling of these enhanced features for Vive Focus Plus, the VR industry is moving forward with this new generation of standalone full-fidelity VR devices," said Alvin Wang Graylin, China President, HTC in a prepared statement. "We’re thrilled to be able to feature numerous experiences and use cases at VEC, which showcase the incredible opportunity for Vive Focus Plus and the entire VR category."

Plenty of Content

HTC is marketing the Vive Focus Plus as a tool for developer and enterprise customers, but that hasn’t stopped the company from supporting gaming content on the Vive Focus Plus. HTC said that more than 250 titles currently exist on the Viveport that run natively on the Vive Focus Plus, with many titles that take advantage of the device’s 6-DoF capabilities.

Speaking of taking advantage of 6-DoF tracking, HTC also revealed new technology that enables 6-DoF motion in 360-degree videos. An upcoming version of the Vive Video player will allow users to move up to one-meter within any standard 360-degree video file. We have no idea how this software works, but we’re eager to give it a try.

Multi-Mode Content Sourcing

HTC also revealed that the Vive Focus Plus would include a new multi-mode feature which enables you to access content from almost any device on the Vive Focus Plus headset. HTC didn’t explain how it works, but the company said that the Vive Focus Plus “will be compatible with PC VR, PCs/laptops, smartphones, game consoles, 2D video streaming devices, live 360 camera streaming and upcoming Cloud VR services.”

Multi-player Experiences

HTC doesn’t have plans to sell the Vive Focus Plus to the consumer market, but the company is embracing gaming on its standalone product. HTC’s partners showcased a multiplayer VR paintball game that integrates the Vive Focus Plus with a haptic vest to replicate the feeling of a real paintball match.

ModalVR, Nolan Bushnell’s warehouse scale VR venture also attended HTC’s VEC conference and demonstrated a 900 square foot play area that could accommodate up to 40 Vive Focus headsets in a multiplayer experience.

Weeks Away

We’ve been waiting more than a year to get our hands on a Vive Focus headset, but thankfully the wait is coming to an end. HTC said the Vive Focus Plus would be available to developers on April 15. The company said the device would initially be available in 25 countries around the world, with support for 19 languages. HTC announced the headset would carry a $799 price tag and it would include an enterprise license at no extra charge in most markets.

No details yet about the company’s next consumer-facing device, the Vive Cosmos.

HTC Vive Focus Plus VR Headset Specs

HP is looking to poach HTC Vive Pro fans with its new Reverb VR headset debuting in late April. Its resolution—twice that of the Vive Pro—plus a lightweight, comfortable fit and impressive $599 price tag should be enough to make the incumbent premium VR headset sweat--especially since it didn't make my face do so. 

In my meeting with HP about today’s announcement, the company made it very clear that it’s positioning its second Windows Mixed Reality (MR) headset as a Vive Pro rival. But HP’s head-mounted display (HMD) boasts greater per-eye resolution (2160x2160 vs. 1440x1600) and a wider field of view (114 degrees vs. 100 degrees).

Upon strapping on the Reverb, I could immediately feel the difference between it and the Vive Pro. The Reverb didn’t weigh down on the top of my head, and that’s because it's half the Vive Pro’s weight.

HP also redesigned the Reverb’s head strap compared to the HP Windows MR Headset, HP’s first VR headset. Instead of using a halo band design, which included plastic and cushioning pads in the front of the back of the head, the Reverb uses a sawstrap design similar to the Oculus Go. It has a lightweight strap going across the top of the head to the back, where there’s a plastic circle and a dial for tightening the HMD.

The consumer version of the headset will come with a machine-washable (hang or tumble dry low) cloth face mask, while business users will get a TP or PU leather one that is cleanable with sanitizer wipes. I used the cloth facemask, which was soft, squishy, yet light, and didn’t leave my face with a frame of light perspiration around the eyes like most VR headsets do after a while.

But does the Reverb really have what takes to outshine the Vive Pro and other competitors, like the Samsung HMD Odyssey +, which has the same resolution and refresh rate as the Vive Pro? I tried some demos and games in the Reverb to get an idea of its potential. But first, here’s a quick comparison of the Reverb and Vive Pro’s specs.

HP Reverb vs. HTC Vive Pro Specs

Indeed, the star of the Reverb’s spec sheet is its resolution. For business users it’s not the highest resolution available today. Pricey headsets like the $899 Pimax 8K and $6,000 XTAL beat it. But it does pack more pixels than the Vive Pro and Pimax 5K Plus ($699). 

In addition, the Reverb’s 90Hz refresh rate is on par with the Vive Pro and Oculus Rift. To reach the 90Hz refresh rate, the graphics card must support DisplayPort 1.3. It’s recommended the Reverb connect to a PC with a GTX 1080 graphics card or better.

But it’s not just about the specs. HP also made design decisions aimed at increasing sharpness for enhanced ability to see things like textures and text.

For one, the Reverb has LCD panels, instead of OLED like the Vive Pro or Rift. John Ludwig, global lead VR headsets at HP Inc., told Tom’s Hardware this is because LCD has an RGB subpixel stripe, meaning each pixel gets a red, green and blue subpixel. This differs from the OLED competitors, which use a PenTile layout, where there are only two subpixels. And, Lugwig said, each pixel can’t make every color. LCD also allows for a more pixel-dense display, which lends to smaller headgear overall, he added.

Additionally, HP adjusted the sweet spot of the displays. Ludwig admitted that in the first HP HMD, the sweet spot was a little small and got fuzzy near the edges. Your pupils had to align vertically with the lenses to get the best image. The goal with Reverb, Ludwig said, is to increase clarity, so you can see the resolution, while enlarging the sweet spot. The headset achieves some of this with its head strap, which is supposed to help center the eyes in the sweet spot better for longer use.

Further, the Reverb ditches the symmetrical circular lenses of its predecessor for asymmetrical lenses that are square-shaped with rounded edges, instead of circles, which Ludwig claims also enhances the FOV.

Ludwig noticed that with Fresnel lenses, HP found an inverse relationship between FOV and the lens clarity.

“We went to asymmetric because it allowed us to lower the per eye FOV, which boosts the clarity a bunch and increases the sweet spot about 33 percent. Then we combined both eyes.” Ludwig explained. “Our binocular FOV for both eyes has gone up from 110 to 114 degrees, but we managed to boost the clarity because we lowered the FOV per eye.”

HP Reverb in Action

I wore the Reverb for about 20 minutes and, as mentioned, it was surprisingly comfy. Most VR headsets push down on my nose and/or leave the area around my eyes hot and a touch moist. But my face still felt clean after wearing the Reverb, and the fabric face cushion didn’t stick to my face as I took it off. However, I wasn’t wearing glassing when I tried the Reverb, and the headset’s interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment is through software only.

So, what’s VR look like with 9.3 million pixels? Since HP designed the headset primarily with businesses in mind, I tried out an architecture interior design demo, where I examined different desk textures very closely and was able to see the gradient color and grain in the wood in detail.

In another demo, I played a nurse handing off different medical tools while watching a real-life video of a graphic surgery playing overhead. Again I was met with strong detail as I watched bright red blood ooze out tearing in the skin. It looked only slightly less realistic than if I were watching it on a PC monitor.

Text is also easy to read on the Reverb. In a safety training demo I identified safety hazards and selected their description and subsequent plan of action from a list of choices. The characters on a white background never seemed jittery or blurry. I could see myself reading an entire article on the headset without struggling.

I also tried some games, like The Labs, where the game’s warehouse filled enough of my peripheral where I wasn’t distracted. This is a welcome upgrade from HP’s previous HMD, which had a 100-degree FOV that felt restricted and even induced a sense of tunnel vision in our review.

Since I was trying out a second-level production headset, it had a few kinks to work out. For one, I noticed a faint gray screen door effect, like a subtle gray fog, that was particularly prominent on white backgrounds. Ludwig said this is because of the structure of the LCD panel and that it won’t be visible when the headset sees general availability.

And during the design demo, in my right peripheral I saw a blue, red and yellow line running along the gap between some tiles. Ludwig said is because they didn’t cut out enough of the eye cup in the pre-production model. The eye cup is a cone that goes from the lenses to the display. My sample headset had a light from the display bouncing off the interior of the eye cup, which was visible on the edges of the cup. That too will be fixed fix before the Reverb’s release, Ludwig claimed.

Same Ol’ Motion Controllers

The Reverb uses the same motion controllers as the previous HP headset. However, this version of the controllers also connect via Bluetooth to the headset instead of the PC only. They’ll come pre-synced to the HMD.

Ludwig said HP is maintaining the status quo here because the controllers are already “robust,” and their joystick and trackpad offer compatibility with many Windows MR and SteamVR apps.

The consumer version of the HP Reverb will cost $599 and come with two motion controllers, a 3.5-meter cable for connecting to PCs, a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort adapter and a washable fabric face cushion.

The enterprise version will cost $649 and adds a 0.6-meter headset cable for connecting to the HP Z VR backpack.

Stay tuned for our review of the Reverb, where we’ll see how well HP’s high-resolution headset can handle VR games.

HTC Vive today revealed that its upcoming subscription service, Viveport Infinity, which will offer unlimited access to virtual reality (VR) apps and games, will be available starting on April 2 for $12.99 a month or $99 for a year. However, early adopters can access the service for as little as $8.99 a month for 2019. 

Viveport Infinity will boast a library of more than 600 titles at launch, with more expected to debut in the future and will also offer subscribers a number of perks. Viveport Infinity will be compatible with HTC Vive products, including the HTC Vive and Vive Pro headsets, Oculus Rift and "any standalone headset" built on its Wave platform. 

Other perks for Viveport Infinity subscribers include a 10 percent Viveport coupon at the beginning of every month, free titles, weekend deals and access to a "revamped Viveport Video application" that won't be available to non-subscribers. It's like Netflix for VR with a rewards program.

If you sign up for a free trial before the April 2 launch or are already a Viveport subscriber, you'll pay $8.99 until the end of 2019. So anyone interested in the service might want to consider signing up early. 

HTC Vive will also celebrate the subscription service's launch with a sale on more than 100 titles in the Viveport store between April 2 and 7.

The announcement follows rumors that companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and many others plan to introduce similar offerings. Everyone wants to be the "Netflix for" their market, and because HTC Vive's is VR, it makes sense for it to work on 'Netflix for VR' with something like Viveport Infinity.

But HTC Vive isn't new to the subscription game. The company introduced a monthly subscription option to its Viveport content distribution platform in April 2017. However, the service was limited in the content in which it offered access and how often it could be used. Viveport Infinity nixes both of those restrictions.

The company's also changing its revenue split with developers from the standard 70 percent / 30 percent (in developers' favor) also used by other subscription platforms to a more dev-friendly 80 / 20.

HTC today introduced the Vive Focus Plus, a standalone VR headset with 6 degrees of freedom (6-DoF) motion controllers, like the upcoming Oculus Quest. However, HTC isn’t trying to steal a piece of Oculus’ cake this time around. The company sees the Vive Focus Plus as a tool for businesses, not a source of home entertainment.

HTC already has the Vive Focus, a $599 standalone VR headset with a high-resolution AMOLED display and powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 mobile SoC to power it. The Vive Focus Plus isn’t really a new headset, just an upgrade to the Vive Focus. The headset still features the aforementioned specs and a 2880x1600 75Hz AMOLED display. It also has inside-out 6-DoF “world-scale” tracking via a pair of front-facing cameras, which gives you the freedom to move around in the virtual world. However, the original Vive Focus was mismatched with a 3-DoF controller, which limited the type of experiences it could handle.

The upcoming Vive Focus Plus controllers appear to be a combination of the original Vive wands and the upcoming Vive Cosmos controllers. Additionally, Vive Focus Plus controllers feature ultrasonic tracking, rather than a light-based tracking solution. They have two trigger buttons, one of which replaces the grip buttons on the original Vive wands. The Vive Focus Plus controllers also include a trackpad and two face buttons, which gives the Vive Focus input parity with the original Vive headset.

HTC said that it would be relatively easy for developers to port their PC-based VR content to the Vive Focus Plus platform. Like all HTC headsets, the Vive Focus Plus is compatible with the company’s Viveport content distribution system. The Vive Focus Plus is also fully compatible with the company’s Vive Wave open VR platform.

However, HTC built in a handful of features that make the device more appealing for business use than personal entertainment. The Vive Focus Plus includes a Kiosk Mode, which would enable developers to lock the headset down to display specific content only. HTC also created device management tools that allow remote monitoring and control of multiple headsets at once, which would be perfect for a classroom training setting.

HTC didn’t reveal the release date for the Vive Focus Plus, and the company isn’t talking about pricing yet. However, the new device should soon be available for developers, and HTC will begin accepting orders for the Vive Focus Plus in Q2 2019.

Update 1/11/2019 11:20 a.m. PT: We've added a photo of the FinchShift controllers taken at CES 2019, as well as pricing and availability information. 

Finch Technologies announced January 3 that FinchShift controllers, which it claims are the "first cross-platform, camera-free controllers enabling natural and immersive interaction in VR/AR through all six degrees of freedom (6DoF) and with no field-of-view (FOV) limitations," will soon reach developers. HTC Vive plans to offer the FinchShift controllers to its developer community and support them with an update to its Wave SDK.

Qualcomm also confirmed that the FinchShift controllers are compatible with its Snapdragon 845 VR Reference Design. The developer kit based on that design was revealed in February 2018 (with more details about it being released in March) and is now available for $1,600. Ensuring the FinchShift controllers are compatible with this reference design will make it easier for mobile VR developers to support them in their own products.

The promise of wireless controls with 6DoF and no FOV restrictions that don't rely on cameras will have to be experienced to be believed. And that's why the company will demo the FinchShift controllers at the CES tech trade show in Las Vegas next week, including at Qualcomm's own booth. 

FinchShift controllers actually rely on two hardware systems: the controllers themselves and FinchTracker armbands. The former are used as typical VR controllers; the latter will monitor users' arm movements to make the system's input more accurate. (They've got to compensate for the lack of cameras somehow.) These pieces work together to offer 360-degree body tracking at room scale with a claimed 2-25mm position accuracy.

Finch Technologies claim the controllers incur less than a 1 percent hit on CPU usage, boast a latency of 27ms and can be used for 52 hours of active playing time before needing to be charged. They also feature LED optical markers to allow them to be used with camera-enabled devices. Data is transferred via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.2 with a transfer rate of 100Hz. These are development models, though, so the specs might change.

The FinchShift controllers have been made available for pre-order as the FinchShift Development Kit from the company's website. Prices range from $250 for an individual kit to $179 per kit if more than 50 units are ordered. 

During CES, a massive consumer tech show in Las Vegas this week, Tom's Hardware spoke with Finch and confirmed that pre-orders for the Finch controllers development kit will see shipment by the end of this month. Mass production is currently in the preparation stages, they said; however, the company was not able to confirm an official date for general availability. 

Hardware Innovation Galore

Finally, some hardware innovations we can sink our teeth into! This year’s CES was dominated by chips as Nvidia and AMD both unveiled new GPUs and team red also gave a sneak peek of its upcoming third-generation Ryzen platform. The show floor and demo suites were teeming with new notebooks and desktops that were powered by some of the latest graphics cards.

RGB was everywhere, from video cards to SSDs. And who can forget UBTech, which showed off Walker, a 4.7-foot, bipedal robot that can climb stairs, grasp objects and respond to voice commands? What about an RGB laptop bag that can charge your other devices?

These were just a few of the innovations we saw at CES 2019. Here are our favorite products of the show.

Best In Show: AMD

AMD’s Ryzen series of processors have revitalized the market, but the company’s transition to the 7nm process could leave its competitors reeling. The 7nm process is denser than other GPU and x86 CPU technology, allowing the company to pack more transistors into the same footprint, thus lowering cost and improving performance and power efficiency.

AMD is using the new manufacturing technology for both its third-gen Ryzen ‘Matisse’ lineup and the Radeon VII graphics card, which promises to shake up the market as Intel struggles to transition to the 10nm process and Nvidia remains on a 12nm refinement of TSMC's 16nm process. AMD’s third-gen Ryzen processors also come with the new Zen 2 microarchitecture, which should magnify the performance improvements.

We haven’t seen the end products in our labs yet, so the final verdict is still out on overall performance. But AMD’s fast transition to a smaller node brings the promise of cheaper, faster, and lower-power processors and graphics cards in the very near future.

Read more: AMD Demos Third-Gen Ryzen CPUs, Launches 7nm Radeon VII GPU

Best Gaming Laptop: Alienware Area-51m

Alienware's Area-51m is the desktop replacement that many have been dreaming of. It's a stunning mix of the RGB gamer aesthetic with a more adult look thanks to clean lines and curved edges.

On top of that, its desktop class internals, including up to an Intel Core i9-9900K CPU, 2 TB of storage in RAID0, Nvidia RTX 2080 and 64 GB of RAM is all user replaceable, allowing for way more upgrading than most laptops. This is the type of design that sets industry trends.

Read more: Alienware Area-51m is a Beautiful, Monstrous Desktop Replacement

Best Productivity Laptop: Dell XPS 13

Dell's XPS 13 is closer to perfection than ever. Many productivity laptops at CES were spec refreshes, but the XPS 13 also solved a fundamental problem: its ill-placed webcam. Dell did this by engineering a new 2.3-millimeter camera to replace the old 7 mm module. Add in Intel's Whiskey Lake chips, and it sure seems like an already-great laptop just got even better.

Read more: Dell XPS 13 Finally Fixes the Nosecam

Best Gaming Desktop: Zotac Mek Mini

Sure, big desktops can impress, but Zotac's tiniest gaming machine, the Mek Mini, won our hearts not only with its adorable looks and small footprint, but also with its specs. The 10.3 x 10.2 x 5.4-inch machine packs an Nvidia RTX 2070 and an Intel Core i7-8700, making this portable desktop plenty powerful.

Some stores may also offer it with a mouse and a mechanical keyboard. Whether you want a small desktop just for the space savings or to carry around to LAN parties, this one is worth keeping an eye out for later this year.

Read more: Zotac’s New Mek Lineup Has Something For All Sizes

Best Productivity Desktop: Corsair One Pro i180

Corsair's compact One desktop was already impressive, but the redesigned model moves the power supply to the bottom and triples airflow, letting the company pack in a 12-core Intel Core i9-9920X CPU and an Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti, along with 32GB of RAM. Considering the 12-liter chassis size and small footprint, this is an exceptional feat of engineering.

And according to Corsair, there's plenty of thermal capacity for even higher-end parts, like a 18-core Xtreme Edition CPU and an Nvidia RTX Titan card. High-end content creators looking for a compact powerhouse PC should put the One Pro i180 on their short list.

Read more: Corsair's Compact One Desktops Now Support Up to 18-Core CPUs, Titan Graphics

Best Monitor: Razer Raptor 27

Razer is dipping into the monitor arena for the first time and is poised to make quite a splash with the Raptor 27. Not only does the monitor come with respectable specs for gaming, but it has some nifty features that should make gamers’ lives easier.

The Raptor's display can be lifted upwards 90 degrees for quick access to rear ports. Plus, the monitor will come with flat cables, which you can route through the channels in the back of the display to keep your battlestation looking tidy. There’s also Chroma RGB lighting in the base and a stylish cloth covering on the display’s backside.

Read more: Razer’s Colorful Raptor 27 Monitor Has a Flip-Top Head

Best GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2060 comes with a $350 price tag, which is higher than we’re accustomed to for this class of video card. We can overlook the price, though, because the graphics card offers great performance for its price point. The GPU delivers great performance in current titles, trading blows with the GTX 1070 Ti and Vega 64, which means that you’ll get your money’s worth even if the promise of widespread ray tracing doesn’t come to fruition.

More games are coming to market that will support ray tracing, though, and the RTX 2060 offers enough performance in Battlefield V to bring bleeding-edge ray tracing down to the mainstream.

Read more: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Review: Is Mainstream Ray Tracing For Real?

Best Peripheral: Thermaltake Level 20 RGB Keyboard

This sleek and stylish keyboard features an all-aluminum top surface, full RGB controls, additional RGB lights around its corners and an RGB line on the right side of the keyboard.

The Level 20 RGB keyboard comes with a choice of Razer Green, Cherry MX Blue or Cherry MX Silver switches. It also has two different sets of flip-out feet to help you adjust the slope. RGB and audio pass-throughs make this peripheral even more compelling.

Read more: Thermaltake Unveils Eye-Popping RGB Keyboard, Mouse and Desk

Best Innovation: Razer HyperSense

Razer HyperSense has the power to bring more of your body into your PC gaming experience. The technology syncs your mouse, keyboard, headset and gaming chair in order to provide 360-degree haptic feedback. That means when playing Overwatch, you could feel the vibration of Pharah’s jetpacks through your seat or feel your mouse rumble when you fire a gun, and those types of sensations could come to more peripherals and more titles in the future. We're looking forward to these immersive experiences.

Read more: Razer HyperSense Brings Haptics to All of Your Peripherals

Best Case: Razer Tomahawk Elite

Razer's Tomahawk Elite case looks incredibly slick for one of the company's first cases, with clean lines, smart cable routing and a rear plate that covers cables while letting LED light escape through a window over the backplate. But the real stand-out feature of the case is the hydraulically-assisted tempered glass doors that open up over the case, like something you might see on a high-end sports car.
Read more: Razer's Tomahawk Elite Is a Slick PC Case With Side Panels Like a Supercar

Best VR: HTC Vive Pro Eye

HTC Vive Pro Eye brings new excitement to the VR space. The headset has Tobii eye tracking built into it, allowing the user to do things like select a menu option just by looking at it. The power and fun that come with controlling things with your eyes should not be overlooked.

Read more: HTC Vive Pro Eye Hands-On: Feeling Powerful With Built-In Tobii Eye Tracking

Best Robot: UBTech Walker

The Jetsons future you've always dreamed of is here. UBTech's Walker is a true robotic butler that can walk over to the fridge, grab you a beer and bring it to you. The 4.7-foot, 170-pound automaton has 36 actuators that allow it to move its legs, arms and hands in very human ways.

Though the Walker is still in development, it's fair to say that this is one of the most advanced consumer robots ever made. Could a new generation of flying cars be far behind?

Read more: UBTech Walker Hands-on

Best SSD: Intel Optane H10

Intel Optane H10

Intel’s Optane storage brings the bleeding-edge performance of 3D XPoint to storage, but the company’s first products were designed for caching and the follow-on SSDs were too small for most users. That changes with the Intel Memory H10 series.

The new device blends the potency of Optane storage with the capacity and low price point of QLC flash, making it a capacious storage device that should be much faster than most garden-variety SSDs. Capacities stretch up to 1 TB, which should be enough storage for most users. The slim devices are a good fit for notebooks and will find their way into many OEM devices, but Intel hasn’t committed to bringing them to the retail market yet. Here’s hoping we see these on shelves soon.
Read more: Intel’s New M.2 Optane Memory H10 SSDs: Optane Paired With QLC Flash

Best Bag: Asus ROG Ranger BP3703

Asus proves there's no such thing as too-much RGB with the Ranger BP3703, which has colorful LEDs on the front, a controller in the back and internal light to help you find the pen that's been rolling around somewhere in the front pocket.

The bag is water resistant and has dedicated pockets for your phone, tablet and pens, in addition to a laptop with up to a 17-inch screen. A USB port on the back allows you to charge your phone.

Read more: Asus ROG Ranger Features RGB Lighting, Plenty of Pockets

Best Desk: Lian Li DK-04-F

Lian Li has been making desk cases for years. But its latest model features a layer built into the glass top that, when electrified, switches the glass from clear to opaque, hiding your components and their RGB lights with the press of a button. Because as cool as it is to have your custom LED-lit desktop built into your desk, sometimes you'll want to get down to some work without the distraction of your PC parts blinking up at you.

Read more: Lian Li’s New Standing Desk PC Case Hides Your RGB Components With a Click

Some Vive VR headset owners have waited all year to get their hands on HTC’s wireless adapter. But not everyone is enjoying their purchase, because the Vive Wireless Adapter doesn’t work properly in all computers. If you’re running an AMD Ryzen processor, there’s a good chance that you’re going to have problems.

HTC released the Vive Wireless Adapter on September 24, and the following day, people with Ryzen processors started to complain about problems on HTC’s official support forum. We even experienced the problems first-hand while evaluating the Vive Wireless Adapter for our review. We reached out to HTC in late October, and the representative that we spoke to said that the company was aware of some compatibility issues, but HTC was still trying to narrow down the problems.

HTC finally publicly addressed the problem on November 19, nearly two months after the first Vive Wireless Adapters landed in customer's hands. And the company’s statement is less than definitive.

HTC acknowledged that it is “looking into multiple reports of Ryzen incompatibility with the Vive Wireless Adapter,” but the company doesn’t have an immediate solution. HTC said it believes the issue is isolated to “a subset of Ryzen-based PCs” and it is working with “multiple component manufacturers to identify the root cause.”

HTC said that the investigation would “take time.” Ao starting November 19, the company will accept returns from anyone with a Ryzen-based PC who’s having problems with the Vive Wireless Adapter. HTC will honor returns for purchases from vive.com or any of HTC’s retail partners.

To initiate a return, contact HTC Vive Custom Support via email at vive_care@vive.com. HTC said a representative will then contact you within one business day with the next steps. You will need to provide proof of purchase for your Vive Wireless Adapter, and the Vive representative will need to verify that you have a Ryzen-based PC.

Removing the Tether From the VR Experience

On its own, HTC Vive, with its room-scale VR capability, offers an immersive VR experience that transports you into virtual worlds. However, there’s an ever-present cable you must keep track of that keeps you tethered to the real world. The Vive Wireless Adapter solves that problem and allows you to forget about the physical world and experience VR without worrying about stepping on or tripping over a wire.

The freedom that the Vive Wireless Adapter offers makes the VR headset feel like a whole new product. It is wonderfully freeing to play a game like Sword Master VR, where you’re constantly spinning around to engage opponents that sneak up on your flank, or Space Pirate Trainer, where you’re always moving frantically. VR is all about immersion, and to me, the tether cable dangling at my feet has always been the biggest distraction from the virtual world.

The wireless kit gives you the freedom to step into a new world and ditch the physical anchor that keeps you tied to reality, and there’s no question that once you cut the cord, you won’t want to go back to a wired VR experience. The problem is, the wireless system doesn’t always work the way it should.

We absolutely love the untethered VR experience and would love to recommend it to anyone. However, right now, this product isn't right for everyone, because it struggles with compatibility issues, particularly with Ryzen systems.

We experienced several problems with the Vive Wireless Adapter when it was connected to a Ryzen-powered system, including but not limited to signal drops that resulted in blank frames, complete loss of image signal and noticeable latency. Performance was strong on two Intel-powered systems we tried, but after a software update, we also experienced problems connecting to the Vive Pro from these computers. In other words, if you use a Ryzen-powered computer or connect to a Vive Pro rather than a regular Vive, you may want to wait for updates.

Wireless Vive Adapter Specs

The Technology Behind the Wireless Vive Adapter

HTC’s Vive Wireless Adapter is the product of a three-way collaboration between HTC, DisplayLink and Intel.

DisplayLink created the video compression technology that enables the transmission, which it first introduced to the world at CES 2017. DisplayLink’s solution can handle data transmissions up to 24Gb/s, which is approximately four times the bandwidth needed to drive a Vive headset. Theoretically, it should provide ample bandwidth to scale up to future high-resolution headsets. Indeed, DisplayLink said the technology could scale to support dual 4K displays at up to 120Hz, which means it could be adapted to support other headsets, such as the Pimax 5K+ or Pimax 8K ultra-wide headsets.

Intel also played a critical role in developing the Vive Wireless Adapter. The company adapted its WiGig technology to enable wireless communication from the host PC to the untethered headset. Intel introduced WiGig at IDF 2014 and touted it as a wireless peripheral dock of sorts, but the technology failed to gain traction in that market. With the emergence of VR headsets, Intel saw an opportunity to revive the development of its high-bandwidth wireless data transmission solution.

Setting up the Vive Wireless Adapter

HTC’s wireless upgrade kit is a four-part solution, which includes a receiver that you attach to the headset, a WiGig PCIe card to install in your computer, a WiGig wireless Link Box and an external battery pack to power the device.

HTC’s instructions, which you can find here, suggest installing the WiGig card first. The expansion card features a PCIe x1 interface, which should make it compatible with any PCIe slot in your motherboard as long as it supports PCIe Gen3. HTC noted that some motherboards might have compatibility issues and suggests trying a different slot if that occurs.

With the expansion card installed, attach the wireless Link Box tether to the thread on the back of the card, and position the camera to look over your play area. The camera features a standard ¼ thread so that you can attach it to a tripod, or you can use the included mount, which can attach to any LCD monitor.

Receiver Attachment

The wireless receiver features two large antennas, which protrude from each side of the device. On the top, you’ll find a power button shaped like the Vive logo and an LED status light. The bottom of the receiver features touch fastener straps and a leather strap that wraps around the rear of the Vive’s head strap to secure it in place.

The wireless adapter includes a 12-inch-long tether cable to replace the 10-foot tether that comes with the Vive. The shorter cable attaches to the top of the wireless adapter and stretches across the top strap to the Vive headset. HTC left enough slack in the cables so that you can still adjust the fasteners on the top strap.

To remove the old cable, slide the port cover towards the front of the headset until it separates from the device and carefully remove one plug at a time. When you replace the cable, make sure to place the USB cord in the central port, not the accessory port on the side.

Vive & Vive Pro Support

HTC designed the Vive Wireless adapter to support the original Vive headset and the Vive Pro. The company ensured that the receiver device would work with the fabric head strap or the Deluxe Audio Head Strap for the original Vive without any additional accessories, but you do need additional parts to hook it up to a Vive Pro (more on that in the next section).

There are two slots on the bottom of the wireless adapter that hooks onto the rigid section of the Deluxe strap. The receiver also includes a hook that enables you to hang the receiver on the cable routing loop on the stock Vive’s fabric strap.

Vive Pro Owners Need More Parts

If you have a Vive Pro, the setup process is slightly different, a little bit more involved and more expensive.The Vive Pro requires an additional purchase on top of the adapter. The $60 Vive Pro Attach Kit includes a short Vive Pro cable, a cushion for the rear of the head strap and a replacement for the bottom section of the Vive Wireless adapter.

The new bottom section features a different style of hook and fastener strap, which are compatible with the Vive Pro’s rigid strap. You must remove the original plate, which is held with three screws, and replace it with the Vive Pro-compatible part.

The Vive Pro upgrade kit also includes a foam piece that should be used to replace the triangular section found on the Vive Pro's rear. Implementing the cushion adds support to the overhead strap and gives you a place to secure the wireless adapter. It also provides a barrier between your head and the receiver, which can get hot during extended use.

The Vive Wireless Adapter features a set of ports on the top for the original Vive’s 3-in-1 tether cable, which allows the short tether to stretch across the top of your head. The Vive Pro’s single cable connects to the bottom of the wireless adapter, and the cable runs along the side of the head strap like the stock Vive Pro tether cable.

External Battery Pack

The Vive Wireless Adapter gets its power from a lithium-ion battery, but HTC didn’t cram the cells into the wireless receiver. Instead, HTC opted for an external battery source, which has pros and cons. Leaving the battery cells out keeps the weight down, which is especially important for a head-mounted device. But a head-mount option would have been nice to have in order to condense the setup into one piece.

It’s easy to forget about the battery pack when you pull the headset off, which could lead to damage to the cable, battery pack, or wireless receiver. Moreover, using a tethered battery pack to untether your headset from the battery pack’s USB cable seems somewhat counterintuitive and at least a little bit ironic.

The Vive wireless adapter’s battery pack is a standard HTC PowerBank with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatibility, which slips into a plastic holster that you can attach to your belt or your pocket. The tethered battery doesn’t really get in the way, but it does limit your wardrobe options. The pack weighs 230g, which is more than enough to bring your pants to the ground while you’re playing if you don’t have a belt on. Don’t expect to use a wireless Vive headset with sweatpants or PJs on.

The included PowerBank holds enough juice to keep the Vive running for close to 2.5 hours, and after blowing through a battery, I would welcome a much larger pack. HTC does offer extra PowerBanks, and I recommend picking up at least one, so you always have a charged pack ready.

Vive Wireless Utility

The Vive Wireless Adapter requires an app to function. The Vive Wireless utility enables you to pair your transmitter with a receiver, while the software monitors the signal strength of the transmission. The software installation also includes the drivers that enable the WiGig and DisplayLink hardware in the wireless adapter.

MORE: Best Virtual Reality Headsets

MORE: All Virtual Reality Content

MORE: Virtual Reality Basics

Wireless VR Is Fantastic When it Works

How We Tested the Vive Wireless Adapter

We used three different PCs to full test the Vive Wireless Adapter. The first system is our usual VR test system, which includes an Intel Core i7-5930K, 16GB of Crucial Balistix DDR4 2333, an MSI X99A Xpower AC, and a Crucial M400 500GB SSD. The second test system features an AMD Ryzen 7 1700, 16GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3200, an Asus Prime X370-A, and another Crucial M400 500GB SSD.

We also upgraded our test bench during this review, which now features an Intel Core i7-8700K, an Asus Prime Z370-A motherboard and 16GB of G.Skill Sniper X 16GB DDR4-3600.

Our graphics card selection included an Asus GeForce GTX 1070 Turbo and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 FE.

We captured performance analytics with Nvidia’s FCAT VR performance evaluation tool, and we pulled out Basemark’s VRScore benchmark and the VRTrek latency testing device to determine how much latency the wireless kit adds to the display pipeline.

Experiencing Full Freedom

I first tried the Vive Wireless Adapter on a standard Vive headset with our usual Intel Core i7-5930K test rig, which now includes a Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 FE graphics card, and I was impressed by the performance. The signal was strong, and the display seemed as crisp as that of a tethered headset.

I fired up a few games to demonstrate the advantages of ditching the wired tether for a wireless signal. My selection included Space Pirate Trainer because I almost always step on the cord while I’m playing that game. I also played some Sword Master VR, because few other titles require such rapid movement combined with full 360-degree rotations.

My score in Space Pirate Trainer didn’t improve, but the feeling of immersion in the game certainly did. Almost every time I play that game, I step on the cable, which pulls my head back and snaps me back into reality for a second. It was a nice treat to play an active round without interruption.

Sword Master VR is another game that tortures your tether cable because it requires fast, agile movement to fight sword to sword against a gauntlet of enemies, and they can come at you from all directions. When you’re in the middle of a sword fight, there’s no time to consider which direction you turned around last to avoid twisting the cable. I usually take the headset off between rounds to unravel the twisted mess, but with the wireless adapter installed, there’s no need for that interruption of gameplay.

I also played Arizona Sunshine to get a taste of teleportation locomotion without worrying about keeping track of the number of times that I wrap the cable around my feet. Just like the other games, my biggest takeaway is that the freedom from the cable promotes a deeper feeling of immersion into the virtual world.

The experience was amazing for each game.

After satisfying my curiosity about the Vive Wireless Adapter’s capability with the original Vive, I installed the kit on a Vive Pro headset and repeated the same tests. I was surprised at how well the Vive Wireless Adapter could handle the high-resolution display signal without skipping a beat. There may have been a few dropped frames here and there, but not enough to warrant a major complaint.

Unfortunately, my experience with the Vive Wireless Kit went downhill from here.

Problems Aplenty

We first tried the Vive Wireless Adapter on our usual Intel Core i7-5930K test rig, which now includes an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 FE graphics card, and we were impressed by the performance. The signal was strong, and the display was as crisp as that of a tethered headset.

After experiencing the Vive Wireless kit with the Intel i7-5930K test system, I moved the WiGig card over to my AMD Ryzen 1700 test system. Unfortunately, something about the hardware or the drivers doesn’t play nice with the Ryzen test system.

I experienced bizarre instability issues with the Ryzen system, such as games locking up randomly and SteamVR refusing to close if an application crashed. The PC also halted on the Windows restart loading screen every time I tried to reboot the PC. And even when I did manage to get it running, the frame rate was so choppy that I couldn’t keep the headset on for longer than a minute or two before I felt like I was going to vomit. Worse yet, when I plugged in the Vive Pro, it refused to display an image on the screen. I later found out that SteamVR Home would crash upon launch, which left the display blank until I killed the process with the Windows Task Manager.

A quick Google search revealed that our problem is not an isolated issue. There seems to be a compatibility issue between the Vive Wireless Adapter and some Ryzen-based systems, which is affecting many of HTC’s customers. At the time of writing, there is a 13-page thread about the issue on HTC’s support forums, and the company’s representatives have gone so far as to suggest refunding the device since a solution may take some time.

We reached out to HTC for a statement about the problem, and the company said that it was aware of the issue and looking into the matter. The representative that we spoke to believes that the problem is limited to certain motherboards, but they did not specify which boards we should avoid. We’re using an Asus X370 board, but HTC’s support forum includes reports from Gigabyte and MSI board owners, too.

Updated, 11/19/2018, 9:50 am PT: HTC issued an official statement acknowlegding the incompatibility issues with some Ryzen-based PCs. The company is working with component manufacturers to isolate the issue and find a solution. However, if you're affected by the problems, HTC will give you a refund for the Vive Wireless Adapter, regardless how long you've had it.

Is PCIe the New Bottleneck?

The Vive Wireless Adapter introduces an additional step to the VR display pipeline, which makes your PC platform choice much more important than it used to be. When VR headsets first hit the market, graphics cards and CPU upgrades were the primary bottleneck concerns. Most people weren’t paying close attention to their motherboard choices, which may become an issue for those who wish to cut the cord and go wireless.

With the wireless adapter, your graphics card is still important, but it’s no longer sending the video signal out through the display interfaces. The Vive Wireless Adapter redirects the video signal through the motherboard to the WiGig card via PCIe. PCIe lanes shouldn’t be an issue because the WiGig card requires one lane only, but the slot you install the card could be an issue.

HTC suggests trying different PCIe slots on your board if you experience problems with performance or communication, but some comments on HTC’s support forums suggest that people are having better luck using the PCIe 1x slot closest to your graphics card—preferably the one directly above your x16 slot if your board has one.

A Software Update Flipped Everything On its Head

The lockup issues that we experienced with the Ryzen-based test system and the age of our Core i7 machine prompted an upgrade to our test platform to ensure that we could test the wireless kit properly. The new setup new includes an Intel Core i7-8700K, an Asus Prime Z370-A motherboard and 16GB of G.Skill Sniper X 16GB DDR4-3600.

Before the new parts arrived at our VR lab, HTC released an update to the Vive Wireless application. Presumably, the new update should have corrected some of the problems that we had experienced, but it uncovered new problems to contend with.

With the new software update, the standard Vive headset seemed to work much better on the Ryzen test system. However, there is a slight stutter every second or two, which effectively ruins the whole experience. I would rather be attached to my PC with a tether cable than experience stuttering frames in a VR headset.

Surprisingly, the software update had the opposite effect on the Vive Pro headset. After the update, the Intel test system was suddenly not powerful enough to drive the Vive Pro with the Wireless kit. The frame rate was exceptionally low, which resulted in a tremendously uncomfortable experience.

A quick look at the frametime analysis from Nvidia’s FCAT VR tool revealed that scenes which ran at 90 FPS or above while tethered, would render at a fraction of that speed while using the Vive Pro with the Vive Wireless adapter.

Our troubleshooting attempts didn't net any appreciable improvement, up to and including reinstalling the Vive Wireless software and drivers and moving the WiGig card to different PCIe slots. However, we noticed a marked improvement when we enabled Interleaved and Asynchronous reprojection. Nvidia recommends disabling those features when running FCAT VR to get the true performance numbers, but leaving those features disabled makes the Vive Pro unusable with the wireless kit.

The PC Wasn’t the Problem

Once we had the new hardware installed in our test rig, we expected to see an improvement in the Vive Pro’s performance, but the low framerate persisted. With reprojection enabled, it’s hard to tell that there’s a framerate issue, but FCAT VR reveals the true story. As you can see in the below graph, withought reprojection enabled, out system dropped a dramatic number of frames. Valve's reprojection technology does a good job compensating for our system's shortcomings.

If it weren’t for Valve’s Asynchronous Reprojection and Interleaved Reprojection technology, the wireless adapter would be useless for the Vive Pro headset.

What About Latency?

When DisplayLink introduced its wireless technology, the company said that the wireless system introduces just 2ms of additional latency. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to verify that claim.

We attempted to use Basemark’s VRScore benchmark to determine how much latency the Vive Wireless Adapter introduces, but the software refused to function properly. We’ve always had problems getting the VRTrek tool to work on our Core i7-5930K test rig, so we normally use the Ryzen machine. However, we can’t trust the Ryzen-based system to produce an accurate report given the trouble we’re having with the WiGig card on that PC.

The new Core i7-8700K test rig should work properly with the software, but we’ve been unable to get VRScore to launch on that machine and we’re not sure why. We'll explore the latency claims once we have a functioning tool to put them to the test.

The Tether Always Had to Go!

I’ve been waiting for wireless VR for what feels like ages now. In September 2015, I had my first taste of the HTC Vive and room-scale VR, and I immediately knew that the tether had to go. I didn’t think I would see a solution for the 1st generation Vive materialize, but I’m sure glad HTC, Intel and DisplayLink figured it out because the Vive Wireless Adapter is exactly the type of thing that VR needs.

It’s not a perfect solution; it’s not compatible with laptops (currently), and I had more trouble than most people would accept. However, despite the trouble I experienced, when the wireless adapter worked, it delivered a truly immersive experience that can’t be overlooked.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tangled my feet in the tether cable or yanked the tether cable out of the Link Box while playing my favorites VR games. And as someone who loves to share VR with others, one of my biggest fears is that someone would trample my 3-in-1 cable and ruin it. With the wireless adapter, you don’t have to worry about getting tangled, or your game getting cut short by a poorly placed foot.

The wireless signal’s line-of-sight connection is impressively forgiving. I was able to step out of range of the camera’s view for a second or two before the signal would drop. Also, my rate of movement didn't appear to have any effect on the transmission rate. No matter how fast I moved around, or how frantically I spun, the image quality didn’t change. We’re confident that the transmission problems that we did experience were not related to the WiGig wireless signal. The problems appear to be a communication breakdown over PCIe between the GPU and the WiGig card.

Before the wireless adapter’s problems surfaced, I was preparing to give the Vive Wireless Adapter a glowing review with a high rating. The device is well built, it’s confoundingly light at 125 grams, it’s simple to install, and it transforms a wired Vive into a much better product. My chief complaint about the Vive Wireless Adapter was its short battery life until the trouble began.

The Vive Wireless Adapter has all the hallmarks of being an excellent upgrade for your Vive headset, but given the problems we experienced, we recommend buying it only if you have an Intel-powered system and plan to pair it with the Vive non-Pro. It looks like HTC will probably resolve some of the bugs with software updates, but as of this writing, anyone with a Pro or a Ryzen should wait before dropping $400 on the Vive Wireless Kit.

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Last year, HTC revealed Vive Wave, which would be the underlying software platform for the Vive Focus standalone headset. Developers in China have had access to the Vive Wave SDK for nearly a year, but the rest of the world has been waiting for access to HTC’s development tools. Today, HTC finally released the SDK to the rest of the world to enable developers to prepare for the North American and European releases of the Vive Focus headset. 

The Vive Wave platform consists of industry standards for software development and hardware support, universal distribution guidelines and a software developer resource hub. Vive Wave is also an open platform, which can support any mobile VR headset from any manufacturer.

HTC hasn’t yet announced the launch date of the Vive Focus but originally said the device would be available before the end of the year, which doesn’t give developers much time to port their wares. 

HTC Vive Wave SDKs

Fortunately, HTC made the Vive Wave SDK simple for developers of all platforms to pick up with ease. The SDK breaks down into five individual SDKs to make it easy for developers and manufactures to adopt:

• Wave Native SDK is Android-based and suitable for Android developers. 
• Wave Unity SDK is a plugin for the Unity game engine. 
• Wave UE4 SDK is a plugin for Unreal Engine 4. 
• Wave PluginKit SDK is for accessory developers who wish to support the Vive Wave platform. 
• Wave OEM SDK is for headset manufacturers who want to use the Vive Wave platform for their device.

HTC optimized the Vive Wave platform for mobile VR devices of all kinds. The platform supports standalone HMDs. It can work with slot-in headsets that utilize a smartphone’s display and processing power and works with smartphone-powered tethered headsets.

HTC’s Vive Wave platform introduces several technologies and standards to mobile VR devices that should aid to unify the market and help ease consumers' confusion. The platform supports a sub-20ms motion to photon tracking, 3- and 6-degrees of freedom controllers, Asynchronous TimeWarp reprojection technology and lens distortion and chromatic aberration correction. It also includes tracking prediction technology for standalone headsets and a virtual safety wall, like the Vive’s Chaperone system.

HTC has finally shipped the Vive Wireless Adapter. The company has been promising to release Vive headset owners from their cables since Computex 2017. Since then Vive owners saw the expansion of the Viveport marketplace, the introduction of the Vive Pro headset, and have even been teased by experiments with multi-room tracking enabled by the SteamVR Tracking 2.0 sensors. Now, well over a year later, the Vive Wireless Adapter is finally available.

The Vive Wireless Adapter's appeal should be immediately apparent to anyone who's used the Vive headset. It's easy to forget that you're connected to a PC with a cable--which is the entire point of virtual reality--until you start moving around. Then it becomes a common source of frustration that can make it hard to do things in-game that require a lot of movement. (Ducking behind cover in first-person shooters is the easiest way to experience this.)

HTC said the Vive Wireless Adapter can solve that problem and offer "even deeper immersion into the virtual world as all restrictions fade away." The company said its adapter has a range of 6 meters, which should be more than large enough for most home setups, and that its included battery lasts "over two hours." But we haven't gotten our hands on the Vive Wireless Adapter yet, so we'll have to take HTC's performance claims with a grain of salt for now.

The Vive Wireless Adapter has two major parts: a receiver that attaches to a Vive headset and an antenna that transmits data from the connected PC. Additional batteries can be purchased separately. Note that HTC developed the system in partnership with Intel (which is tackling wireless VR with its WiGig technology) and DisplayLink (which developed the system's lossless compression tech), so a similar setup could be offered for other headsets.

HTC says the Vive Wireless Adapter is available now for $300, and includes two months of access to its Viveport Subscription. There is bad news for Vive Pro owners, however: They'll have to spend an additional $60 on a compatibility pack. The add-on includes an attachment device, connection cable, and foam padding made specifically for the headset. Given the Vive Pro's already high price, that just feels like rubbing salt in the wound.

The wait for HTC’s wireless solution has been long, but its almost over. The company is finally gearing up to ship the Vive Wireless Adapter at the end of next month. HTC announced today that it will begin taking pre-orders on September 5 and that the units will sell for $300.

HTC first revealed that it was building a wireless virtual reality (VR) system at Computex 2017. The company announced that it partnered with Intel and DisplayLink to create a wireless solution for the HTC Vive. In January this year, the company announced that the device would be on the market in Q3 2018. DisplayLink provided the lossless compression technology that helps reduce the amount of data that must be transmitted to the headset. Intel helped with the wireless transmission with its WiGig technology.

“Since the first demos of Vive, we’ve known that to deliver on the best of premium VR, we wanted it to be wireless,” Daniel O’Brien, GM Americas, HTC Vive, said in a statement. “But we learned that delivering a great wireless experience takes time and really smart partners. We’ve brought the engineering expertise together to deliver a truly first of its kind wireless VR experience. Thanks to Intel and DisplayLink for helping to make this vision a reality.”

HTC teased the Wireless Vive Adapter at several industry events throughout the year, including GDC, Computex and E3, though it remained somewhat vague about the release date. In March, we learned more details about the system from DisplayLink, such as the limitation of three wireless units in one space and confirmation that the wireless system supports all of the Vive’s features, including the microphone and chaperone cameras. That’s important because HTC’s primary market competitor, TPCast, doesn't support the microphone over wireless.

HTC’s Vive Wireless Adapter is a mutli-part solution with a wireless receiver that attaches to the Vive headset. The receiver includes shortened data cables to replace the long tether cable. It is powered by an HTC QC 3.0 PowerBank, which you can also use to charge a phone. The package includes one battery pack, but you can purchase more at Vive.com.

The Vive Wireless Adapter also comes with a 60GHz Intel WiGig PCIe card and an antenna, which transmits the signal from your computer to the headset. The antenna can broadcast the VR signal up to six meters, and it has a 150-degree field of view.

HTC’s Vive Wireless Adapter will be available for pre-order on September 5, and the device should be on store shelves by September 24. HTC set the price at $300, which includes the receiver, the battery and the WiGig card with the antenna. Each purchase also includes a two-month Viveport subscription.

HTC today revealed that it is now accepting submissions from developers for Oculus Rift-compatible content on its Viveport virtual reality content store. Rift owners will have access to Viveport in September.

HTC and Oculus are the two leading VR headset companies, and they both offer similar hardware and software compatibility. However, their approaches to software distribution couldn’t be more different. Oculus chose to keep its content store locked down for its hardware. HTC did not.

HTC’s Vive headset operates on Valve’s SteamVR platform, which is open to almost all VR headsets and enables you to access content in Valve’s vast content library. HTC also offers its Viveport store, which includes a separate library of games and an optional subscription model to access the content on a budget. When HTC launched Viveport, the Vive headset was the only device supported on the platform. But shortly after the Vive Focus launched in China, HTC opened the Viveport platform to other mobile VR headsets. Now, HTC is extending compatibility for desktop headsets as well.

In September, Oculus Rift owners will be able to access available Rift-compatible software through the Viveport content store. HTC said that there are over 200 titles on the Viveport platform that could already support the Rift headset because they are compatible with Valve’s Open VR API. Developers must opt in to enable Rift support for their titles, but they can begin doing so now.

HTC is also opening the Viveport subscription service for Rift owners, which would give them access to a rotating selection of five titles for less than $10 per month.  

WorldViz today revealed the 6^th edition of its Vizard Python-based, scientific-grade virtual reality (VR) development platform. The latest version offers support for Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform, HTC’s Vive Tracker system and a handful of new peripherals.

WorldViz provides immersive technology solutions for major companies and high-profile universities. The company offers projector-based CAVE systems for simulation, and in recent years it has embraced VR for enterprise use. Two years ago, WorldViz integrated support for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift platforms into its offerings, and now the company is expanding its hardware support to reflect the current state of the industry. 

New Device Support

In addition to support for Windows Mixed Reality headsets and HTC's Vive Tracker system with support for hand-and-foot tracking for motion capture, WorldViz Vizard has also added support for a handful of new peripherals and VR-related technologies, such as Manus VR Gloves for better manual manipulation of the virtual world and Tobii Eye-tracking sensors to enable gaze-based interactions. WorldViz Vizard also works with biophysical electroencephalography (EEG, for recording electrical brain activity), electrocardiography (EKG, for recording electrical heart activity) and galvanic skin response (GSR senors, for monitoring skin's electrical resistance).

Better Graphics

WorldViz Vizard 6 also features improved graphics over previous iterations. The software features a robust graphics solution, but it doesn’t rely on existing game engines. WorldViz built Vizard in Python because most research scientists are familiar with the open-source language. The company said that Vizard 6 features support for the new GLTF 3D model format, which “improves the graphics rendering.” The new format also simplifies the process of bringing 3D files into Vizard from third-party modeling applications. The software supports imported files from Revit, Solidworks, Maya, Blender, SketchUp, Substance Painter, Modo and other 3D applications. Additionally, you can import models from the Sketchfab library.

Custom Avatars

WorldViz Vizard 6 also features support for developing collaborative, multi-user experiences. Earlier iterations of the platform offered a handful of generic avatars, but now you can customize your virtual appearance, which makes it easier to identify who you’re interactive with in the virtual world. Vizard 6 still includes the generic avatars, but you can now create character models with Adobe Fuse CC and import them into your virtual experiences. 

Available Now

WorldViz Vizard 6 is available now. The company has a free version for evaluation purposes, as well as a development edition, which offers the core features, and an enterprise edition, which includes support for real-time motion capture and Vizard script clustering. Visit WorldViz’s website for more information.

Valve is making progress with multi-room VR configurations using SteamVR Tracking 2.0. The latest SteamVR beta update can address up to 16 base stations, which is a big step towards multi-room tracking spaces and affordable warehouse-scale setups.

Last year, Valve started talking about the second generation SteamVR Tracking technology, which would include upgraded sensors and new base stations that would be more economical to produce and offer improved tracking capabilities. One of the key features SteamVR Tracking 2.0 is the capability of addressing more than two base stations at once, which would improve tracking fidelity by eliminating occlusion issues. Valve also spoke of the new tracking technology opening the doors to multi-room spatial tracking.

HTC’s Vive Pro headset features SteamVR Tracking 2.0 sensors, and officially it supports up to four SteamVR Tracking 2.0 base stations, but you’ll soon be able to connect a whole lot more than four base stations. Alvin Graylin, China President at HTC, revealed that HTC discovered that the most recent SteamVR beta can recognize up to 16 base stations. Graylin also released a short video that demonstrates a multi-room tracking area, which is separated by walls and connected via a hallway.

Great News for Commercial Operators

The idea of a multi-room VR setup may sound enticing, but it’s not very practical for home users. Sure, you could install base stations in your hallway and multiple rooms in your home, but what of the cables? Wireless systems like the TPCast wireless adapter or the upcoming HTC-branded DisplayLink wireless system require a line of sight to function, so those are out. Right now, the only viable option for multi-room VR is a backpack PC, and how many people have one of those at home?

Location-based VR entertainment is where multi-room VR setups would flourish. Currently, commercial operators must turn to expensive mo-cap solutions, such as OpticTrack, to build experiences that aren’t confined to a solitary open area. SteamVR Tracking 2.0 could save those operators a lot of money. In the words of Graylin: “large space VR setup costs are about to drop exponentially!”

Not Ready Yet

The latest SteamVR beta can address up to 16 base stations, but the software is not ready for prime time yet. Graylin said that HTC hadn’t encountered any problems with the multi-room configuration. However, Alan Yates, an engineer at Valve and the creator of Valve’s SteamVR Tracking technology, said that the announcement is premature. Yates noted that the first four sensors that the headset sees would provide tracking and the rest would be ignored.

Yates said the current beta “is mainly about beta support for the radio-based channel configuration tool” for the base stations. It could be a while before we see true support for a dozen or more base stations, but we can take this as a sign that Valve is actively developing the feature.

Meet HP’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset

Last fall, Microsoft launched the Windows Mixed Reality (MR) Portal, and a handful of hardware partners released headsets for Microsoft’s immersive computing platform. But like other Windows MR headsets we've tested, this head-mounted display (HMD) is underwhelming.

The HP Windows MR headset isn’t a bad headset, but it’s not a great one either. The product designers did several things right, such as include moisture-proof cushions and a removable tether cable. However, the negative features outweigh the positives, detracting from the overall value of the headset. Unless you get a screaming deal on the HP Windows MR headset, you may be better off with one of the competing options.

Design Features

The HP Windows MR Headset is an all-black HMD, which gives it a somewhat sinister look (as apposed to the bright, happy-colored Acer HMD). The front of the visor is smooth and round, which gives it a refined look. Like all Windows MR headsets, the HP HMD includes two 180-degree cameras with Microsoft’s HoloLens tracking technology that provides inside-out spatial tracking. The two cameras stick out from the visor to limit occlusion from the body of the visor. The cameras also point outwards and towards the ground at slight angles to prioritize tracking the ground and the space to your sides.

Like many Windows MR headsets, the HP headset features a hinged visor that enables you to flip the screen up to see the real world without taking the headset off completely. Sadly, HP’s hinge design is no better than other Windows MR headsets we’ve seen. In the short time we spent with the headset, we already noticed wear in the hinge. The weight of the visor puts too much pressure on the plastic hinge, which causes it to sag. At this rate of deterioration, it would be a miracle if the hinge still holds the visor up after a year of regular use.

The headset features a balanced crown head strap design, which is universal among Windows MR devices. The strap features rigid bands that support the weight of the headset on the top of your head (hence the balanced crown name). The rear of the strap includes a dial that allows you to tighten the strap around your head. The dial has a ratcheting lock, so it’s best to lift the headset off your head before loosening the strap so that you don’t wear the mechanism down prematurely. Like the Lenovo Explorer Windows MR Headset, HP’s headset is well-suited for people with small heads. It supports a minimum head diameter of 5.5 inches. The strap extends to 8.75 inches, but it doesn’t get much wider, so it may not be comfortable for people with large heads.

The cushions on the adjustable head strap feature a moisture-proof cover, which is easy to clean. However, the cushions are permanently fixed to the head strap, so you can’t replace them when they eventually wear out. The face cushion is a soft foam material that isn’t moisture-proof. It adheres to the visor with Velcro and is replaceable. Unlike other headsets, such as the Lenovo Explorer, HP’s headset doesn’t include a rubber gasket to help the device adapt to the contours of your face. The cushion mounts directly to the hard-plastic visor.

Bring Your Own Headphones & Mic

HP’s Windows MR headset doesn’t offer built-in headphones, so you'll need your own if you wish to experience the full immersion of the headset. This is not uncommon for VR headsets, especially Windows MR headsets; Samsung’s Odyssey is the only Windows MR headset with headphones.

The Lenovo Explorer, Asus and Acer headsets each include a short cable with a headphone jack at the end, but HP’s headset doesn’t have a cable. The company instead installed a headphone jack on the bottom of the visor. At first, we liked the novel placement of the jack, but then we tried it and learned why it’s bad. With the cable dangling straight down from your face, it’s easy to catch the cord with your hands. We didn’t like the cable on the other headsets, but HP’s approach is much worse.

HP’s headset also lacks an internal microphone and only has one jack, so you’ll need a headset that uses one jack for audio input and output.

Specifications

High Resolution, Poor Field of View

HP’s Windows MR headset features dual 1440 x 1440 LCD panels, which produce a crisp, clear image. Several Windows MR devices feature the same display panels, including Lenovo, Asus and Acer’s headsets. The dreaded screen door effect is visible with these displays; however, it's nearly imperceptible unless you're looking for it. We prefer the image quality of the Samsung OLED displays over the LCDs that HP used, though. The LCD displays are poor at producing deep blacks, which makes the image appear somewhat washed out in dark scenes.

When we first put HP's headset on, we were surprised at how restricted the field of view (FOV) was. HP’s documentation claims that the headset offers a 100-degree FOV, which would put it on par with most VR headsets, including the Oculus Rift. In our experience, the view in the HP Windows MR is much more restricted than the Oculus Rift. HP’s headset gave me a sense of tunnel vision that no other HMD has triggered.

We recently found a SteamVR environment that enables us to compare the FOV of VR headsets called ROV Test FOV & Resolution. The measurements that the test provides vary from person to person because the FOV is relative to the distance from the lenses and screen to your eyes, but it’s a good tool if the same person tests each headset. From my perspective, the HP headset provides less than 80-degrees of horizontal view, whereas I can see approximately 90-degrees in a Rift and around 100-degrees in the HTC Vive.

Hard-to-Find Sweet Spot

The balance of the head strap plays a major role in the visual clarity a headset offers. HP’s Windows MR headset features a set of Fresnel-Aspherical lenses—the same ones you’ll fine in Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Dell’s headsets---that have a narrow visual sweet spot. Your pupils must align vertically with the lenses to get the best possible image.

HP’s headset features the same fixed interpupillary distance (IPD) Fresnel lenses found in the competing Windows MR devices. However, the visual experience that HP’s headset offers isn’t on par with those other headsets. The lenses should also be aligned with your eyes on the horizontal axis, but HP’s headset doesn’t offer an IPD adjustment, so that’s likely not possible. Acer, Asus and Lenovo feature a fixed 62-millimeter IPD, but HP's IPD feels narrower than that. By our measurement, HP’s headset has a fixed 60-millimeter IPD, which makes it less suitable for people with wide-set eyes.

Replaceable Cable

HP’s MR Headset stands out as the only Windows MR device that features a removable tether cable. The fixed cable is one of our chief complaints about other Windows MR devices because it’s the most likely point of failure, aside from a poor-quality hinge. The cable provides the data and power signals to the headset and is susceptible to damage from trampling and tugging.

HP’s cable design isn’t perfect, as it still includes a fixed tether that leads from inside the visor to the right side of the head strap. However, the tether cable is 11 inches long and features a socket to connect an extension cable, which would take the brunt of the trampling abuse. The headset includes a 13-foot extension cable, which features USB 3.0 and HDMI ports on one end and a proprietary plug that looks like a compressed DisplayPort interface on the other end. HP doesn’t currently offer longer cables for the consumer version of the Windows MR headset, but the company offers a Pro headset for businesses, which includes a longer lead for use in larger spaces.

HP’s Windows MR headset doesn’t include headphones or a built-in microphone. You must provide your own headset for audio and communication. The headset features a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the visor, which at first glance seemed a clever idea. However, in practice, we realized that we prefer the tethered, side-mounted headphone jack found on Acer, Asus and Lenovo’s headsets because we caught our hands in the dangling cable multiple times and feared we would eventually damage our gear.

A wireless headset would likely be the best solution, but you can’t use a Bluetooth headset in conjunction with Microsoft’s motion controllers, so your options are limited.

Not These Controllers Again!

HP added a few clever features to its headset to differentiate it from the other devices in the Windows MR lineup, but we wish it would have put effort into making a better controller. HP, like most Windows MR partners, adopted Microsoft’s reference controller design and didn’t change a thing except for the logo on the handle.

Microsoft’s reference controller works well as an example for the company’s tracking technology, but it should not have passed as a consumer product. Microsoft makes the Xbox One controller, which is arguably the best gamepad on the market. The company spent a fortune on research and development to refine the feel and actuation of each button and trigger on its gamepad, but inexplicably, it didn’t use Xbox’s expertise to create the Windows MR motion controllers.

The inputs on Microsoft’s motion controllers feel cheap and aren’t optimized for ergonomics. The overall construction of the controllers is subpar with loose fitting of the door to the battery compartment and a flimsy piece of plastic securing the halo with the tracking sensors. Motion controllers should be built to take a beating because they will likely be smacked against a wall or dropped on the floor. The Windows MR controllers probably won’t survive many hits like that.

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Living With HP's Windows MR Headset

Setup Process

Simplicity was one of Microsoft’s key goals for the Windows MR platform. The company saw the complicated setup process of existing VR solutions from Oculus and HTC as a barrier to entry for most people interested in VR. As such, the setup process for HP’s Windows MR headset is the exact same process seen among the other Windows MR devices.

Before you plug the headset in, ensure that you’ve got the latest Windows 10 updates installed on your computer. We recommend that you opt out of Microsoft’s Insider Preview program for the most stable Windows MR experience. 

With Windows up to date, plug the HP Windows MR headset into your computer. The headset requires a USB 3.0 port, and it must be plugged into the HDMI port of the graphics card. Windows MR headsets include inside-out tracking cameras, which eliminate the need to run wires for cameras or base stations.

Windows should automatically detect that you’ve plugged in a Windows MR device and begin downloading the appropriate drivers for the device. If the Windows MR Portal doesn’t launch automatically, locate it in the Start menu and launch it manually. The software should take you through the initial setup wizard, which will help you calibrate your room and learn the basics about navigating Microsoft’s immersive computing environment.

The setup wizard will walk you through connecting and calibrating your motion controllers through Bluetooth. HP’s headset doesn’t include a Bluetooth receiver, so if your computer doesn’t have one, you’ll need a third-party USB receiver.

The setup wizard also includes a room calibration process, in which you must trace your open play space with the cameras on the headset to establish your safety boundaries. If you step close to the defined barriers, a virtual grid appears in the headset to warn you where the safe-zone ends.

Once you’ve calibrated the environment, Microsoft puts you through a short tutorial that explains how to interact with the virtual world of Windows MR. The tutorial explains how to move around the space and how to use the motion controller or your voice to interact with objecta, menus and windows. 

The whole process, from taking the headset out of the box to fully configured, should take less than 10 minutes, and once you’re accustomed to the setup, it should take fewer than five minutes to run through setup.

Comfort

When choosing a VR headset, comfort should be a significant factor in your decision. After all, if the headset isn’t comfortable, you won’t be motivated to wear it often, or for long periods, if at all. HP’s headset is neither the most comfortable, nor the least comfortable headset.

HP’s Windows MR headset weighs 528 grams, which is quite a bit heavier than most HMDs (the Asus HMD weighs under 400 grams). However, the balanced crown head strap does a surprisingly good job at distributing the weight across your whole head. We wouldn’t trust the fitting of the head strap for extremely active games, though. To get the weight distribution sweet spot, wear the strap like a cap on top of your head.

Performance Evaluation

The HP Windows MR headset doesn’t have any processing technology that we can benchmark, so our evaluation process focuses on how the headset affects the performance of our test system. Our VR test system includes an Intel Core i7-5930K, 4x4GB of Crucial Balistix DDR4 2400, a Crucial M500 500GB SSD and an MSI X99S Xpower AC motherboard. We also used a Zotac GTX 980 Ti graphics card.

Our test suite includes Arizona Sunshine, Gorn, Rick & Morty: Virtual Rickality and Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope. Microsoft recently released a new version of the Windows MR Portal, which included a performance overhaul for Windows MR games, which in turn invalidated our past results. We no longer have the other Windows MR devices on hand, so we can’t provide updated figures for those devices. We’ve included the past results in our graphs, but you should take the performance difference between the HP headset and other Windows MR devices with a grain of salt.

Comparison Products

Arizona Sunshine

We expected performance for Arizona Sunshine to surpass the results from our Asus evaluation because of Microsoft’s performance “improvements.” However, our results indicated that Microsoft’s update didn’t work as advertised, or a component in HP’s headset caused a bottleneck. Without another Windows MR headset on hand to make a direct comparison, we can’t know for sure. We’re leaning towards a software problem, though.

The frame times from our HP Windows MR test exceed the frame times of previous headset tests, but the 980Ti had no trouble keeping the latency below 14 milliseconds to provide a consistent 90 frames per seconds (fps) to the displays.

Gorn

Gorn is a lightweight game that can run on the lowest-end VR-ready graphics cards, but the developers didn’t do a great job optimizing the performance. Gorn rarely pushes your GPU to a high limit, but the performance also rarely stabilizes and frame times can vary by more than 2 milliseconds each frame. That said, Microsoft’s recent Windows MR performance enhancements worked well with Gorn and provided the most stable frame timing we’ve seen in this game.

The frame time interval chart also indicates that Gorn performed better on the HP headset than it did on the Asus headset. We didn’t experience any dropped frames on the HP headset, whereas dropped frames were a semi-regular occurrence with the Asus headset.

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope

Serious Sam VR is a much more demanding game than Gorn and Arizona Sunshine because of the number of simultaneous on-screen enemies. With a few baddies on screen, we get great performance, but it doesn’t take long before dozens of enemies are bearing down on you. For our test, we run through the Endless Wave mode of the game, which constantly sends more cannon fodder your way until you can’t fight the hoard off anymore. As you can see in the graph, as the baddies accumulate on screen, the frame rate drops at a steady rate.

Our test results indicate that our system performed worse with the HP headset than it did with the Asus headset that features the same display specifications. However, we suspect the difference is somewhat software related. Croteam recently released an update to Serious Sam VR that altered the lineup of enemies that spawn in Endless Wave mode. The developer also introduced air-strike attacks, which would account for the frame time spikes seen in the middle and near the tail end of the graph.

As you can see from the frame time interval chart, the new update to Serious Sam VR negatively impacted the game's performance. Our GTX 980Ti had a hard time keeping the frame rate high enough to avoid relying on reprojection technology.

Rick & Morty: Virtual Rickality

Rick & Morty: Virtual Rickality is another lightweight game that should run on the lowest tier graphics cards. The developer also optimized this title well, so we rarely see big performance swings. Our test results indicate that Microsoft’s performance improvements may have had a mild effect on this game. Our test system kept the performance on the HP headset slightly ahead of our results with the Asus headset.

The frame time interval chart doesn’t tell us much, except that dropped frames in this game are a rare occurrence.

Analysis & Conclusion

On paper, HP’s Windows MR headset seems like a winner. The device offers the same high-resolution displays and Fresnel lenses found in most Windows MR headsets, and it includes convenient design features, such as the flip up visor. It also stands out among the Windows MR headsets as the only device with a replaceable tether cord, which is a big deal for the device's longevity.

If HP's Windows MR headset provided the same quality experience as the other Windows MR headsets, it would be a great purchase; however, it fails to offer the same quality of experience. HP’s headset provides the narrowest FOV out of any VR headset we’ve tried. People complain that the FOV in Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive is too narrow, but the FOV in the HP Windows MR headset is several degrees narrower, which emphasizes the tunnel-vision feeling.

The build quality of the device also leaves something to be desired. The visor feels sturdy, but like the rest of the Windows MR headsets that offer flip visors, the hinge for the visor feels like it would break easily. This does not feel like a $449 product.

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If you own a VR headset, now’s a good time to start filling out your library of VR games. Oculus and HTC are running summer sales right now, and some titles are discounted by 90%.

E3 wasn’t particularly exciting for VR fans, but there’s one thing you can always count on after the show floor closes: discounts. Games tend to go on sale after every E3, and VR games are no exception. We can always count on Valve’s Steam Summer Sale, which is rumored to begin on June 21, and in recent years, we can also count on discounts on Rift and Vive games.

Oculus kicked off its annual summer sale on Thursday, with discounted titles for the Rift, Oculus Go, and Gear VR headsets. Like last year, Oculus created a handful of summer bundle packs that offer “significant savings.” Each Rift bundle pack features five games, and the mobile packs includes four games. You can take advantage of the savings even if you already own one or more of the games. Oculus’ dynamic bundle pricing system will adjust the price so that you’re not charged twice for a game you already own.

Oculus will also put two Rift titles up for sale with discounts from 25-75% off each day until July 1.

Valve’s Steam Summer Sale is just around the corner, but HTC isn’t waiting to offer sales for Vive owners. The company launched the Viveport Summer Sale this morning, and it includes a few great deals.

HTC is offering discounts on over 100 titles in the Viveport store, with some titles slashed by as much as 90% off their original price. The company is also giving its subscribers a nice bonus for the next few weeks. HTC said it would give active Viveport subscribers up to four free games, one every weekend, until July 8. Anyone with a Viveport subscription is eligible for the free games, including anyone with an active 14-day free trial (sign up here if you haven’t used it already).

Meet The Asus Windows MR Headset

In the fall of 2016, Microsoft revealed its plans to bring the Windows operating system into the immersive technology age: Not only would Windows be a platform that supports VR and AR environments; it would become a VR and AR environment. Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform is the foundation for the company’s immersive computing aspirations. But an immersive computing platform isn’t worth much without hardware to complement it, and Microsoft turned to a handful of partners to bring the hardware to market while it works on the software side.

Six hardware partners adopted the Windows Mixed Reality (MR) platform, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. We’ve already looked at the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset, the Lenovo Explorer HMD, and the Samsung Odyssey HMD. Now we have Asus’ Windows Mixed Reality Headset on our test bench. And while we don't want to give it all way up front, it would be easy to recommend--if not for its current asking price of $429. With competing WMR devices now often priced below $300, and the original HTC Vive now priced at $500, Asus' headset is stuck in an awkward middle spot.

Design

Microsoft is taking a somewhat light approach to the hardware specifications for Windows Mixed Reality devices. The company gave its headset partners a rough set of guidelines which dictates minimum specifications in several categories, including display resolution, refresh rate, audio requirements, and connectivity options. Headsets must meet or surpass Microsoft’s bare minimum in all categories, but headset designers are free to introduce superior components to differentiate their products from the competition.

Oddly, despite the freedom to create unique hardware, most of the Windows MR headsets share the same primary specifications, and Asus’s headset is one of them. The Asus headset features a pair of 1440x1440 LCD screens, which have a native refresh rate of 90Hz, but they can operate at 60Hz for compatibility with systems lesser graphics muscle, even Intel's integrated graphics (iGP). Just don't expect to play demanding games with these headsets without a capable graphics card.

Specifications

Inside The Box

The Asus Windows Mixed Reality headset comes packaged in a high-quality box with ample foam protection for the hardware inside. The package includes the Asus headset, two Windows MR controllers, and a set of batteries to power the controllers. It also includes a Quick Start guide and a warranty booklet.  Like the rest of the Windows MR devices that we’ve tested, the Asus Windows MR headset does not include a Bluetooth receiver in the box for the controllers. So if your machine doesn't have a built-in Bluetooth radio, you'll have to buy a USB adapter or an add-in card.

The first thing that we noticed about the Asus Windows MR Headset is how much it resembles the Lenovo Explorer head-mounted display (HMD). Both headsets share many characteristics, despite the obvious differences in their appearance. The Asus headset is mostly grey aside from the black faceplate, which features a distinctive (if not exactly original) 3D polygonal design. The faceplate design is just an aesthetic feature, but it’s the first feature that Asus highlights about the headset on its website (a symptom of the otherwise similar nature of the Window MR headsets). Aside from the color scheme and physical shape, the Lenovo Explorer and Asus Windows MR HMDs appear quite the same. And Asus’ headset is also reasonable facsimile of the Acer Windows MR headset, despite the Acer headset’s flashy blue exterior.

The Asus headset features a balanced-crown head strap, which is also typical of the Windows MR headsets. The top of the headset features a cushion that’s designed to brace the weight of the HMD on your forehead. The rigid strap loops around the back of your head to hold against the base of your skull. The strap includes a cushion at the back for comfort, and a mechanical adjustment dial to secure it.

Like the Acer and Lenovo headsets, the Asus headset also includes a flip up visor, which enables you to interact with the real world without taking the headset off. The flip visor is one of our favorite features of a VR headset--at least in theory. We’ve yet to see a flip-up visor that didn’t have obvious design flaws. Both the Acer and Lenovo headsets feature plastic hinges that didn’t fill us with confidence in their long-term lifespan--they feel like they could wear out prematurely. Asus’s mechanism feels slightly more robust, but only in that it seems to be built of stronger plastic. As far as we can tell, the design of the mechanism on Asus’s headset is the same as the mechanism on Lenovo and Acer’s headsets. We can't say for certain, though, as we don't still have those headsets available to confirm.

We’re also not fond of Asus’s choice of where the tether cable exits the body of the headset. It exits the right side of the lower half of the visor. When you flip the visor up, it pulls extra cable slack through the loop on the side of the head strap. Thankfully, Asus’s cable clip is stronger than Lenovo’s clip and didn’t pop off when we lifted the visor. 

The tether cable on the Asus headset in a single 14m cable with an HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 plug on one end. Like the Acer, Lenovo, and Samsung Windows MR headsets, the tether cable is not replaceable unless you're willing to partially disassemble the headset. It attaches to the device on the inside of the visor.

As with all Windows Mixed Reality headsets, the Asus HMD features Microsoft’s inside-out tracking system, which it developed for the HoloLens. The HMD includes two cameras that face outward and somewhat towards the ground, which track the room around you. The cameras also provide tracking for the motion controllers. We don’t have the Acer and Lenovo headsets anymore to compare directly, but we believe the cameras on the Asus headset point somewhat inward compared to the competing headsets.

On the inside of the visor, we find two Fresnel-aspherical lenses, which resemble those of the Lenovo and Acer headsets. Like those other headsets, the Asus device does not include a mechanical IPD (lens spacing) adjustment. The lenses are fixed at 63mm apart.

Asus’ Windows MR headset does not include integrated headphones, and it doesn’t offer an integrated microphone. You must provide your own audio hardware, which you can connect to 3.5mm jack on the Asus headset.

Aside from its many similarities to competing headsets, the Asus Windows MR headset does offer unique features that separate it from the rest of the pack. For instance, all the cushions on the Asus headset offer cool-touch, quick-drying fabrics that are breathable to reduce sweating, and antibacterial surfaces to help keep the headset fresh. And unlike the other Windows MR headsets that we’ve tested, every cushion on the Asus headset is removable/replaceable.

Asus secures the cushions to the headset with strong Velcro. Each cushion is reinforced with plastic inserts, so they retain their shape when removed. The face cushion wraps around the entire visor, including the nose relief, which helps to seal off light bleed from the nose opening. As Windows MR headsets go, this is one of the more well-fitting models we've tested to date, but as we'll expand on later the balance of the headset affects overall comfort in a negative way.

Standard Windows MR Motion Controllers

Asus put some thought into redesigning the reference Windows MR headset, but the company doesn't seem to have spent any time with the motion controllers at all. The Asus headset includes a pair of generic Windows MR motion controllers, just like the ones that Acer and Lenovo include with their headsets. The controllers from each brand are identical, right down to the cheap AA batteries that come in the box. The only difference is the logo painted on the handle.

For a detailed explanation of our thoughts on Microsoft’s reference design motion controllers, refer to our Acer Windows MR headset review, in which we break down the merits and shortcomings of the controllers. Suffice to say that we’re disappointed Asus didn’t refine the controllers. Samsung's competing Odyssey package demonstrated that a few small changes, such as tougher plastic and better attention to ergonomics can go a long way in improving the controllers.

How We Tested The Asus Windows MR HMD

VR performance analysis is far from a defined science, and the tools that we use are always changing. When we’re evaluating a CPU or a GPU, we use procedures that are tried and true, and analysis software and equipment that we’re well accustomed to. Our VR testing procedure, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. We also often find ourselves in a position where we have to improvise, which means that our tests aren’t always as scientific as we would like.

When we looked at the Lenovo and Acer Windows MR headsets, we didn’t have a working evaluation tool for Windows MR. Basemark’s VRScore application doesn’t support the Windows MR platform, and Nvidia had pulled the FCAT VR frame analysis tool from it’s website in December. We’ve since received an unreleased copy of FCAT VR from Nvidia, which we used for the Samsung Odyssey and HTC Vive Pro reviews. But, the current iteration of FCAT VR doesn’t officially support Windows MR, so we can’t test applications in Microsoft’s native Windows MR environment. But FCAT VR does work for testing WMR headsets with Steam VR content.

Our test suite includes Gorn, Arizona Sunshine, Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, and Island 359. We take a 60-second benchmark of each game and compare the results with the data from our other headsets.

A New Tool

For the Asus Windows MR headset review, we also introduced a new evaluation tool called ROV Test FOV & Resolution, which helps us compare the field of view (FOV), lens glare, and image crispness and clarity. The ROV FOV tool (short for RealOVirtual) is a somewhat subjective test, but it gives us a base for objective analysis of our subjective experience.

The ROV Test provides a FOV rating for us, but that rating can’t be compared to the manufacturer's specifications because of the physiological differences of the shape of people’s heads. Everyone’s eyes sit at different distances from the lenses, which affects the perceived FOV. However, we can compare our personal results between headsets to determine which device offers the widest FOV for us. Your results may vary. The ROV tool includes tests for vertical and horizontal FOV ranges.

The ROV Test also offers a vision test like the type you would find at an Optometrist’s office. The test includes 11 lines of text that get smaller and smaller. We stand two meters from the poster (marked on the ground) and make a note of which lines we can’t read. This test is dependent on the tester’s eyesight, so you may find your results differ from ours, but again it gives us an easy comparison between devices.

The ROV Test also includes a glare analysis test, which features a 100% black room with the words GLARE TEST in big white letters in the center. This test lets us see if the lenses produce "god rays" in a controlled setting.

The Hardware We Used

For this evaluation, we used our standard VR test system, which features an Intel Core i7 5930K, 16GB of Crucial Balistix DDR4 2133 RAM, an MSI X99S Xpower motherboard, and a Gigabyte GTX 980Ti Xtreme Gaming graphics card. We also run our tests with an EVGA GTX 970 SC to get a sense of performance on lesser graphics hardware.

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Living With The Asus Windows MR HMD

Setup Process

Ease of setup was one of Microsoft’s primary goals for the Windows Mixed Reality platform, and we would say that the company succeeded on that front. To begin the setup process, ensure that your Windows installation is up to date so that you’ve got latest Windows MR driver files on your PC. Next, plug in the headset’s USB 3.0 and HDMI plugs and let the OS detect the hardware and install the appropriate drivers. If the Mixed Reality Portal doesn’t open automatically, locate it in the Start menu and launch it manually.

The first time you enter the Mixed Reality Portal, you should be prompted with an installation wizard that will help you calibrate your play space and connect your controllers. As noted up top, you must have a Bluetooth radio in your PC to connect to the controllers. The installation wizard includes images and step-by-step instructions to help you pair the controllers. 

Microsoft offers two setup configurations: room-scale and standing. The standing setup is simple and doesn’t involve setting up boundary zones. The room-scale setup demands that you trace your play area with the headset’s tracking cameras.

Once your headset is calibrated, Microsoft will put you through a short tutorial where it teaches you how to move around the environment, interact with virtual objects, and use your voice to take command of Windows MR.

Image Clarity

The Asus Windows MR headset's 1440x1440 LCD panels provide a clear view of the virtual world. The resolution is higher than that of the Rift and the original Vive, but the pixel increase isn’t enough to remove the screen door effect (SDE) that many people complain about. There’s no doubt that the Asus headset provides a crisper image than the first-generation VR headsets. We’re reasonably sure that the Asus headset shares the same lenses as the Acer and Lenovo headsets, but without the headsets here to compare, we can’t be certain. We can say, though, that lenses in the Asus Windows MR headset produce less glare than the Vive and Rift lenses.

The Asus headset enabled us to read the lines on the eye exam board until line 9. We could just barely make out line 10, but we wouldn't call it legible.

As for field of view, we could perceive the horizontal FOV markers up to 89-degree in both directions, which is less than advertised, but in line with the other HMDs that we've tested. When we stepped up to the vertical FOV test, we could see roughly 35-degrees above and below the horizon.

Comfort

The Asus Windows MR headset features the softest cushion material that we’ve encountered on an HMD. However, we would still give Asus low marks in the comfort category because the  crown doesn’t do a good job balancing the headset’s weight. At first, we thought the headset fit well, but after a few minutes of moving around, we realized that the forehead brace isn’t large enough to keep the headset from slipping down our face.

Maintenance & Care

The documentation we received with Asus' headset doesn’t include any information about maintenance or how to take care of the headset, which is usual. Every other headset we’ve reviewed included guidelines for proper handling, storage, and cleaning. 

The removable cushions on the Asus headset feature antibacterial material that dries quickly, but we’re unsure of the proper cleaning procedure. We would suggest that you avoid saturating the cushions with water, because that’s standard advice for other VR headsets.

To clean the lenses, use a standard lens cloth for photography or eye glasses.

Performance Analysis

Gorn

Gorn is a Unity-based game that runs well on most graphics cards, but playing this game requires lots of fast arm movement. You have to swing melee weapons in a fight for your life, wildly flailing your arms, which forces the PC to continuously calculate the position of your controllers (and head).

You can tell from the plot of the performance graphs that the frame timing in this game bounces all over the place. However, the frame times remained within the 13ms limit required for continuous 90 FPS. Our system occasionally dropped a few frames, but we didn’t perceive a problem while playing.

Gorn ran fine on our GTX 970 as well as the GTX 980 Ti. It would not be necessary to upgrade to a more powerful GPU to run games like this on an Asus Windows MR headset.

Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality

Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is also a Unity-based game, but is even less demanding than Gorn because it doesn’t involve frantic, rapid arm movements. Rick & Morty ran flawlessly in both the GTX 970 and GTX 980Ti tests.

The 2880x1440 combined resolution doesn’t have a significant effect on the game's performance. The frame times with the Asus headset were in the same range as the Vive headset. Curiously, the Samsung Odyssey headset, which offers a marginally higher resolution than our Asus headset, put a much larger toll on our GTX 970, with frame times habitually 2ms higher than the Asus WinMR and HTC Vive headsets. 

Again, if you have a GTX 970, you won't benefit from a GPU upgrade to play this game. In fact, we’re pretty confident you could get away with an even lower-end GPU and still achieve comfortable frame rates.

Arizona Sunshine

Arizona Sunshine is yet another Unity-based game, but it pushes the graphical limits of the Unity game engine. It also flirts with the limits of what a GTX 970 can handle in VR. Arizona Sunshine is well optimized for the HTC Vive, and it runs comparatively well on the Oculus Rift. However, it’s not as well optimized for Windows Mixed Reality devices.

Our experience in Arizona Sunshine with the Samsung Odyssey was somewhat rough, with the frame times spiking continuously between 8ms and 12ms. The performance with the Asus WinMR headset was significantly more stable than our Odyssey test. But about 45 seconds into our 60-second test with the GTX 970, the system started dropping a significant number of frames.

Arizona Sunshine is a title that clearly demonstrates the benefit of having a higher-end graphics card for VR. With the GTX 970, the frame times rarely dipped below 9ms and often hovered above 10ms, which doesn’t leave much headroom for performance dips. Our GTX 980 Ti kept the frame times below 7ms with few exceptions.

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope is built with Croteam in-house-developed Serious Engine. The title is well optimized for the Vive and the Rift, and it offers official support for Windows MR devices. When we tested this game with the Samsung Odyssey headset, we found that our GTX 970 wasn’t quite up to the task of delivering smooth framerates. It wasn’t obvious while playing that the frame timing was jumping up and down, though we could tell something was up. The graphs indicated that it spiked by as much as 4ms per frame. Our results from the Asus Windows MR headset weren’t as dramatic as the Samsung Odyssey results, but we still found that the frame times were jumping around a lot.

Serious Sam VR runs much better with a more powerful GPU. The spiking frame times stabilized to some degree after we switched to the GTX 980 Ti. Rather than a 4ms variance, the spikes calmed down to roughly a 1ms variance.

Island 359

Island 359 is the only Unreal Engine game in our test suite, and as such, it’s the most demanding title in the roundup. The game runs on a GTX 970, but we’ve never been impressed by the performance numbers that our minimum spec GPU pumps out in this title. With the HTC Vive, the GTX 970 just sneaks under the 13ms bar when the game is set to high settings. With any other headset, high-settings is a little bit too demanding for a GTX 970 GPU. Though the Asus Windows MR headset flirts the line, it spent too much time on the north side of 13ms for our liking.

Island 359 is the type of game that desires more GPU power, and when we threw our GTX 980 Ti at the problem, we were much happier with the results. The GTX 980 Ti kept the frame times for the Asus headset well below 10ms, and often as low as 7ms. We observed an approximate 5ms improvement in frame delivery times with the higher-powered GPU.

Analysis & Conclusion

We have mixed feelings about the Asus Windows Mixed Reality headset. On one hand, it shares many features and components with the cheapest Windows MR headsets on the market, which suggests it should be about $130 less expensive. But on the other hand, it features cushions that we wish our more-pricey Vive Pro included.

If the Asus Win MR headset were available at a steep discount like the other headsets (which launched around the same price, but have since often dipped to $300 or less), we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. But at nearly twice the typical on-sale price of the entry level Windows MR headsets (which we've seen as low as $200), it's tough to recommend the Asus headset at its current price, hovering between $399 and $429. Sure, it’s better than the competing Acer and Lenovo devices, but not $200 better. For $300 or less, an Asus headset would be a much more compelling proposition.

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Tobii today introduced the Tobii Pro VR Analytics platform, which gives developers and product designers insights about what grabs your attention and where you gaze in VR environments.

Tobii is one of the leading names in eye-tracking technology, and it’s no secret that the company has a big interest in VR technology, given that the company has worked with some of the biggest names in the VR industry. Last year, Tobii demonstrated an HTC Vive with its eye-tracking hardware installed, and it partnered with Qualcomm to offer eye-tracking hardware in Qualcomm’s VR developer kit. It also recently partnered with Microsoft to standardize eye-tracking technology for VR headsets.

Tobii’s latest VR development isn’t a new piece of hardware, and it isn’t a partnership with another company. Tobii is now offering access to advanced analytics data derived from combining its eye-tracking technology with VR devices and experiences.

We’ve written about the benefits of eye-tracking for VR before, such as the ability to implement foveated rendering for improved performance, the ability to navigate menus with a glance of your eye, or the potential for life-like interactions with in-game NPCs and avatars. However, Tobii Pro’s VR Analytics tools highlight other uses for eye-tracking in VR that could benefit product designers, architects, and retail merchandisers, such as studying what grabs people’s attention about a product or environment layout.

“Eye tracking has proved to be a natural part of VR, and the launch of Tobii Pro VR Analytics is a major step towards our larger vision to also provide businesses and researchers with the tools to capture insights from these immersive environments. VR puts you in complete control of an environment while eye tracking explains our behavior while in that world – a powerful combination making the behavioral insights accessible to many more people,” said Tobii Pro president Tom Englund in a press release.

Tobii Pro’s VR Analytics tools can also help study how people react to tense situations in training simulations high-risk occupations in industries such as emergency response, the medical and surgical profession, and industrial manufacturing.

The Tobii Pro VR Analytics tools can integrate with existing Unity environments, which allows businesses to use existing software and simulation environment for their analysis. Tobii said the suite includes automated features for visualizing and measuring what user’s view, including a heat map that shows the areas that draw the most attention, opacity maps that highlight the most frequently viewed locations, and journey maps that track a user’s movement in the virtual environment.

The Tobii Pro VR Analytics software is available now, but Tobii didn’t publicly reveal the price for the tool. Interested companies should contact Tobii’s sales team. For more information about the VR Analytics tool, see the Tobii Pro website.

HTC released the first major software overhaul for the Vive Focus standalone VR headset. The new update includes several new features, such as smartphone integration, support for 6-DoF (degrees of freedom) controllers, and improved support for expandable storage.

The Vive Focus System Update 2.0 enables seamless integration with HTC’s U12+ flagship phone, which allows you to receive messages, view notifications, and take calls without taking the headset off. The new update also allows you to stream content on the U12+ to the headset, such as videos or Android games.

The update also supports streaming game content from a host computer via a 5GHz WiFi connection. An optimized version of the Riftcat VRidge software is available on the Viveport M store, which supports the Vive Focus headset and allows you to play Viveport or SteamVR content with a Vive Focus headset. HTC said that you could use an Xbox or another third-party controller to interact with Steam content.

The headset’s wand controller also gets a new driver, which upgrades it from a 3-DoF controller to a 6-DoF controller. The update uses the headset’s cameras and a proprietary AI computer vision algorithm to track the movement of the controller with six degrees of motion, which enables you to interact with room-scale SteamVR games as you would with a tethered Vive headset, though the Vive Focus includes only one controller. The update also supports gesture recognition, and HTC released an SDK to help developers integrate gestures with their experiences.

The Focus now has improved storage options, like support for installing applications directly to a microSD card to expand storage capacity. HTC also partnered with Seagate to create a portable hard drive device called the VR Power Drive, which adds storage space and doubles as a battery backup that doubles the battery life of the Vive Focus headset.

HTC also introduced two new usage modes for the Vive Focus headset. “Passenger Mode” optimizes the headsets for use in a moving vehicle, offers improved battery life for video playback (four hours as opposed to three hours), and supports seated VR experiences. The software update also includes “Surroundings Mode,” which enables use of the passthrough cameras so that you can see the real world without taking the headset off.

The Vive Focus System Update 2.0 also sets the stage for HTC’s global launch of its standalone VR headset. The Vive Focus store now supports purchases from international credit cards, which means that developers from around the world can use the headset for leisure now, not just development. HTC hasn’t yet announced the North America release date for the Vive Focus, but the device should be available before the end of the year.

The team at Tom's Hardware is here to help you make the best computer hardware purchase decisions and squeeze every last drop of power out of your rig. We want to know what you use all those precious processor cycles for, which is why we've started a new series: Power User Profiles. In the first of our Power User Profile series, we're talking to a VR developer about what he uses to make his magic.

Hamburg, Germany based VR/AR Art director Vladimir Ilic (VRHUMAN on our forums) has been in the VR scene for a while, recently making waves on Twitter with his #VREVERYDAY Project. We recently reached out to Vlad to learn more about his work, his favorite apps, and the hardware inside his rig.

1. Tell us a little about your background and what you do.

My name is Vladimir Ilic (VRHUMAN) and I´m a VR/AR Art Director based in Hamburg, Germany. I’ve done some cool VR projects with companies like Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Facebook, Oculus, and Samsung.

I started my design career in Graphics, Industrial and Transportation Design where I created everything from German cars, digital user interfaces and print productions like the IKEA catalogue.

For a few years now, I've been focusing all my creative energy on VR/AR where I experiment and expand on the current state of the technology.

Working in VR/AR design and art direction demands an open mind and a hunger to learn and improve. That’s why I started projects like the Artifacts Piano Bar and #VREVERYDAY where I force myself out of my comfort zone to improve my skill set and curiosity on a daily basis with experiments in the context of VR.

2. What Kind of Computer do you use for work?

I like my workspace to be minimalistic without much clutter or distraction. It helps me to stay focused on my work and stay organized.

Working in a cutting-edge field like VR demands an insane amount of computing power from almost every component in my system.

I custom built my Windows PC with an all-around setup focused on 3D modeling, rendering, gaming and game development.

Here are some specs:

VR Hardware powered by the system:

My go-to VR HMD is the Oculus Rift with touch controllers and dual Sensor Setup! The Oculus Rift has great product design, utilizing different materials and haptics within a small form factor. There are some things I would want to improve, and I can´t wait to try the Santa Cruz version which addresses some of my issues. I also use the HTC Vive and Samsung Odyssey.

3. What are the most demanding tasks you perform?

For my Workstation:

Rendering: My current workflow for rendering animations and stills involves Cinema4D from Maxon and Otoy´s Octane GPU renderer. There is never enough GPU!

Development: Most of my interactive VR work happens inside Unity3D which gives me all the tools to create interesting narratives.

I´m currently focused on High-End VR (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive) which demands a lot from every component in the system. As mobile VR gets more accessible (Oculus Go just came out) I plan on experimenting more with that sector.

3D Work: I have a background in "traditional" 3D modeling which I still to a lot. My software of choice for this task is Maxon´s Cinema4D which offers a fantastic UI and a lot of exciting functions which help me in my creative VR process without interrupting creative flow.

For me:

Staying organized

4. What apps do you run?

Cinema4D for rendering, 3D modeling, and animation. Substance Painter for texturing designs and assets. AMD ProRender and Otoy´s Octane for rendering. Unity 3D for development. Brave Browser for a productive internet experience. Nvidia Shadowplay for recording video. Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer for editing images and creating vector graphics. Spotify for Jazz and background noises.

Oculus Home and Steam for gaming and VR creation apps like Oculus Medium, Masterpiece VR and Tilt Brush. They are all fantastic applications but there is a disconnect when creating worlds and assets on a 2D screen and going back and forth to prototype the look in VR.

I´m dreaming of a universal VR ecosystem where I can perform most design related tasks inside VR with seamless transitions between them. Modeling, sculpting in one frame,  and grabbing the model and throwing it into a texturing toll in another frame, where I also have all the tools to perform AI-guided UV unwrapping and context to finish the artwork.

5. Which of those apps or tasks would choke a mainstream computer?

Definitely everything VR related like the creation apps and games. The current state of creating art and designs in VR comes with tradeoffs. Polycount is hard to keep in check when intuitive workflows and a great user experience must be at top priority. There are built in resolution settings in most apps but the outcome and topology is a gamble at the moment so there is always post work involved with Cinema4D´s poly-reduction tool for example.

Displaying to VR HMDs at this time involves rendering an image for both eyes at very high framerates. Until foveated rendering supported by eye tracking becomes a thing we are wasting a lot of computing power on generating pixels the user does not even see.This goes for everything VR at the moment, whether it be gaming, creation tools or edutainment.

6. What are your biggest bottlenecks on your current computer?

I need way more graphics processing power to be more productive in every way. A single Nvidia GTX 1070 was pretty cool a year ago but as projects have gotten more demanding and complex, a multi GPU setup with current high end gaming cards would save me a lot of time.

With a lot of Unity Projects and VR paintings/sculpts in their raw exported form storage also becomes a concern. At the time of writing this I´m at day 126 of my #VREVERYDAY series, which means I'm generating a ton of large files every day that need to be backed-up and archived.

7. What are you currently playing?

To be brutally honest, I should play/test all the latest VR games but rarely find the time to enjoy them in a relaxed context. I love playing games with great story and aesthetics/setting. My favorites right now are:

• The Witcher Series
• Stardew Valley
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Final Fantasy Franchise

8. Any questions for the Tom's Hardware Community?

I've been looking for a powerhouse VR laptop workstation for months now, but can´t decide on which system to go with!

My job demands that I travel all across the world and every time I´m away from my tower workstation I miss working in VR. Currently I´m considering the recent Asus Zephyrus laptops but haven´t made up my mind yet.

I would love to hear your recommendations for a lightweight / simple and nice-looking VR ready laptop which I can take everywhere I go and do basic VR design and Unity development on.

You can follow Vlad's work at VR-Human.com and on his Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram feeds.

Updated, 04/33/2018, 9:50pm PT:

The Vive Pro bundle is now available in North America, too, and it's a little bit cheaper here than in Japan. American customers can now order the package for $1,399. HTC also revealed further details about the Vive Advantage commercial licensing package. The company announced the Vive Enterprise Advantage and Advantage+, which includes dedicated email and chat support, expedited hardware replacement, and two years of coverage on the HMD's "qualifying accessories." 

“Enterprise VR is transforming the way businesses operate and interact with their employees and customers. We are bringing the market a premium VR experience with a high-resolution display, integrated audio and the best components available today in a headset,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM U.S., Vive in a prepared statement for the press release. “Vive Pro offers an immediate upgrade for businesses that want to utilize the most innovative technology to optimize their business and streamline their processes.”

Original article:

HTC Nippon Corporation (HTC Japan) today announced the price and availability of the Vive Pro bundle, which includes the recently released Vive Pro HMD and updated peripherals. The package offers two updated Vive motion controllers with Triad Semiconductor TS3633 sensors, and two SteamVR 2.0 base stations.

The new base stations support a wider field of view than the original model and track slightly larger volumes. The original Vive supports up to 15' by 15' of trackable space. A pair of the new base stations cover up to 19.6 x 19.6', but you can add another two base stations for a maximum of 32.8 x 32.8'. HTC Japan isn’t yet selling additional base stations, and the company didn’t say how much the base stations would cost.

The motion controllers that come with the Vive Pro bundle are just updated Vive wands with new sensors, not the coveted Valve Knuckles controllers. We still don’t have any information about Valve’s Knuckles release schedule.

HTC said that the Vive Pro would be available from the regional online store and Japanese domestic resellers on April 23 at “10 o’clock.” The company also revealed that it would soon offer a Vive Pro Advantage Pack, which would include a warranty contract for commercial use and corporate support.

Sticker Shock

If you think the Vive Pro upgrade is expensive, wait until you get a load of this. HTC is asking 162,880 Japanese yen for the package, which translates to just over $1,500. The sky-high price is sure to ruffle a few feathers, especially after the reaction to the $800 HMD-only upgrade. However, before you get mad about the price tag, consider that the Vive Pro bundle package isn’t meant for consumers.

The updated base stations offer larger tracking volumes, but do you really need a larger tracked space? Most people don’t have enough free room in their home to maximize the original base stations. SteamVR Tracking 2.0 is primarily for commercial entities at this stage. We can’t think of any reason for a home user to need the updated base stations until Valve enables multi-room tracking. (And that may never happen, because it would require an over-the-air wireless system that doesn’t rely on line-of-sight.) Home users would be better off purchasing a Vive Pro with Steam VR 1.0 accessory bundle.

HTC hasn’t yet announced the North American availability or pricing of the Vive Pro bundle or Advantage Pack. We’ve reached out to HTC for comment, but we don’t expect much more from HTC’s representatives other than confirmation of the Japanese launch.

HTC last week quietly released a set of SDKs that enable developers to experiment with the advanced features of the Vive Pro’s front-facing stereo cameras and audio system. The demos the company released indicate that the Vive Pro is worthier of the title Mixed Reality than Microsoft’s Windows MR partner headsets.

The Cameras

Until now, we knew little about the new camera features offered by the Vive Pro. When HTC revealed the headset, it didn’t say much about the new camera setup; we learned most of what we know about it from observation. The new cameras aren’t just for the chaperone system, they enable AR-like features, which makes the Vive Pro more of a mixed reality device than the current crop of Windows MR headsets.

The Vive Pro features two binocular cameras that face directly forward. When HTC revealed the new headset, we surmised that the cameras would enable you to see depth in the chaperone mode. We expected to learn that the Vive Pro borrows tech from the Vive Focus’ inside-out tracking technology.

In late January, Engadget reported that it spoke with Raymond Pao, HTC’s Vice President of Product and Strategy, and learned that indeed the Vive Pro would offer depth awareness in Chaperone mode. But that’s just scratching the surface of the cameras’ potential. Pao said that HTC would release a developer kit to open the camera’s functions for game interactions. Last Wednesday, HTC released an early-access version of the Vive SRWorks developer kit, which exposes that Chaperone cameras for developers to work with.

HTC revealed that the dual cameras could provide spatial mapping of static and dynamic environments. The company also released a short video that demonstrates the spatial scan process. HTC combines the data from the stereo cameras to create a 3D polygonal mesh of the environment around you. The clip shows that the process is somewhat slow, but it otherwise resembles the room-scanning process you must go through to set up the Microsoft HoloLens headset. The cameras detect walls, the floor, and objects in the room and create 3D representations of every object.

The original Vive featured a mono greyscale camera, whereas the Vive Pro features two RGB cameras that support full-color pass-through. With the pass-through view enabled and the environment mapped, you can use the Vive Pro to play with mixed reality content. In addition to tracking the environment, the Vive Pro’s stereo cameras can also track your hands like a Leap Motion camera. HTC’s hand interaction technology isn’t as sophisticated as Leap Motion’s offering, but it can manage basic functions such as reaching out and touching a virtual object.

The 3D-mapped environment enables developers to use the real world as part of your experience. You can use visual effects to alter the way the world looks, for example, such as changing the colors or textures on the wall or using visual filters that change the temperature of the ambient light. Developers can also build mixed reality content that blends with the real world. The 3D mesh of the room enables virtual objects to interact with real-world objects. The scanned room also enables occlusion of virtual assets behind real-world objects.

HTC said that the Vive SRWorks SDK is broken up into three modules: the Depth module, which handles the hand interactions; the See-through module, which lets developers work on AR/MR content; and the 3D Reconstruction module, which exposes the spatial tracking data. The SDK also includes plugins for Unity and Unreal Engine.

Audio Too

Along with the camera SDK, HTC released modules for the new headset’s audio system. The Vive Pro is supposed to have high-end headphones with a built-in amplifier, but our experience with the audio system is sub-par thus far. HTC tried to fix the Vive Pro’s headphones with a firmware update that helped, but didn’t solve the problem. Perhaps the issue isn’t the hardware, but rather the software that we’re using.

HTC released the Vive 3DSP SDK, which is a “Unity-compatible audio spatialization plugin” for the Vive Pro. The list of features in the 3DSP SDK include:

Higher Order AmbisonicsHRTFs based on refined real-world modeling (horizontally and vertically)Support for Hi-Res audio source files and playback.Acoustic distance effect with real-world modeling.The VIVE 3DSP plugin supports room effect, room reverberation and reflection, and acoustic occlusion that is tuned for the VIVE Pro. However, the VIVE and other HMDs and headphones are also supported.

The Vive Pro’s audio currently feels distant, and it’s often described as “tinny.” Maybe the acoustic distance effect and higher order ambisonics could help enhance the audio to eliminate the distant sound that the headset currently provides.

HTC also released the Vive Pro Audio Mode SDK, which includes APIs for the Vive Pro’s internal microphones. The new software enables applications to toggle the microphones between foreground monitoring, background monitoring, or one microphone for each task.

The Vive SKRWorks SDK, Vive 3DSP SDK, and Vive Pro Audio Mode SDK are available from the Vive developer resources portal. All three are early access releases.

Locomotion is one of the most contentious issues plaguing the VR industry. There are dozens of different methods to help you move around in VR games, but we’re nowhere near a consensus on which method is the best. We’ve written about VR locomotion several times, and we’ve tested many different methods of navigating virtual worlds. After spending countless hours in VR, we’re of the opinion that arm swinger locomotion is one of the superior VR locomotion choices. Unfortunately, most games don’t support the arm swinger movement system. However, we recently learned that you could use a third-party application called Natural Locomotion to add arm swinger locomotion to almost any game that supports trackpad/thumbstick movement.

This week, we spent some time tinkering with the Natural Locomotion software, and we like what it has to offer. The software is still in beta form, and it’s a little rough around the edges, but it works well, and it offers plenty of customization features. Natural Locomotion runs in between Steam VR and the VR application and emulates the track pad input. The software observes the swinging motion of your arms and converts it to an input the game can understand.  The developer also said that head-bobbing locomotion would be supported in the future.

The Natural Locomotion software isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but it offers options that should enable it to work with most games that include trackpad-based locomotion. The software currently includes pre-configured profiles for a handful of popular titles, including Arizona Sunshine, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, and VRChat. The developer said it plans to expand the list of included profiles, but you can create custom profiles for any game if you don’t want to wait for official profile releases.

To use Natural Locomotion with a pre-configured game, launch the software before opening the game. You can operate the software with your mouse, but we would strongly recommend accessing it from the Steam VR desktop view for troubleshooting purposes. Highlight the appropriate profile for the game that you wish to play, and press Start Selected Profile to activate it. The Natural Locomotion software should automatically launch the game and activate the control override. The software injection doesn’t always work on the first try. If the controls don’t activate, return to the Desktop view to cycle the profile activation again. If restarting the profile doesn’t work, you may also need to restart Steam VR.

The developer behind Natural Locomotion tuned each profile to match the run and walk speed of each game’s standard locomotion methods, but you can tweak the settings if you prefer. Natural Locomotion offers trackpad/thumbstick emulation configuration settings, which includes dead zone and active zone calibration, maximum in-game speed, and options for head or controller-based orientation. You can also specify what happens to the original  button mappings. You can choose between disabling the original inputs, allowing the input to passthrough always, or only work when you’re not moving. You can also combine the original input with the movement input so both actions happen with one button press.

Natural Locomotion also enables you to configure which button activates the arm swinging movement. The default option is the grip buttons on both controllers, but you can disable the left or the right controller if you prefer. You can specify any button to activate the locomotion system, and the software allows you to remap the original function to any other input. It also allows for input passthrough.

Custom Profiles

For the most part, you won’t want to tweak the settings of the pre-configured profiles, but if you want to create custom profiles for as-yet-unsupported games, you will need to play around with every option to find the right configuration for the particular game.

To create a custom profile, click on the Add New button. You must specify the name of the profile and point the software to the correct Steam application. Add the Steam AppID of the app in question into the command box. You can find the AppID in the URL for the game’s Steam Store page. Next, click the Configure trackpad/stick emulation button and select the settings that you think make sense for the title. The process for determining the correct options is somewhat trial and error, and it may take some time to get right. Start by adjusting one setting at a time and testing the configuration as you go. The SteamVR desktop mode allows you to make adjustments without taking the headset off, which makes the process a little bit less tedious than it otherwise would be. 

We have several games in our library, but most of the titles with smooth locomotion already feature pre-configured profiles. Natural Locomotion doesn’t include profiles for Onward and Obduction, though, so we tried to build our own. Unfortunately, Natural Locomotion doesn’t work with Obduction. The Natural Locomotion software launches Obduction, but the game features three builds; desktop mode, Oculus Rift mode, and Steam VR mode, and even if you have Obduction running already, when you press the Start selected profile button it tries to run the desktop version of the game.

Our experience with Onward was much better. We managed to create a working profile for Onward, which includes controller-based orientation with trackpad activation and click passthrough so that you can still release the clip from your gun to reload. Before venturing into a competitive game with this setup, we would need time to fine tune the settings. But it only took about 10 minutes to figure out a workable configuration.

Judging from our short time with the application, we think Natural Locomotion is an excellent option for gamers that are looking for more comfortable locomotion options for the games they like to play. Smooth locomotion is one of the least comfortable forms of VR locomotion, and with this simple, and affordable application, you can easily replace an uncomfortable locomotion method with one of the most forgiving methods.

Natural Locomotion is available on Steam for $10. The software currently supports just the HTC Vive. However, the developer said that Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality support is in the works and should be available soon.

Introduction

The Lenovo Explorer Windows Mixed Reality headset is a portable VR headset that's affordable and lightweight, and will fit on a small head. If you're looking for a headset to share with your kids, this is among your best bets right now.

Microsoft launched the Windows Mixed Reality platform in October, which added virtual reality and augmented reality to the Windows 10 operating system. Rather than build its own hardware, Microsoft focused on the software side of the platform and turned to a handful of hardware partners to take care of the headset manufacturing. The company partnered with well-established PC hardware designers such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung to bring a variety of Windows Mixed Reality headsets to the market. Microsoft set the minimum specifications for the headsets, and it developed a reference controller design for the motion controllers, and it gave the headset partners the freedom to customize and improve the designs as they saw fit.

We recently took a good hard look at the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset, and it left us with mixed impressions. The Acer headset features a crisp display, is lightweight, and is easy to set up. However, the build quality feels somewhat cheap, and we weren’t impressed with the reference-design controllers that Acer includes with the headset.

Lenovo’s Explorer Windows Mixed Reality Headset is in the same price range as the Acer headset, and it offers comparable features. And it happens to be the second Windows MR headset that we received for evaluation. Hopefully, Lenovo’s headset doesn’t fall short in the same ways that the Acer headset did. Let's see.

The Windows Mixed Reality Platform

Windows Mixed Reality is Microsoft’s immersive technology platform. It piggybacks on the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and supports augmented-reality devices such as the HoloLens headset. But Microsoft’s partners are betting that most people will access Windows MR with one of the Windows MR VR HMDs.

The Windows MR platform provides a virtual environment from which to access your digital content in 3D. When you put the headset on, you’ll find yourself in virtual space that you can customize for your preferences. The default environment is called the Beach House, and it offers several rooms and workspaces. (For an in-depth look at the Windows MR platform and its Beach House environment, see our Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset review.)

The Windows Mixed Reality platform is still in its infancy, and as such, there isn’t much to do with it yet. Microsoft boasts that more than 20,000 applications support Windows MR, but we’d argue that you won’t find much to do that’s practical in VR. Sure, you can open almost any UWP app in Windows MR, but most apps weren’t created with a 3D environment in mind, and they don’t offer much that you can’t do with a standard PC display.

When we received our Acer headset, we attempted to use it for productivity, but that was easier said than done. Ideally, we would have used Microsoft’s Office suite to write the review while wearing the headset. Unfortunately, there was a bug in Microsoft’s UWP Office applications that prevented us from opening them in the VR environment. Fortunately, by the time we started to evaluate the Lenovo headset, Microsoft had corrected the problem. Much of the review you’re reading right now was written in Word Mobile while wearing the Lenovo Explorer headset.

Working in Windows Mixed Reality has gotten better since we first looked at the platform, but it’s still not up to par with a traditional computing environment. We’re now able to work with Word Mobile and other Office apps, which is a great improvement from the initial launch. However, we’re still not convinced that Microsoft’s approach to productivity in VR works—especially now that Oculus’ Core 2.0 software supports virtual workspaces, too. It’s nice to see Microsoft’s native applications working in Windows Mixed Reality, but we don’t expect to spend much time working with our headset on. In fact, we couldn’t even compel ourselves to write this entire article in VR. We could see using Word Mobile in Windows MR to write short documents, or for quick edits. However, Windows MR doesn’t improve our productivity. If anything, it hinders our ability to work efficiently, and therefore we don’t see ourselves giving up traditional displays just yet.

We found that we had to lift the visor regularly to see the real world. Be it reaching for our mouse or searching for the right key on the keyboard—we found it more challenging than you might expect to reach for peripherals blindly. You may not think that visual cues play a big role in reaching for your mouse. We learned the hard way just how much our peripheral vision plays a role in our day-to-day computer use.

When we tested the Acer Windows Mixed Reality headset, we found that using the motion controllers to navigate applications was cumbersome. We attempted to use the mouse in VR, but that didn’t appear to work in our early tests. We’re not sure if Microsoft changed something, or if we somehow missed this feature, but we’ve since discovered that you could use your traditional mouse in Microsoft’s Mixed Reality environment. The mouse isn’t the ideal peripheral for 3D navigation, but it is still superior for 2D navigation. We much prefer using the mouse to access the menus in Word Mobile and other 2D applications.

When you use the mouse in VR, you can move it from window to window through 3D space. The mouse cursor remains at a static distance when hovering over an application. When you move beyond the app window’s barriers, the cursor jumps to the nearest flat plane—be that another window, a wall, the background in the distance, or even the floor. You wouldn’t think that moving a mouse in a 3D space would work, but Microsoft’s implementation works well.

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The Lenovo Explorer Windows Mixed Reality Headset

The Lenovo Windows Mixed Reality Headset comes in a nice, secure package. The box opens from the top to reveal the headset and a box with the manual and cleaning cloth. Both motion controllers can be found held securely in form-fitting foam under the documentation. The package also includes four AA batteries for the controllers.

The Lenovo Explorer headset shares a lot in common with Acer’s HMD. Both companies stuck closely to Microsoft’s basic reference specifications with little deviation. The two headsets are so similar that we would be shocked if they aren’t assembled in the same factory.

Like all Windows MR headsets, the front of Lenovo’s Explorer headset features the tracking system from Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, which includes two infrared cameras and an infrared projector that beams IR light into the room for the cameras to detect. Both cameras face forward with a slight offset facing outward in opposing directions to provide ample tracking coverage in front and beside you. The cameras also tilt slightly downward to keep track of the floor for height calibration. The two cameras, combined with internal gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer sensors, provide room-scale 6 degrees of freedom tracking in as large as an 11.5ft x 11.5ft (3.5m x 3.5m) space.

Like Acer’s headset, the Lenovo Explorer features dual 2” x 2.89” 1440 x 1440 LCDs, which can operate at 60Hz and 90Hz depending on the GPU powering the device. The Lenovo Explorer headset also shares the same 50mm round Fresnel lenses as Acer’s Windows MR HMD. And like Acer’s HMD, Lenovo’s headset features a fixed IPD of 63mm.

The high-resolution displays provide a clear, but not perfect, image. If you look closely, you can see faint outlines of the subpixels (the dreaded "screen-door" effect), but most people probably won’t notice. When your eyes line up with the sweet spot, the images are crisp and clear. However, the round Fresnel lenses distort the edges. When you glance your eyes to the border, you’ll see a warped, blurry image. The round lenses also appear to restrict the field of view more so than the custom lenses in the Rift and the Vive. The Lenovo headset makes you feel like you’re looking through a round porthole, which is exacerbated by the blurry extremities.

The Lenovo Explorer also features a halo-style head band like the Acer headset, which is to say it doesn’t include an overhead strap for added balance. Lenovo designed the headset to balance most of the weight on your forehead. The rear of the head strap sits low on our skull to help shift some of the weight to the back of your head. That is where you’ll find the tension-adjustment dial that enables you to tighten and loosen the strap. Like the Acer headset, Lenovo’s design doesn’t include a button to release the tension--you must turn the dial to loosen the strap. Lenovo’s tension mechanism feels marginally stronger and more resilient to wear and tear than Acer’s tension dial. However, when you loosen the dial, it makes a loud grinding noise that doesn’t instill confidence in long-term resilience.

The Lenovo Explorer headset also employs a hinge that enables you to tilt the headset up so you can see your surroundings. This feature is helpful when you need to reach for your mouse or keyboard, but like the head-strap tension dial, we worry about the longevity of the hinge system. When you tilt the headset upward, it locks into place, but we’re worried that the lock will wear down sooner than it should. Our evaluation unit is already showing signs of the visor sagging after a few dozen uses.

The two headsets are a lot alike, but of course, they’re also quite different.

Acer chose a bright blue plastic for the outer shell of its headset. Lenovo’s Windows MR headset features a much more subdued color scheme. The bulk of the headset is made of black plastic, with dark-grey contrasting highlights to give it some character.

Like Acer’s headset, the Lenovo Windows MR headset is made of lightweight materials. Subjectively, the two devices feel nearly identical in weight. Objectively, the Lenovo headset is the lightest HMD that we’ve tested thus far. It weighs just 380 grams, which is 62 grams lighter than the Acer.

The size of the Lenovo headset likely plays a big role in its reduced weight. When we received the Acer headset, we were surprised by its tiny frame, and Lenovo’s headset is even smaller than Acer’s device. The visor of the Lenovo Explorer is 185.1 mm across, 94.8 mm tall, and 102.1 mm deep.

Because of its small size, Lenovo’s headset would fit people with smaller heads than the Acer headset. Not only is the visor more compact, but the headband of the Explorer headset is also the smallest that we’ve seen on a VR headset. Children shouldn’t spend extended periods of time in VR because it can have negative effects on eye development, but if you’re going to share VR with your kids, Lenovo’s headset is the one most likely to fit a child’s head. Conversely, the Lenovo Explorer may be too small for you if you have a larger-than-average noggin.

The Lenovo Explorer headset includes soft cushions on the forehead rest and the back of the head strap. The cushions feature a mesh texture, which is not resistant to moisture, and the face cushion is a softer material that wicks up moisture. Fortunately, these cushions are removable and washable, so you can clean them or replace them if necessary. All three cushions fasten to the headset with Velcro.

The Lenovo Explorer headset doesn’t include built-in headphones. Instead, it includes an audio lead that allows you to plug in a stereo headset with a microphone. The headset doesn’t include separate leads for the headphones and microphone. You must use a headset that includes a single triple-channel cable. You can also use wireless headphones. However, if you want to use the motion controllers with the HMD, you can’t use Bluetooth headphones. (The Windows MR platform doesn’t allow for it.)

The lead for the audio jack sticks out of the right side of the headset alongside the data cable for the device. The 4m-long data cable features a Y-split that includes USB 3.0 and HDMI connectors. The other end is hardwired into the headset, which means it would be difficult to replace it if you ever damage the cable.

The right side of the head strap features a clip that directs that data and audio cable to the rear of the headset. Unfortunately, Lenovo’s engineers didn’t think through the placement of this clip and the exit point of the cables very well. When we lifted the headset’s visor, the cable didn’t have enough slack, and the clip that guides the cable popped off the head strap and flew across the room. We were able to retrieve the clip and attach it to the headset, but it came off again the next time we flipped the visor. The data and audio cables should exit the visor closer to the hinge to reduce the amount of slack required to flip the headset.

The Controllers

We were disappointed to learn that, like the Acer headset, Lenovo’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset includes a pair of Microsoft’s reference motion controllers. There isn’t much else that we can say about the controllers that we haven’t covered in the Acer review. Lenovo’s wands are identical to Acer’s, right down to the plastic used to make them. The only discernable difference between them is the Lenovo logo on the handle of each controller in place of the Acer logo.

When we evaluated Acer’s controllers, we noted that the build quality left much to be desired, and our time with Lenovo’s controllers confirmed our fears. The thumbstick on the right controller started to show wear after just a few hours of use. It now clicks when we rotate it near the top of the ball, and there is resistance when we press the stick forward, as if the mechanism inside is now damaged. We suspected that these controllers would wear prematurely, but less than a week of use is worse than we feared. We hope our experience is an exception to the rule, but this is the second set of these controllers that let us down, which doesn’t bode well for Microsoft’s reference-controller design.

Microsoft’s reference-controller design gets the job done, but we wish Lenovo had taken the time to tweak the mold to make the controllers more ergonomic. We would have appreciated seeing an improvement in the plastic used for the mold to increase the controller’s rigidity, too.

Evaluating Lenovo's HMD

We would love nothing more than to provide objective test results of the Lenovo Explorer Windows MR headset (and every other VR HMD, for that matter). However, analyzing the performance of VR headsets is easier said than done.

In the past, we experimented with 3DMark’s VRMark tool to test motion-to-photon latency, but 3DMark discontinued that project before retail VR headsets hit the market. Basemark also created a tool called VRScore that analyzes motion-to-photon latency, and we would be happy to use it for our tests. However, VRScore doesn’t support Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform, and it’s possible that it never will. We reached out to Basemark when we received our first Windows MR headset, and Arto Ruotsalainen, Basemark's co-founder and CEO, told us that the company cancelled Windows MR support.

“Regarding Microsoft VR headsets, we had to, unfortunately, cancel the support as neither we, nor our current partners, were able to get enough interest from Microsoft to help us out with the integration,” said Ruotsalainen. “VRScore PC 1.1 will have updated Oculus, HTC Vive, and OSVR SDKs.”

Nvidia also makes a performance evaluation tool. Nvidia’s FCAT VR pulls performance metrics directly from the rendering pipeline, and it supports Steam VR and the Oculus runtime. We evaluated this headset before FCAT was available, but didn't publish our review immediately because of the arrival of the HTC Vive Pro and Samsung Odyssey. For a better sense of how a WMR headset performs in terms of FCAT data, see our review of the Samsung HMD, which does contain some. Note, though, that the Samsung headset has slightly higher-resolution displays. So the Lenovo headset should be less demanding on your graphics card.

One of the biggest advantages of the Windows MR platform compared to Steam VR and Oculus Rift is its low system requirement threshold. Where the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive require a GTX 960 or better to operate, Microsoft’s platform supports Intel’s integrated HD Graphics. When we tested Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset, we used three different PCs to evaluate multiple performance tiers. We used an Intel Core i7-5930K with a GTX 980 Ti to represent our high-end build. Our mid-tier system was an older Intel Core i3-4330 with a GTX 950. And we used an Intel Core i5-6400 with integrated HD Graphics 530 to verify that you can, in fact, skip the discrete GPU and operate a Windows MR headset.

The specifications of the Lenovo Explorer closely match those of the Acer Windows Mixed Reality HMD, so we didn’t see the value in describing the experience of using the Lenovo Explorer with the same machines again. We completed our Acer headset evaluation using desktop computers, which aren’t easy to pick up and haul around. This time, we added a laptop to the mix to evaluate the portability of the Windows MR platform and the Lenovo Explorer headset. Lenovo graciously provided us with a Legion Y720 gaming laptop along with the headset for our evaluation. The Y720 is a full-fat gaming laptop featuring an Intel Core i7-7700HQ with a Nvidia GTX 1060 discrete GPU.

Microsoft’s mixed reality platform is the only VR platform that doesn’t require a discrete GPU. The company worked with Intel to ensure that basic Windows MR functions would work with Intel HD Graphics. We weren’t impressed with the low refresh rate of the headset when an integrated GPU is powering it. The feature works, and if you needed to use it occasionally, it would be fine. However, we wouldn’t recommend using an iGPU for long-term VR use.

That said, AMD recently released its Ryzen- and Vega-powered APUs, and we are highly curious to see if a Ryzen 2400G can deliver a better experience than our Core i5-6400 system. Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out for the Lenovo Explorer, as we had to return our review sample before we could get a Ryzen APU to the VR lab. We have more Windows MR headsets to evaluate, so we’ll explore that idea in a future story.

The Lenovo Explorer headset offers effectively the same experience as the Acer Windows MR headset. As such, we spent most of our time with the Lenovo headset with it connected to the Y720 laptop. We were pleasantly surprised to see how well the two devices complemented each other. A Lenovo Explorer headset and a gaming laptop make a fantastic portable VR solution.

Headset Setup & Calibration

The Lenovo Explorer headset is a breeze to set up and configure. Simplicity was one of Microsoft’s primary goals for the Windows Mixed Reality platform, and in that regard, the company certainly succeeded. Windows MR headsets don’t require external sensors or base stations like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. As such, you need only plug in a single HDMI and a single USB cable, and you don’t have to worry about running wires around your room. The single USB and HDMI connections also make these headsets practical to set up anywhere.

Windows 10 should automatically detect that a Windows MR device is present and proceed to install the necessary drivers and the Mixed Reality Portal. Your computer must have the Windows 10 Fall Creators' Update installed before it will detect the headset. However, unless you’ve forcibly prevented updates, your PC should already have it. When the driver installation is done, the Mixed Reality Portal should launch automatically.

Next, you should see a prompt to pair your controllers. Follow the onscreen instructions to connect the right and left controllers. You’ll find the pairing button under the battery cover for each wand. When prompted, press and hold the pairing button until the controller vibrates.

Once you’ve paired the controllers, you must set the borders of your play space. Like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift setup, Microsoft’s Windows MR platform supports room-scale and standing configurations. If you choose standing-scale VR, you don’t have to dictate your safe play area, but you do have to define the parameters for the room-scale configuration.

When you set up the play space for an Oculus Rift or an HTC Vive, you must trace your play area with one of the controllers while the external tracking system keeps track of its position in the room. Because the Windows MR headsets don’t have external cameras, tracing your space with a controller wouldn’t work. As such, you must carry your HMD around the room to let its cameras trace the room. You must take care always to keep the headset facing your host computer while you trace the room.

The first time you run the setup procedure, the Mixed Reality Portal will run you through an orientation process, which teaches you the basics of using the controller, interacting with Cortana, and navigating the menus and environment.

The Windows MR platform can store multiple room profiles. If you take the system to another room, or a friend’s place, you won’t need to recalibrate your room boundaries when you return to the previous location.

Health, Safety, Maintenance & Setup

It’s always a good idea to read the manual when you purchase a new piece of computer equipment, and that advice should be taken even more seriously when you’re dealing with a device that you put on your head and over your eyes. VR headset designers typically take safety seriously—perhaps to a fault—and Lenovo is no different. The product manual is full of health and safety warnings.

The manual that comes with the Lenovo Explorer headset warns that you should refrain from using the device if you suffer “head, respiratory, back, joint, orthopedic, or other serious medical conditions.” The company also advises against using the headset if you have “high blood pressure, tendinitis, or carpal tunnel.” And the Lenovo Explorer isn’t suitable for pregnant women, or people that have difficulty with physical activity. These guidelines are typical of HMD instructions, but Lenovo strayed away from the industry with the age restrictions.

Lenovo, like all other headset makers, suggests that seniors should consult a doctor before using the Explorer headset. Curiously, Lenovo’s guidebook doesn’t say anything about limiting access to younger children. The Lenovo Explorer headset features a small headband that should make it easy to fit the device on a child’s head, but it doesn’t support adjustable lens spacing, which means the interpupillary distance (IPD) would be too wide for small heads. Most HMD makers warn that kids younger than 13 shouldn’t use VR headsets, because it could affect the development of their eyes.

Lenovo isn’t concerned about young kids using the Explorer headset, but it does warn that using the device could be hazardous to your health if your life relies on an implanted medical device such as a pacemaker. Lenovo notes that the electromagnetic signals from the headset could interfere with such devices. You should also avoid VR if you have photosensitive epilepsy, because the images can trigger seizures and other symptoms.

Maintaining the Device

The maintenance section of the Lenovo Explorer user guide suggests that “with appropriate care and maintenance, the Lenovo Explorer headset will serve you reliably.” That may be true, but Lenovo could have done a better job making it easy for you to keep the headset clean.

The Lenovo Explorer is sealed well on the outside, but there’s a gap next to the lenses that could allow dust to accumulate inside. We suppose you could clean it out with compressed air, but without vents to let the dust out, it could end up getting blown deeper inside the device. We would have liked to see a better seal around the lenses. However, with proper care in storing the device, you could avoid the accumulation of dust inside the HMD.

The Lenovo Explorer headset comes with a soft cloth that you can use to clean dust and smudges from the lenses and sensors. The user guide indicates that you can use water or eyeglass cleaner to dampen the cloth to remove dirt that can’t be wiped away dry.

Somewhat ironically, the hardest piece of the headset to clean is, without a doubt, the part that you would most frequently need to clean. The face cushion that Lenovo includes with the Explorer headset is a basic foam gasket. It offers reasonable comfort, but it wicks up moisture like a sponge. And Lenovo suggests cleaning it with a dry eyeglass cloth.

The cloth may work on the forehead and rear cushions, as they are somewhat moisture-resistant and won’t soak up your sweat as easily. The face cushion, though, is far more sponge than anything.

We didn’t spend enough time with the headset to break a sweat but shudder to think of the cushion’s condition after an hour of a game like Sprint Vector. And the thought of sharing the headset with friends and family after it has been sopping up sweat? Yuck. 

It’s a real shame that HMD designers continue to overlook the fact that people sweat. We don’t understand how moisture-proof, hypo-allergenic face cushions aren’t the standard in the VR industry yet.

Conclusion: An Excellent Laptop Companion

When we evaluated Acer’s headset, we didn’t realize the implications of using a laptop to power a Windows MR device. The HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift are both compatible with gaming laptops, so we took it for granted that the Windows MR experience would be comparable to the competition. We didn’t consider the simplicity of Microsoft’s platform in this context. After spending time with the Lenovo Explorer tethered to the Lenovo Y720 laptop, we realized that these devices make perfect companions.

If your gaming system is a mobile computer, you probably wouldn’t want to lug around a cumbersome VR system unless you had to. We’ve seen dozens of trade-show setups with Vives and Rifts, and they work well enough, but the setup can be ponderous, to the point that hauling a full desktop PC doesn’t amount to much extra effort, and it could produce better results.

With a Windows MR headset, hauling a full desktop around becomes a silly exercise. You may achieve somewhat better performance from a top-tier desktop, but you really can’t beat the simplicity of putting your laptop on the table, plugging in the headset, and being ready to go. Not only will this sort of setup be easier for trade-show environs, but we believe it would give people an incentive to bring it with them when they travel. And we can see the appeal of working in the Windows MR environment while on a business trip, where we might not have access to multiple desktop displays.

Final Thoughts

Lenovo’s Explorer Windows Mixed Reality Headset would make a good VR HMD for a first-time buyer. It has a lot going for it, such as the crisp display, its lightweight materials, and its compact size. And, of course, the ease of setup is an attractive feature. However, Acer’s device also enjoys most of those merits.

The build quality of Lenovo’s headset exceeds that of Acer’s device--marginally. We noticed a creaking sound when handling the Explorer, though it doesn’t feel like a toy in the way that Acer’s Windows MR headset does. The hinge system is also marginally better, though we still worry about it long-term.

We also worry about the wireless controllers that come with the Lenovo Explorer. We couldn’t understand how these controllers passed Microsoft’s standards and how Acer didn’t think it should improve the design. We’re doubly confused as to why Lenovo would make the same mistake. The wands feel cheap, and we experienced a minor failure in our short time with the controller. With controllers like this, Sixense might actually find a market for its STEM system, if it ever manages to release its long-awaited magnetic motion-controller platform.

Bottom Line

Despite the headset’s shortcomings, we still think the Lenovo Explorer is worth looking at. Lenovo’s MSRP is $449, which (to our eyes) is too much when compared to the Rift with Touch controller at $399. But you can often find the Window MR headsets for much cheaper than the suggested price. A $100 discount, not unheard of for Windows MR headsets, would put this headset in a much more competitive position. If you don't have the money to shell out for a higher-end headset, Lenovo's Explorer would be a good introduction to the world of PC-connected VR.

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Updated, 04/03/2018, 8:35am PT: HTC officially revealed the Vive Pro Starter Kit, which includes the controllers and base stations, as described below, and will be available on April 5. However, the announced price is much lower than the one we discovered last week. We reported that the starter kit would be $450, but HTC revealed today that the kit would be $299.

In a blog post, the company wrote:

"After reading your feedback, we’ve realized we created some confusion that we want to address today. First, we introduced Vive Pro as an HMD-only upgrade because it represented the quickest path to market for the new headset. Since Vive Pro works with both SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 tracking, we believed an HMD-only upgrade was the right option for the most demanding VR user, as well as VR arcades and enterprises that already use Vive.But what we didn’t outline was a clear path for everyone else. We have also seen feedback related to existing accessories prices for 1.0 base stations and controllers.So today we’re announcing the Vive Pro Starter Kit available on Vive.com starting April 5. This bundle pairs the Vive Pro HMD and two Vive 1.0 controllers and two 1.0 base stations for $1099 (USD, regional prices vary)."

HTC also sweetened the pack-in deal for the Vive Pro. It still doesn't include a copy of 'Fallout 4 VR' like the original Vive does, but the new headset now includes a full-year of Viveport (up from six months) and a $100 Viveport credit.

Original article, 3/27/2018, 1:15pm PT:

The HTC Vive Pro is an HMD-only upgrade kit, but you can buy controllers and base stations to go along with it. Though, for the price HTC is asking, you’re better off buying a classic Vive headset with your Vive Pro order.

Last week, HTC revealed that the Vive Pro upgrade kit would cost $800 for just the HMD and new Link Box. The company did not release a full-package for the headset, which means you need to use the base stations and controllers from an original Vive headset to use the new one.

HTC said that it would release a full kit later this year, which would include the Vive Pro along with updated SteamVR Tracking 2.0 base stations and controllers with Triad Semiconductor’s latest Steam VR sensors. But if you want a Vive Pro now, and you don’t own a standard Vive, you can buy an accessory bundle at checkout, which would give you a complete Vive kit.

The HTC Vive accessory page doesn’t list any accessories for the Vive Pro, but if you add the new HMD to your store cart, you’ll find the Vive – Pro Headset Accessories Starter Kit listed in the Recommended Products box below your inventory. The pack includes two Vive base stations and two Vive controllers, but they appear to be the standard black Vive controller, not the updated blue controllers that should ship with the full Vive Pro package later this year.

More Outrageous Pricing

Unfortunately, we see no compelling reason to buy the Vive – Pro Headset Accessories Starter Kit. It's unnecessarily expensive and there's a better deal on the table.HTC is asking $450.47 for the package, which is approximately $80 cheaper than buying the controller and base stations a-la-carte. But for less than $50 more, you could just buy a whole Vive system, which gives you a backup HMD (or one to let your friends play with), and a copy of Fallout 4 VR to add to your content library. Either way, you're looking at $1,250+ to get into a Vive Pro if you're starting from nothing, which is a hard pill to swallow.

HTC's Vive Pro Tackles Premium VR

HTC's Vive platform has a solid foothold on the PC VR segment with 45% market share, despite fierce competition from the Facebook-backed Oculus Rift and Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality initiative. Now, despite the fact that the hardware requirements for VR are still pricey, HTC seems to be aiming for (or aiming to create) a premium VR market. The Vive Pro is the first big step in that direction. 

The Vive Pro represents the best VR headset that HTC believes it can build right now, and it comes with a price tag to match. The company is asking $800 for the Vive Pro headset, which is designed as an upgrade for Vive owners, not a full VR setup package. In other words, if you don’t already own an original Vive, you’ll need to shell out another $300 for a Vive Starter Kit, which includes base stations and controllers. For those just getting into VR, that's an $1,100 investment, not counting the gaming PC required to run VR games and software well.

Why Such a High Price?

HTC’s Vive platform has never been a bargain item, and the company doesn’t seem interested in targeting the budget VR segment. When HTC launched the Vive, it came to market with a significantly higher price than the Oculus Rift (which also had a significantly higher price than expected). And yet, HTC’s Vive managed to keep up and even outsell Oculus’s Rift for the better part of the last two years.

When HTC released the Vive Trackers last fall for $99 each, the company sent a clear message that it is more interested in delivering an advanced, premium home VR experience, than making VR affordable. And frankly, that’s not really a problem. If there’s room in this world for such luxury items as Lamborghini super cars, Rolex watches, and Titan V graphics cards, then why shouldn’t there be a premium VR system?

HTC's Big Bet on VR 

We shouldn’t be surprised that HTC is asking a high price for the Vive Pro headset. HTC’s position as an early pioneer in consumer VR affords it the opportunity to move to an upper-class position in the market where it can justify somewhat higher margins while newcomers such as Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality hardware partners scramble to gain traction in the more-affordable VR segment where competition is getting tough.

HTC’s customers have demonstrated that they are willing to pay more for a better experience, so the company is taking advantage of the opportunity to offer up a new product. And going after the premium market is probably the right move for HTC. After all, the company has struggled financially for some time--particularly its smartphone business--and the company bet big on its pivot to virtual reality. If it can’t stay afloat with revenue from the Vive platform, the company could be in very serious trouble.

Not for Everyone, and That's OK

HTC announced the Vive Pro headset in January at CES 2018. The excitement about the headset’s high-resolution displays, updated head strap, and the fact that it would support Valve’s next-generation SteamVR Tracking 2.0 system stirred up a lot of hype. HTC tried to warn the public that the new headset wouldn’t be cheap, but the message somehow fell on deaf ears. Despite the company’s repeated insistence that the Vive Pro is a premium piece of equipment, the press and public alike seemed shocked over the price of the new headset when HTC revealed it on March 19.

After HTC announced that the Vive Pro would cost $800 for just the headset, we witnessed a lot of chatter about HTC being out of touch with reality. Most people with that view also believe that the most significant improvement that the Vive Pro has over the standard Vive is the display resolution.

We disagree. Now don’t get us wrong, the resolution bump is not an insignificant change. HTC will proudly tell you that the new screens feature 78% more pixels than the standard Vive. However, the company introduced several serious improvements to VR head-mounted display (HMD) design with the Vive Pro, and to glance over those changes would be to miss the bigger picture.

HTC considers the Vive Pro a mid-cycle refresh of sorts, but that attitude sells short the major overhaul that is the Vive Pro HMD. To be sure, $800 is expensive, likely be out of the budget of many people who would appreciate the upgrade. But just because something isn’t affordable, doesn’t mean it’s not worth the price.

I can’t afford a Mercedes, but I don’t begrudge the company for making a luxury item that exceeds my means to pay for it. The Vive Pro should be viewed in a similar light. It’s a luxury device that not everyone can justify buying. But the people who have deep enough pockets to shell out for it will undoubtedly appreciate the new headset’s improvements. And advancements and investments on the high end often lead to improvements in more mainstream products down the line. After spending a fair amount of time with the Vive Pro, we’ve concluded that HTC’s pricing isn’t as out of line as it might seem on the surface.

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Up Close With the HTC Vive Pro Headset

HTC would have you believe that the Vive Pro is for professionals, businesses, and enthusiasts. But one glance at the box, and it’s clear that the company is really trying to capture gamers. The Vive Pro’s box is decorated like a box for a console, with images of games that work with the headset. The box is approximately the size of a game console, too.

Inside the box, you’ll find the Vive Pro HMD, which ships in a form-fitted plastic insert to keep it secured and a plastic bag to keep dust out. The first thing we noticed about the headset is the dark blue plastic that it’s made of. The color of the device isn’t exactly important, but somehow the shade of blue that HTC used gives it a premium appearance to our eyes. The contrast between the blue and black just looks sharp.

At first glance, the Vive Pro is largely the same shape as the original Vive, though the visor is a little less bulbous. The top is slightly less round, but it’s a subtle change that you would need an eye for detail to notice. The biggest change to the front of the headset is the Vive Pro’s inclusion of a pair of chaperone cameras front and center. HTC also reworked the sensor placements, though it didn’t add additional sensors to the headset.

The Vive Pro features a rigid head strap, which is becoming a major trend with VR HMDs. The Windows Mixed Reality headsets all offer rigid straps with mechanical adjustments, as does Sony’s PlayStation VR. Even the Oculus Rift offers a semi-rigid head-strap design. HTC’s new design is quite different from other head straps that we’ve encountered, though. The head band has a curvature that wraps up and over your ears, and back down toward the lower backside of your head.

The new headset also has a fabric overhead strap with Velcro for adjustments, like the original Vive. HTC chose a nicer material for the strap this time and added a plastic tab, which makes gripping the end easier. The overhead strap weaves through a hinge on the front, which is attached to the body of the HMD, not the moveable front cover like on the HTC Vive.

The Vive Pro includes a pair of 2.5” headphones, which are attached to arms that articulate in several directions. You can move the earpieces forward, back, up, and down, as well as pivot them to ensure the cans line up to your ears. The arms also flip outward, so you can pull the speakers away from your ears to hear the real world. The headphones feature leather-wrapped padding that is moisture-proof but not removable. The left headphone includes volume-adjustment buttons, and the right headphone includes a mute button, which cuts off the Vive Pro’s dual array microphones.  

The Vive Pro headset also includes a new Link Box, which features a power button to turn the HMD off when not in use, and a proprietary plug for the headset's cable. The Link Box still requires a power source, a USB source, and a video source, but HTC updated the interfaces for the Vive Pro. The original Vive supports HDMI, mini-DisplayPort, and USB 2.0, while the new Link Box features mini-DisplayPort, but no HDMI. The new unit also requires a USB 3.0 or 3.1 Type-A USB port.

Clever Cable Management

The Vive Pro’s tether cable connects to the left side of the HMD and wraps around the head-strap hinge, which prevents kinks in the cable when rotating the visor swivel. The cable runs through a channel along the head strap, and through a small horn-shaped loop that gently directs the cord toward the center of your back.

To remove the cable, you should adjust the lens relief to its maximum distance. Otherwise, you’ll have trouble with the cable head clearing the tight space. We managed to get ours out, but we found it impossible to put it back in without adjusting the relief. With the cable out of the headset port, unwind it from the hinge and remove it from the channel that holds it in place. The bell-shaped loop has a cut in it that allows you to pull the cable out without running the full length through the loop.

The Vive Pro tether cable features a proprietary plug, which carries the power, video, and USB signals. The plug looks a lot like the one on the Oculus Rift’s cable, but close inspection reveals that HTC's plug is quite a bit larger.

Hidden Serial Number

Upon pulling out the lenses to the maximum distance to reinstall the tether cable, we discovered that HTC hid the serial number for the Vive Pro headset in a somewhat inconvenient location. If you ever need to make a warranty claim, you’ll have to disconnect the cable from your device, because it’s tucked under the cable and the blue cover of the headset. At least it's not likely to wear off from use while hiding behind the cable.

Familiar Setup

Setting up the Vive Pro should be familiar to anyone who buys it, because the process is almost the same as plugging in the Vive that they likely already own. Plug in the power cord, the USB 3.0 cable, and the DisplayPort cable for the Link Box, and then plug the headset into the Link Box. With everything plugged in, press the blue power button to activate the Vive.

Windows should automatically detect the headset and install the drivers. Open SteamVR, and the software will automatically configure itself for the Vive Pro. SteamVR will prompt you to install a new Bluetooth driver, which you must do to enable communication with your existing Vive controllers. If you switch back to the old Vive, SteamVR will reinstall the old driver automatically. In our setup, the new headset assumed the room-scale setup from the existing Vive.

If you’re running a desktop PC, you probably won’t run into a problem setting up the Vive Pro, but laptop users might have a problem. VR-Ready laptops always have HDMI ports, but not all of them offer DisplayPort. As with many aspects of cutting-edge tech, you may need an adapter.

More Than a Resolution Upgrade

The most prominent update to the Vive Pro headset is the new display resolution. The original Vive rocks two 2.5-inch 1,080x1,200 AMOLED Samsung displays (total resolution: 2,160x1,200), which gets the job done but is far from perfect. The original Vive screens suffer from a fairly prominent screen -door effect, and the panels are somewhat dim. The Vive Pro features much better displays. Inside the visor, HTC installed two 3.5” QHD (1,440x1,600) AMOLED panels (also sourced from Samsung). The new headset’s 2,880x1,600 resolution is a vast improvement over the old Vive, and the new panels offer vivid, much brighter color reproduction.

Sadly, the visual experience is somewhat marred by HTC’s continued use of the Fresnel lenses that it developed for the original Vive. The lenses feature prominent stepping, which you can see with the naked eye from a distance. These concentric stepping lines refract light at certain angles, which results in a phenomenon called "God rays"; they appear when you’re looking at bright features. The rays are most prominent in menus with dark backgrounds and white text. These artifacts aren’t as bad with the Vive Pro—perhaps because the image is less aliased—but they are still visible.

The screen door effect (SDE) is much less visible with the new displays, though. If we look hard for it, we can see the gaps between the sub-pixel array, but even when we looked for it, the SDE in the Vive Pro didn’t distract us. We always found that the SDE of first-generation headsets would fade away into the background when our minds were distracted by compelling content. Now, the content doesn’t need to be compelling to make these image imperfections fade away. The SDE is so subtle with the Vive Pro that we were usually not conscious of it.

The Vive Pro’s display panels aren’t new to us. Samsung’s Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset, which we reviewed in March, features the same panels for about $500 (including all the requisite controllers and other hardware). This is one of the reasons that people are upset about the Vive Pro’s price tag. However, once you get your hands on both devices side by side, it becomes quite clear why HTC’s headset carries a much bigger price.

Easier to Put On

The new head strap isn’t just more comfortable to wear; it’s significantly easier to put on correctly. Fitment is one of the biggest problems with the original HTC Vive. The problem isn’t the head strap per se, but more so the way people use it. HTC had a terrible time communicating the correct way to put the original Vive HMD on, which resulted in poor fitment and poor image quality. The Fresnel lenses in the Vive have a small sweet spot, and if you don’t line your eyes up correctly with the lenses, the visual experience is marred significantly. Also, if you don’t put the strap on correctly, it throws off the balance and makes the headset feel heavier than it should.

The Vive Pro’s head strap, in comparison, makes it difficult to put the headset on wrong. The shape of the cushions and head band here encourage you to push the back of the head band low on the back of your head to balance the device, which in turn informs the proper forward alignment of the HMD. We found the simplest way to put the Vive Pro on is to lift the rear of the strap and place the headset against your face, then pull the strap down over your head. The Vive Pro’s visor does not flip up while it’s on your head; its function is to simplify correct fitting of the headset.

The Vive Pro also features an improved relief system to accommodate the wearing of eyeglasses. The relief adjustment on the original Vive required you turn two dials evenly, which was somewhat awkward and not conducive to regular adjustments. The new headset features a button that unlocks that relief slider for manual adjustment. It works just like the relief system on Sony’s PlayStation VR visor. The Vive Pro’s visor is also slightly larger than the original Vive's, which better accommodates wider glasses.

Cushions Everywhere

The Vive Pro also features a whole lot more padding than we’re used to seeing on VR headsets. But we are more than a little bit disappointed that HTC didn’t revise its material choice here.

HTC advertises the Vive Pro as a solution for enterprise users and demanding VR enthusiasts. In other words, the company expects people to use the Vive Pro for extended periods and likely share it with others. Unfortunately, the face cushion is made of the same soft-touch foam material as the original Vive, which soaks up moisture like a wash cloth in a sink. Few things are less appealing than putting on a VR headset with someone else’s sweat soaking through, and these cushions are prone to that.

We would have much preferred to see some sort of washable or moisture-resistant cushions installed. If you decide to upgrade to the Vive Pro, you should plan to buy aftermarket cushions for the device, but we’ll have to wait for those to hit the market. The new face cushion is a little larger than the original Vive’s cushion, because the Vive Pro’s lens opening is slightly larger, which means that existing Vive VR Covers won’t fit correctly. We managed to get our thin moisture-resistant VR Cover to fit, but it negatively affected the fit and comfort of the headset.

The Vive Pro also features two prominent cushions on the back of the strap. The first one is attached with Velcro to the inner side of the tightening dial. We’ve racked our brains trying to figure out what the first cushion’s purpose is, but we’re coming up blank. HTC said it's there to facilitate fitment for each idividual, but we can't help be imagine there would be a better way. The second cushion, which attaches via a plastic hinge, covers the first cushion, so your head never even touches it. The hinged cushion is triangular, with a slight curvature at the bottom, which somewhat envelops your neck for a secure, comfortable fit. The rear cushions are made of a slightly different--but equally soft--material as the face cushions.

The Vive Pro head strap also includes padding on the sides to prevent irritation from the rigid plastic. These cushions also hide the screws that secure the headphones in place. The side cushions are made of a thin padding, which is like the padding on the Deluxe Audio Head Strap for the older Vive headset.

Excellent Weight Distribution

The rear section of the Vive Pro adds ballast that helps distribute the weight evenly front-to-back. The new device weighs a little bit less than the original Vive with a Deluxe Audio Head Strap installed. HTC's new headset tipped our scale at 1017g, and our Vive weighs 1060g. With the cable removed, the Vive Pro weighs in at 769g, which is 20g more than our original Vive weighs without the cable.

Despite the similar weight of the two headsets, the Vive Pro is magnitudes more comfortable for long periods of use. Balance makes a huge difference in comfort for VR HMDs, and HTC nailed that aspect of the Vive Pro.

How We Tested the HTC Vive Pro

If you’ve read our review of the Samsung Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset, you should already be familiar with the evaluation process that we used for the Vive Pro headset. Conveniently, we were just wrapping up our tests with the Samsung headset when HTC dropped the Vive Pro on our doorstep. We ran the Vive Pro through the same group of games, with the same graphics settings, on the same test machine, and with the same graphics drivers as we did with the Odyssey headset.

Our VR performance analysis suite consists a handful of games with varying visual fidelity, including Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, Gorn, Arizona Sunshine, Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, and Island 359. Gorn, Rick & Morty, and Arizona Sunshine are all based on the Unity 3D engine. Gorn and Rick & Morty have basic graphics profiles, which don’t exactly push the limits of modern powerful graphics cards. Arizona Sunshine is a much more demanding title, though the CPU takes the brunt of the hit in that game.

Croteam’s Serious Sam VR, which is built on Croteam’s proprietary Serious Engine, provides a heavier load for the GPU to crunch through. And Cloudgate Studio’s Island 359, which is built on Unreal Engine, puts heavy stress on our graphics system. In fact, it’s the only game in our suite that consistently pushes our test rig beyond its limits.

Test Hardware

Our VR test system features an Intel Core i7-5930K, 16GB of Crucial Balistix Sport DDR4 2133, and an MSI X99S Xpower motherboard. We tested each HMD with a Gigabyte GTX 980 Ti Xtreme Gaming card, as well as an EVGA GTX 970 SC.

As we discussed in the Odyssey review, SteamVR has a feature called the Rendering Target, which dictates the rendering resolution independent of the display panels in the headset. For the HTC Vive, which features 2,160x1,200 resolution, SteamVR pushes 1,512x1,680 pixels, which equates to 5.1 megapixels per frame. SteamVR gives the Oculus Rift a slightly lighter workload for the same display resolution. The Rift receives a 1,344x1,600-pixel signal, which works out to 4.3 megapixels per frame.

During our evaluation of the Samsung Odyssey, we discovered that, despite the higher-resolution 2,880x1,600 display, SteamVR wasn’t sending a higher-resolution image to the Odyssey headset compared to the Vive. SteamVR’s default rendering target for the Odyssey is 1,433x1,772 pixels, which works out to 5.1 megapixels, like the signal destined for the Vive.

With the Vive Pro, SteamVR kicks the rendering target up a lot. HTC boasts that the Vive Pro’s display resolution is 78% higher than the original Vive's. Consider that SteamVR’s rendering target is a full 77% higher resolution than the panels in the headset. SteamVR delivers a 2,016x2,240 pixel signal to HTC's new HMD, which works out to 9 megapixels per frame. As a result, the Vive Pro’s default SteamVR configuration offers even better image clarity than that of the Odyssey headset, despite the two headsets using the same panels.

But this level of image fidelity comes with a heavy price. The Vive Pro demands a much stronger graphics subsystem to drive the display. The original Vive HMD required a GeForce GTX 970 or a Radeon R9 290/390 (or better) to drive the HMD at 90Hz in all experiences. To power the new headset, you’ll want something a little more powerful. HTC said the new HMD is compatible with all VR-ready GPUs, but a GeForce GTX 1070 or a Radeon RX Vega 54 (or better) is strongly recommended.

Performance Tests

We used Nvidia’s FCAT VR performance-analysis tool to capture the frame-rate and frame-timing data our of game tests. The version that we’re using is an unreleased beta provided by Nvidia.

For each game, we captured 60 seconds of gameplay with each HMD and each graphics card. VR games aren’t really conducive to repeating precise movements, but to the best of our ability, we tried to replicate each run as closely as possible.

We used the data from our Samsung Odyssey review for comparison numbers instead of running new tests. Because of the significant difference in SteamVR’s default rendering target for the Vive Pro and the Samsung Odyssey, we also reran our tests with Samsung’s headset with SteamVR’s rendering target set to 1.8x, which works out to 1,923x2,377 pixels per eye, or the equivalent of 9.1 megapixels per frame. We didn’t test the GTX 970 with the 9.1-megapixel render target but instead stuck to the standard 5.1 megapixels for the Odyssey headset, as the GTX 970 isn't up to the task of pushing most games at such high resolutions.

HTC Vive Pro Performance Analysis

As noted previously, we ran all our tests using both our GTX 980 Ti, as well as the lesser GTX 970. We would not recommend buying a Vive Pro unless you have a powerful GPU. As you’ll see, our GTX 970 doesn’t quite have what it takes here. It will do the trick in less-demanding titles, but it won’t provide a great experience for all games.

Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality

Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality from Owlchemy Labs is the least-demanding title in our tests suite, and our GTX 970 had no trouble delivering buttery-smooth frame rates to the Vive Pro headset.

Despite the high rendering resolution, the GTX 970 kept the frame latency below 7ms. Curiously, we observed lower latency with the Vive Pro than with the Samsung Odyssey with the same hardware.

When we switched to the GTX 980 Ti, we were surprised to see that the tables had turned. The higher-power GPU kept the latency below 7ms in the Odyssey, while the Vive Pro flirted with 8ms and beyond. We’re not sure how the GTX 970 kept the latency so low.

We were surprised to see how consistent the performance results from the 9-megapixel comparison test were. The Odyssey headset gave the GPU a harder time than the Vive Pro, but the difference is frankly irrelevant, which means the Vive Pro doesn’t actually offer an advantage in visual fidelity in Rick & Morty.

Gorn

Gorn is another lightweight VR game, although it's not as well optimized as Rick & Morty. As you can see from the graphs, the frame timing in this game is not as consistent. Even with the GTX 980 Ti, the graph is all over the place. We even observed a handful of dropped frames in Gorn with both graphics cards, especially with the higher-resolution HMDs.

With both the Vive Pro and the Odyssey set with 9-megapixel rendering targets, the performance was consistent between the two headsets. We expected a performance deficit when using the Odyssey headset, but Valve updated SteamVR between our initial tests and the 1.8x render-target tests. So we could be seeing the fruits of recent optimizations.

Arizona Sunshine

Arizona Sunshine is a more demanding title than Rick & Morty and Gorn. In fact, Vertigo Games added features to the title that it claims work best on high-end Intel i7 CPUs. Our test rig features an older yet still upper-class i7 processor, so we turned up all the goodies for our tests.

Our GTX 970 kept the latency below 10ms on the Vive and Rift with all the graphics settings dialed up. However, the higher pixel count of the new headsets pushed the limits of what the GTX 970 can handle. With the Odyssey headset, the frame timing was inconsistent. But with the Vive Pro, the experience was much worse.

Note that the graph shows that we experienced high dropped frames several times in our 60-second test. Those were moments when the chaperone came into view. Our GTX 970 was unable to render the game and provide basic chaperone information simultaneously.

We didn’t observe any issues when we used the GTX 980 Ti to drive the headsets. 

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope

We can’t say that we were surprised with the results from our Unity games, but we wouldn’t call the results predictable, either. We would describe the performance in Serious Sam VR, though, as predictable. We already know that Serious Sam is well optimized, and our GTX 970 delivers low latency and stable frame rates with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive alike. The Odyssey headset demonstrated some performance issues, but Windows MR headset support on SteamVR is in beta, so we didn’t expect perfect results there.

The Vive Pro results surprised us, though. Despite the 9-megapixel-per-second workload, the GTX 970 kept the latency below 9ms for the whole test. The GTX 980 Ti kept the latency of the Rift, Vive, and Odyssey well below 6ms, but the Vive Pro pushed the latency up beyond 7ms.

With both headsets on level playing fields, the frame timing is more stable with Vive Pro, but with slightly more latency.

Island 359

Island 359 is the heavy hitter of our test suite. The game is optimized to deliver smooth frame rates for an HTC Vive from a GTX 970, but Cloudgate pushed the limits to get there. With our GTX 970, we can run Island 359 at high settings on our Vive, and we get excellent performance, with few dropped frames and no major hitches. However, a close look at the graphs reveals that our GPU just barely managed to keep the frames coming in under the wire.

Faced with the added strain of rendering another 4 megapixels per frame, our GTX 970 fell flat on its face when we ran the Vive Pro off it. The GPU dropped virtually every second frame and delivered frame times in the mid-20ms range.

Predictably, the GTX 980 Ti handled the workload with much better results. However, the previous-generation halo-GPU still struggled to keep the frame rate up to par. The first half of our benchmark was buttery smooth, but the last 30 seconds started to get a little rough, and the GPU started dropping frames. It appears our GTX 980 Ti’s Kryptonite is Island 359 with High settings on a Vive Pro.

The HTC Vive Pro: Final Thoughts

With the Vive Pro, HTC set the bar for the next generation of VR devices—and it set the bar high. It’s clear that HTC is rapidly learning what makes a good VR headset.

The new displays are an excellent improvement over the first-generation HMD’s displays. But to say that the Vive Pro is just a higher-resolution Vive would be a major understatement. We believe the new design features that HTC introduced with the Vive Pro will have more of an impact than many people probably expect. The display resolution is almost secondary when you look at the larger picture. 

When you ask people what they think it will take for mass adoption of VR hardware happen, many people will tell you that it comes down to price. VR headsets must have affordable price tags before the majority takes an interest. We don’t disagree with that assessment. There are only so many people who are willing to pay a large premium to play at the cutting edge of modern consumer tech. But before the price really matters, the hardware needs to be "good enough" for everyone--not just enthusiasts.

We would argue that for VR HMDs to be good enough to meet everyone’s expectations, they must be comfortable first. Screen resolutions and refresh rates are going up. We don’t have to guess about that; we know it’s happening. Everyone in the industry understands that displays need to get better, and many companies are working on that problem right now. But what do you think people are going to complain about next, when the screen-door effect and graphics aliasing in VR are a thing of the past? Fit and comfort, that’s what. 

Microsoft is trying to sell the Windows Mixed Reality platform as a productivity medium, as well as an entertainment medium. But that will never happen with the current crop of Windows MR HMDs, because Microsoft’s hardware partners went after the budget segment of the VR market and didn’t put much effort into improving comfort. The Windows MR headsets that we’ve tried (including the more premium Samsung Odyssey) aren’t comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time, which makes them irrelevant for productivity use. However, we could imagine wearing the Vive Pro every day for hours at a stretch. We’re not saying HTC’s current execution with the Vive Pro is perfect, but it’s a big step in the right (comfortable) direction.

HTC is getting ahead of the curve and setting an example for every other company in the VR hardware market. If you’re in the business of building VR HMDs, consider the Vive Pro a template for where things need to go. Price, of course, must come down in time, but the consumer VR market is still too immature for most people anyway. It would be best to perfect the techniques to build a quality device before you focus on commoditizing the hardware.

Contrary to many arguments, we’re of the belief that expensive hardware does not hurt the growth of the VR industry. In these early years, we would rather see advancements in every aspect of VR hardware before the dramatic price drops become the norm.

Bottom Line

HTC showed that it’s not afraid to pursue the pinnacle of high-end VR with the Vive Pro. The headset is still far from perfect, but it’s the closest thing that we have to it today, and it's a whole lot better than the best consumer VR system you could buy before.

Likely until the Pimax 8K hits the market later this year, HTC’s Vive Pro will offer the best visual experience that you can find a VR headset. It’s at least on par with the Samsung Odyssey headset, but with SteamVR’s bias towards the Vive Pro, it gets a higher input resolution out of the box, with more stable performance. That comes at the cost of higher GPU requirements (particularly if you're looking to maximize game settings). But if you’re looking for the best VR experience possible, you’re probably already rocking a recent high-end graphics card.

If you have an original HTC Vive and are happy with it, there's certainly no dire need to upgrade--especially if you have more-important things to spend $800 on. That said, no other VR headset comes close to the Vive Pro when you compare comfort. HTC's new headset is the most comfortable HMD that we’ve worn, period.

We're anxiously anticipating the headset that dethrones the Vive Pro, because it will have to be great. But for the time being, HTC gets our stamp of approval--at least for anyone who can afford it.

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Last week HTC stirred up controversy with the Vive Pro price announcement. The company revealed that the HMD-only upgrade would sell for $800, and Vive fans reacted with outrage. Forums and comment sections all over the internet reverberated with disgruntled would-be buyers who can’t, or won’t, justify spending so much. No one seemed to notice that HTC neglected to discuss the recommended specs, though, including us.

When HTC announced the Vive Pro at CES, we spoke to a Vive representative and asked what kind of GPU would be required to power the new setup, and they told us that the recommended specifications would not be changing. We were skeptical of that reply, but we figured we would put that claim to the test when we received our Vive Pro for review. We’re not ready to release a review yet, but HTC did finally confirm that our skepticism was justified. HTC quietly revised the recommended system requirements for the new HMD.

The original Vive headset requires a host computer with an Intel Core i5-4590 or an AMD FX 8350 or better processor, and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970/1060 or an AMD Radeon R9 280/R9 390/RX 480 or better GPU. The system also requires a USB 2.0 port and a copy of Windows 7, Windows 8.x, or Windows 10.

The new headset’s requirements are somewhat different. The Vive Pro is doesn’t require a more powerful CPU, but the recommended GPU specifications went up. Technically, the Vive Pro is still compatible with all GPUs that work with the original Vive, but HTC and Nvidia suggest stepping up to a GTX 1070 for the best experience. AMD hasn’t publicly weighed in, but if you’re playing for team red, HTC suggests using a Radeon RX Vega 56 or better to drive the Vive Pro.

The new headset no longer supports USB 2.0--it requires at least a USB 3.0 port to operate. HTC also dropped support for Windows 7, so if you haven’t upgraded your OS and don’t intend to, you should stick with the original Vive headset. And we already knew that HTC dropped the HDMI cable for a DisplayPort cable on the new Link Box.

HTC no doubt knew that $800 for the Vive Pro would ruffle some feathers. The company may have elected to keep the recommended specifications under the radar because of the current state of the GPU market. Revealing the specifications on day one would only fuel the controversy surrounding the Vive Pro’s release. However, we don’t expect many people to drop $800 on a new headset if you don’t yet own a high-end GPU, so maybe the new recommended specs won't deter many prospective Vive Pro owners from picking up the new HMD.

The HTC Vive Pro HMD upgrade is available April 5. The company is accepting pre-orders now.

Updated, 03/21/2018, 3:20pm PT: Replaced images with high-resolution copies.

Noitom today announced that the Hi5 VR Gloves Business Edition is now available to order. The kit includes two gloves with full finger tracking. You’ll need a pair of Vive Trackers and an HTC Vive to use them, though.

Last year at CES, Noitom revealed the Hi5 VR Gloves, which bring your hands and fingers directly into VR experiences. The company partnered with HTC to demonstrate a prototype of its glove peripheral as part of HTC's Vive Tracker showcase at CES, but we didn’t hear much more from Noitom about the Hi5 VR Gloves for the rest of 2017. CES 2018 also rolled by without a new look at the Hi5 gloves, but Noitom showed up in full-force this week for GDC. The company today revealed a business-class version of the Hi5 Gloves that you can purchase now.

The Hi5 VR Gloves Business Edition is tailored for professional use cases. Noitom isn’t yet ready to tackle the consumer market, even though that was the goal when it revealed the Hi5 VR Gloves a year ago. Noitom is marketing the Business Edition of its VR gloves to companies and entrepreneurs that wish to build VR entertainment experiences and educational products that can benefit from fully tracked fingers. All Hi5 VR Gloves Business Edition units include commercial licensing that grants owners the freedom to use the Hi5 gloves for profit. The gloves are also made of a hygienic antibacterial material which is breathable, easy to clean, and suitable for sharing with multiple people.

The Hi5 VR Gloves Business Edition offer full finger tracking with 9-degrees of freedom. The Hi5 gloves feature IMU-based tracking technology derived from Noitom’s Perception Neuron MoCop system. The IMUs include gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers to calculate precise orientation changes with less than 5ms of latency. The Hi5 VR gloves also include programmable vibration rumblers to provide haptic feedback when grasping virtual objects.  

The Hi5 VR Gloves Business Edition are fully wireless devices. The package includes a USB dongle for wireless communication. The gloves don’t even need to be plugged in to charge. The company said it went with disposable batteries because it’s quicker to swap a set of batteries than to wait for a controller to charge. Each controller runs off one AA cell.

When Noitom revealed the Hi5 VR Gloves last year, the company said that they would be compatible with OptiTrack’s marker-based tracking motion capture technology. However, the device that came to market today requires an HTC Vive Tracker to function. It is not compatible with other room-tracking systems. The Hi5 VR Gloves include wrist mounts for the Trackers.

The Noitom Hi5 VR Gloves Business Edition are available now from the company’s website. Noitom is asking $999 for the package, which includes two gloves, the wireless dongle, and instruction. The package does not include Vive Tracker, of which you would need two. Noitom offers Vive Tracker through its website, which you can purchase for $99 each. However, Noitom is currently selling Vive Tracker 1.0 models, which HTC is phasing out in favor of the Vive Tracker 2018, so you may want to buy the trackers direct from HTC.

HTC today announced that the Vive Focus standalone VR headset would hit the global market later this year. Registered Viveport developers can order Vive Focus dev kits today.

Last year, Google revealed that HTC was developing a standalone VR headset for the Google Daydream platform. HTC was supposed to be the first to market with a standalone Daydream headset, but at some point during development, the company reversed course and abandoned its agreement with Google. HTC didn’t give up on standalone VR, but the company refocused its efforts towards the booming VR market in china.

When HTC released the Vive Focus in December 2017, the company insisted that the Vive Focus headset would be available only in China. However, we had a feeling the device may eventually come to North America because HTC brought the Vive Focus to CES, Mobile World Congress, and GDC to show it to the press and woo developers. Today, HTC confirmed that the Vive Focus would be coming to America, and indeed, the rest of the world.

HTC’s Vive Focus headset is the first full-featured standalone VR headset on the market and its one of the first devices on the market to emerge from Qualcomm’s VR Accelerator Program. The Vive Focus features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, a 2880x1600 75Hz AMOLED display, and inside-out 6-degrees of freedom spatial tracking to provide a fully-untethered world-scale VR experience. The standalone HMD also includes a 9-axis tracked motion controller for interaction with experiences.

Vive Wave Development Platform

Though HTC is back on the saddle to bring the Vive Focus to North America, the company hasn’t renewed its plans with Google to bring the Vive Focus to Daydream. HTC’s headset operates on the company’s Viveport content distribution platform, and it intends to keep it that way for the global release.

HTC recently created an open development platform for mobile VR devices called Vive Wave, which integrates with the Viveport content distribution system and enables developers to deploy content on the platform. Content for the Vive Focus headset must be developed with the Vive Wave SDK and distributed through Viveport.

Vive Wave is a hardware agnostic VR SDK that allows developers to support a variety of devices. In China, the Vive Wave platform supports several VR devices, and content built with the Vive Wave SDK should work seamlessly with any supported device. We’re not aware of any other Vive Wave-enabled VR devices coming to North America, but HTC has other ways to entice the development community.

The Vive Focus headset is currently available only in China, but developers from around the world can make content for it. HTC wants to attract developers who wish to break in the VR market in China, and it’s offering a great revenue share promotion. Developers who deploy software through the Viveport platform between April and September 2018 will enjoy 100% rev-share. In turn, content released for the China market now will be available globally when HTC releases the Vive Focus abroad.

Price & Availability

We don’t yet know how much the Vive Focus will cost around the world, but we can use the price in China as a guidepost for a guess. HTC sells two versions of the Vive Focus in China. The Electric Blue version sells for ¥4,299.00 ($678.94) and the almond white version sells for ¥3,999 ($631.56). We'd like to believe that the device would cost less when it lands on our shores, but given the price of the Vive Pro, we’re not holding our breath for a budget price tag.

HTC didn’t say when the Vive Focus would be available globally, but the company is now offering developer kits to registered Viveport developers, so we don’t expect a long wait before the headset makes its way to consumers.

AMD Ryzen Proves VR on Integrated Graphics Isn’t Far Off

In mid February of 2018, AMD released the first two Ryzen desktop processors with integrated Vega graphics. As we saw in testing, the Ryzen 3 2200G and the Ryzen 5 2400G deliver impressive performance for budget gaming. Both are capable of delivering impressive 720p performance in modern games (for integrated graphics silicon), and passable 1080p performance in somewhat older titles. It’s fair to say that AMD’s first round of so-called "Raven Ridge" processors live up to the expectations that AMD set for these budget-friendly parts. We’ve already demonstrated their traditional gaming capabilities, but we wanted to know if these chips could handle something a little bit more immersive--namely virtual reality.

To be clear, the Raven Ridge processors fall far short of the necessary performance threshold for the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive platforms. In fact, the chips' VR gaming performance is so poor that we didn’t even include VR Mark results in their respective reviews. Indeed, we have no delusions about running one of those headsets with AMDs integrated graphics--at least, not this generation. However, the performance threshold for Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform is much lower.

Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality (which in its current form is really just VR by another name) demands the lowest system requirements of any desktop/laptop VR platform currently on the market. And that's important in these days of expensive RAM and even more expensive high-end graphics cards. The HTC Vive requires a minimum of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290, and the Oculus Rift supports cards that rank as low as the GTX 960/GTX 1050 Ti from Nvidia or the RX 470 from AMD. By contrast, Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality “Ultra” specification calls for GPUs from a tier lower, such as Nvidia’s GTX 1050 or AMD’s RX 460 cards. The Vega GPU cores in our Raven Ridge chip are no comparison for most of the GPUs mentioned above. However, Microsoft also offers a lower spec option with WMR that works with Intel’s HD Graphics 620 integrated graphics. The low spec option doesn’t support many games, but it does offer an immersive productivity environment, and that’s the experience we’re after--at least for starters.

Microsoft doesn’t yet officially support AMD’s Ryzen processors with Vega graphics for mixed reality. However, the performance potential of the Ryzen 5 2400G far surpasses that of Intel's integrated HD Graphics 620 silicon, which is expressly supported. Despite not having an official nod from Microsoft, we wanted to find out first-hand: Can a system powered by a  Ryzen 5 2400G run a Windows Mixed Reality HMD to any reasonable degree?

On the Intel side, Microsoft worked closely with the company to ensure that 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th generation Intel Core i processors with integrated graphics would be able to drive the Windows MR headsets, but Microsoft had to cut serious corners to make it work. Intel’s HD Graphics 620 can’t reliably deliver the 90 frames per second (fps) that's been the standard smooth VR for a while now. So the Windows MR headsets operate at a lower 60Hz refresh rate when powered by Intel's integrated graphics. We suspected that the extra graphics capability of AMD’s Ryzen G processors could deliver a better Window MR experience than Intel’s integrated graphics, but there was only one way to find out. So we gathered some parts together and started building and testing.

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VR on Integrated Graphics - Our Methodology and Test Hardware

The Hardware We Used

For this evaluation, we had to pull in a new group of PCs. Our typical VR test system features a higher-end Intel Core i7-5930k CPU, which doesn’t include onboard graphics of any kind. We don’t have any machines based on Intel’s current CPU platform in the VR lab, so we pulled out an older Intel Core i5-6500, which includes integrated graphics supported by Windows Mixed Reality.

We also don’t usually run VR tests on Ryzen-based PCs. However, we put together a temporary test bench with some parts we had on hand. We first dropped the Ryzen 5 2400G into an existing PC, which features an Asus Prime X370-A motherboard, two sticks of G-Skill Ripjaws V DRR4-3200 memory, and normally includes a Ryzen 7 1700. That system didn’t end up working, which we’ll explain later in this article. In the end, we substituted the Asus X370 Prime-A for slightly upscale Asus Prime X370-Pro. An X370 chipset motherboard is somewhat of a bizarre match for a Ryzen 5 2400G, but those were the boards we had on hand, and going with a less-expensive board with a lesser chipset shouldn't noticeably affect gaming performance at stock settings.

For the HMD, we used the Samsung Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset, which features the highest resolution (1,440x1,600 pixels per eye) of all the current VR HMDs on the market (check back soon for a full review of the Samsung headset). If our little AMD APU can push the pixels necessary for a comfortable VR experience on the Odyssey, then we can rest assured that the chip can drive any Windows MR HMD in the same tasks (the competitions' screens use lower 1,440x1,440-pixel screens).

The Setup

Before installing the processor, we installed the manufacturer’s most recent BIOS update to ensure compatibility for the Raven Ridge parts. AMD’s new-for-2018 AM4 processors are compatible with all AM4 motherboards. However, the existing firmware on older motherboards won’t recognize the new chips. AMD offers a boot kit solution for anyone with no recourse to update their BIOS. We used our Ryzen 7 1700 to facilitate the update.

With the Ryzen 5 2400G successfully installed and booted, and the display running off the integrated Vega GPU, we fired up the BIOS to adjust our memory settings. In our Raven Ridge coverage, we highlighted the importance of high-speed memory to prop up the Vega GPU. Armed with that knowledge, we set our memory modules to 2966MHz and rebooted the PC.

When the system booted into Windows, we went to AMDs website to install the drivers for the Vega cores on the die. AMD’s website offers an automatic detection function, but it failed to run. That should have been the first clue that we were going to have trouble with this project. We managed to find the drivers after a short manual search on AMD.com, and the they seemed to install without issue.

After rebooting the PC, we double checked that Windows 10 was up to date. The Windows MR platform is integrated with Windows 10, and Microsoft rolls out Windows MR updates along with OS patches. Our test system is not enrolled in Microsoft’s Insider Program because we want the most stable environment possible for our tests. Once Windows 10 was up to date, we proceeded to run the Windows Mixed Reality PC Check tool to see if our system would pass Microsoft’s Mixed Reality muster.

The Mixed Reality PC Check scans your PC for compatible hardware and spits out a checklist that shows which facets of your system meet the minimum requirements, and which parts don’t. Microsoft doesn’t actually hold you to the minimum requirements with an iron fist. The PC Check’s report indicates when your system is “nearly there,” which means that Windows MR may work, but Microsoft isn’t willing to put its stamp of approval on the configuration (or the resulting experience). That said, if Microsoft believes your system doesn’t stand a chance of running Windows MR, it doesn’t sugar coat the situation. It will tell you directly that your system “can’t run mixed reality.”

The results of the test indicated that we were “nearly there.” We didn’t expect the Mixed Reality PC Check to give our graphics card a stamp of approval, and we weren’t surprised to see an exclamation mark next to the CPU. However, we didn’t anticipate trouble with the USB controller.

Troubleshooting Begins

The error report didn’t include details about the problem, so it was up to us to troubleshoot why the USB controller didn’t pass the test. We clicked on “Learn more about compatibility,” which brought us to a page that included details about the potential error messages, but the report didn’t provide codes to pinpoint the error that we were dealing with.

But, the USB section of the error report page offered two possible reasons: Our motherboard doesn’t have self-powered USB ports, or we have a USB eXtensible Host Controller (xHCI) with a driver that’s not from Microsoft. A quick glance at our Device Manger indicated that Microsoft provided our host controller’s driver, so we must be dealing with a power issue.

We didn’t have a powered USB hub to avoid the problem, but we decided to press forward anyway--or at least attempt to. We fired up the Mixed Reality Portal and plugged in the Samsung Odyssey headset. To our dismay, our computer did not detect the device. We tried plugging the headset into every USB port on our board, but Windows never responded to the device’s presence. We didn’t know if a USB controller or the onboard HDMI port was the problem, but we were beginning to believe our plan had backfired. At this point, we pulled out our Asus X370 Prime-Pro to rule out motherboard incompatibility.

We later determined that the HDMI port must be the problem because the Odyssey works with the Asus X370 Prime-A when we use a discrete graphics card.

Success!

We were surprised that the X370 Prime-A didn’t live up to the task, but the Prime-Pro proved compatible with the Odyssey headset. After rebuilding our test rig with the other motherboard, Windows detected and installed the drivers for the Odyssey HMD as soon as we plugged it in. The Windows Mixed Reality compatibility check still flagged our USB controller, but we didn’t experience any perceptible communication problems once we had the headset working.

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Our Experience Running Windows Mixed Reality on Integrated Vega Graphics

Enter The Cliff House

The default landing environment for Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform is called the "Cliff House." It offers multiple customizable rooms where you can access content such as games, videos, and applications to enjoy with your HMD.

When you run a Windows Mixed Reality HMD on a PC with an Intel iGPU, the HMD will operate at 60Hz instead of the generally accepted minimum of 90Hz. Microsoft does this to lower the overhead on the graphics system, but it’s not an ideal configuration. We didn’t enjoy operating our HMD on Intel’s iGPU; 60Hz in an HMD does not produce a great user experience, even for productivity work. However, it will get you by as a temporary solution--at least so long as you're not prone to the nausea that some users suffer from with a less-than-ideal refresh rate in VR.

We expected a similar experience from the Ryzen 5 2400G’s Vega graphics, but AMD’s CPU/GPU combo chip worked surprisingly well for basic tasks in Windows MR. We have no way of verifying the HMD’s operating framerate, but we’re reasonably sure the Odyssey headset operates at the optimal 90Hz refresh rate when it’s connected to our test system. Navigating through the Windows MR Cliff House was smooth, and we didn’t observe any frame rate hitches. By contrast, the rotation of the room felt sluggish when rendered by Intel’s integrated graphics.

We spent some time tooling around in the Cliff House, reconfiguring the location and size of app windows, placing holograms to decorate the space, and jumping in and out of applications, and we experienced no performance issues. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that working with productivity applications on the Raven Ridge part feels just like working with these applications on much more powerful PC. Indeed, we would suggest that if you’re purchasing a Windows MR headset for productivity work, a Ryzen 5 2400G will complement your needs well.

The Raven Ridge chip is also suitable for multimedia entertainment. The Windows MR Cliff House features a massive theater room where you can sit back and take in a feature film, waste some time watching movie trailers, or explore the many 360-degree videos that Microsoft keeps in its catalog. Or you can queue up something from your personal media collection.

Video playback was smooth in our experience, and every bit as comfortable as our experience playing content through a much-more-powerful discrete graphics card. We even tried some of the animated VR content, such as Baobab Studios’ animated short, Invasion!, and we experienced no issues with the video playback.

Spatial audio reproduction also worked without a hitch.

Lightweight Gaming

When we embarked on this journey of Raven Ridge experimentation, we weren’t confident that Windows MR would run at all; gaming wasn’t even on our radar. However, given the positive experience that we had with productivity and multimedia entertainment, we had to see how far AMD's Vega 11 silicon would take us. As such, we downloaded a handful of Windows MR game titles from the Microsoft Store to give them a run.

A demo of Cubians VR was the first title that we tried. We were confident that the Vega 11 would handle the voxel-based world of  this title in stride, as this game is one of the few Windows MR titles that are compatible with Intel HD Graphics 620. If Intel’s integrated graphics can run the game, the Vega cores in our Raven Ridge chip should have no trouble handling the workload.

As expected, the Ryzen 5 2400G delivered an excellent experience in Cubians VR. We noticed no visible rendering artifacts, and we didn’t have any trouble with the response time of the motion controllers while playing the game.

Next up, we tried one of our old favorites; Space Pirate Trainer. I-illusions optimized SPT incredibly well. We were thoroughly impressed that a game that used to make high-end graphics cards stress and strain could operate so smoothly on Intel Graphics silicon. And what about our AMD Raven Ridge combo? It can also take on the challenge. We had to set the game’s graphics settings to their absolute minimum, but by doing so, we achieved a great experience. We didn’t even experience any noticeable performance issues when dozens of droids were on screen at the same time.

We weren’t surprised that the Ryzen APU’s Vega graphics powered-through our iGPU-optimized games. The Vega 11 is significantly more powerful at 3D rendering than an Intel HD Graphics 620. But we wanted to push the integrated Radeon silicon to its limits, so we dove into a couple of games that demand more graphics horsepower.

Microsoft’s 343 Studios, which develops the Halo franchise, created a short VR experience called Halo Recruit, which allows you to stand face-to-face with a grunt, stand next to a Warthog, and test fire a blaster. Halo Recruit is far from the most demanding title on the Windows MR platform, but its minimum requirement of an Nvidia GTX 965M or AMD RX 460 still exceed the theoretical capabilities of our integrated Vega 11. Once again, we were pleasantly surprised by the integrated GPU’s performance. It managed to run Halo Recruit with ease.

Finally, we fired up Form, which is a puzzle game from Charm Games that features robust Unreal Engine graphics. The minimum requirements for this title include a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 290, and the recommended specs suggest using a GTX 1060 or an RX 480, all of which eclipse the performance threshold of our Ryzen with Vega graphics. Though our system doesn’t meet the requirements, we found that Form ran well enough on our Odyssey headset with the Ryzen 5 2400G powering it for most people to enjoy it. We noticed a few frame hitches here and there, but they weren’t severe enough to be extremely jarring, and afterward, the framerate recovered rapidly.

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Using SteamVR to Benchmark VR Framerates on Integrated Vega Graphics

We would love to show you performance numbers that evaluate Microsoft’s Windows MR platform. However, we don’t have any tools to capture the frame rate and frame pacing of native Windows MR content.

Currently, we have only one performance evaluation tool for VR experiences. Nvidia’s FCAT VR tool allows us to capture the frame rate and frame pacing data directly from the VR rendering pipeline. However, it doesn't currently support Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform. Nvidia told us that a future release would integrate with Windows MR, but for now, we can’t provide performance numbers for Microsoft’s immersive environment and Windows MR native applications. But that doesn't mean we can't test performance elsewhere.

SteamVR For Metrics

Without support for the native Windows MR environment, we had to resort to firing up SteamVR to get performance numbers from FCAT VR. Windows MR headsets do work with SteamVR, though the performance of our integrated GPU falls far short of what is generally necessary for smooth rendering in this more-demanding gaming-focused platform. And the under-powered hardware takes another hit here as well.

When you use a Windows Mixed Reality headset to run Steam VR content, the CPU and GPU take a big hit because the Windows MR platform must run in the background on top of Valve’s SteamVR platform. Microsoft and Valve both suggest that you should have an Intel Core i7 processor and the equivalent of a GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card to run a Windows MR headset with Steam VR. Of course, our Ryzen 5 2400G is no match for such a combination, but SteamVR was our only avenue for the benchmark results we desired, so we plowed ahead.

We selected four SteamVR titles to test, including theBlu, Fruit Ninja, Job Simulator, and Island 359. Using Steam VR, we recorded 60 second benchmarks of each experience on our Raven Ridge system. And for comparison, we attempted the run the same experiences on our Core i5 system. More on that attempted bit later.

First, we fired up theBlu on our Raven Ridge test rig, and were surprised at how well it seemed to run. We didn’t experience any significant judders. We could tell that Steam VR was relying on reprojection to deliver a smooth experience, but we were fine with the perceived performance overall.

Later, upon studying the frametime graphs in FCAT Analyser, we saw the truth: Our Ryzen 5 2400G with Vega graphics wasn’t even delivering 45fps, which would be necessary to provide one rendered frame for every two displayed frames. The Vega 11 cores achieved an average of just 36fps, which means that two out of three frames weren’t rendered in time.

Fruit Ninja was the second SteamVR experience that we threw at the Raven Ridge chip. Unlike theBlue, which is entirely passive, Fruit Ninja is an active game that requires rapid arm movements. We managed to play Fruit Ninja with a modicum of success, but again, we could tell that reprojection had a big role in making the experience passable. The FCAT VR results indicated that we also achieved roughly 30fps in Fruit Ninja. If anything, this test reinforced our belief in the viability reprojection technologies--the experience was surprisingly decent given the low performance numbers we got from our benchmarking.

Next, we fired up Job Simulator. We didn’t expect this game to work well, but it ended up giving us marginally better results than the previous two titles. Again, reprojection was necessary to produce a comfortable experience, but it worked well enough to play the game.

The FCAT VR results indicated that AMD's integrated GPU delivered an average of 37.1fps, but the graph shows that our Raven Ridge rig kept that framerate at a relatively steady pace throughout our 60 second test.

Finally, we pulled out the big guns to truly test the limitations of AMD's Ryzen 5 2400G. Island 359 is a much more demanding game than Job Simulator or Fruit Ninja, though it does offer graphics options to help make it playable on lower-end hardware. We set the graphics to low and dialed the image scaling to 60%. The result wasn’t pretty, but we managed to make the game at least somewhat playable.

With the settings dialed down as far as they could go, the Ryzen 5 2400G pushed out a relatively steady 30fps, which put it in the same rough performance range as the rest of our test lineup.

We had intended to run the same battery of tests with the integrated graphics of our Core i5-6500 for comparison, but that didn’t work well. We started with theBlue, which wouldn’t at all on our Intel-based system. Next, we tried Fruit Ninja, which produced a flickering, juddering mess that finally pushed our nausea buttons. We managed to last long enough to get one result from FCAT VR, which told us we were "playing" at 10fps. We weren’t about to test Job Simulator and Island 359 after that experience. Suffice to say; you can’t use Intel's integrated graphics for SteamVR games. And while the Vega 11 graphics in AMD's Ryzen 5 2400G aren't ideal for gaming either, the performance with AMD's latest integrated graphics is in another league.

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AMD's Ryzen 5 2400G Is Surprisingly Good for Casual Gaming

We started this experiment knowing full-well that it might fail completely, but with the hope that we might find some interesting results. As it turned out, hope was on our side, but failure wasn’t far behind. Our Ryzen 5 2400G far surpassed our hopes and our expectations. We thought AMD’s little CPU/GPU combo-chip could probably manage desktop work in an immersive environment. We never expected it to deliver a passable gaming experience in any way, and we had little hope of using it for VR video playback. But the AMD chip defied expectations and accomplished both feats, albeit with limitations on the gaming front. The AMD Ryzen 5 2400G is more than capable of handling the basic Windows Mixed Reality experience.

To be clear, we wouldn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, recommend a Ryzen 5 2400G for VR gaming. But if you stick to native Windows MR content, and casual games, it works surprisingly well.

Microsoft worked closely with Intel to promote a budget entry path to Windows Mixed Reality. But we think the tech giant missed a big opportunity to collaborate with AMD. The Ryzen 5 2400G with Vega graphics delivers a significantly better experience on Microsoft's VR platform than our Core i5 with its integrated HD Graphics 620 silicon.

What Can We Extrapolate From Our Budget VR Experiment?

We don’t necessarily recommend using a Ryzen 5 2400G for Windows Mixed Reality. Because even though headset prices have fallen (in some cases below the $250 mark), and performance graphics card pricing remains sky high, most users looking to get into the VR space probably don't want to invest several hundred dollars on a system with serious limitations. But our experience with AMD's Raven Ridge chip opened our eyes to the possibility that we may soon have access to chips with integrated graphics that are powerful enough for the demanding workload of immersive VR experiences. We wouldn’t be surprised if AMD gives its second-generation Ryzen APUs enough oomph to drive high-quality VR content. At that point, PC-based VR gaming will have a better chance of gaining mainstream traction than in the current world where highly overpriced graphics cards are required.

This experiment also gives us hope that we’ll eventually see VR on the Xbox One platform. Two years ago, Microsoft introduced the Xbox Scorpio project and said that the new console would support virtual reality. When the company dropped the new console (now called Xbox One X), it stopped talking about VR on the Xbox platform. But we always expected that the Windows Mixed Reality platform and the Xbox One platforms would eventually come together to offer a mainstream living room VR gaming experience. Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality runs surprisingly well on a mainstream chip like the Ryzen 5 2400G without official support or optimization. So we have to image that the two companies, working together, could deliver a more-satisfying experience with the powerful SoC in the Xbox One X.

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HTC made waves in the tech world yesterday with the announcement of the Vive Pro’s price and availability. Today, we discovered more news that somehow slipped under the radar. HTC is now selling updated Vive Trackers that work with Steam VR Tracking 2.0.

Last year, at CES 2017, HTC announced the Vive Tracker universal tracking device, which enables you to track any object in VR. Vive Trackers enabled hardware developers to make peripherals for the Vive platform, such as the Hyperkin Hyperblaster, or passive attachments, such as HTC’s Racket Sports Pack, that you can bring into the game for deeper immersion. You can also use Vive Tracker to track your legs and torso position for full-body tracking.

HTC released the Vive Trackers to developers after GDC last year, and in November the company opened the doors for the public to buy these devices. We tested a handful of Vive Trackers in December, and we liked the potential that they present, though there’s not much to do with them yet, and they are quite pricey. What we didn’t realize is that the original Vive Trackers were nearly obsolete when HTC launched them.

Last June, Valve started talking about the second generation of SteamVR Tracking, which includes new base stations that don’t have moving parts, and new sensors that can communicate with up to four of the new base stations. SteamVR Tracking 2.0 should open the doors for larger play areas, and potentially multi-room tracked spaces. However, the new base stations are not compatible with the light sensors from the original Vive.

Valve partnered with Triad Semiconductors to manufacture and distribute the new TS4231 sensors, and the parts should have been available in production quantities in November. We took it for granted that HTC would use the updated sensors for the retail Vive Trackers because they are cheaper to make than the original model, and they would make the Trackers somewhat future-proof. However, HTC didn’t do that. If you already purchased Vive Trackers, they aren’t going to work with the new base stations if you upgrade to them when Valve releases them.

In late February during Mobile World Congress, we learned that updated Trackers were coming, but when pressed for information, an HTC representative said he had “nothing to announce quite yet on the Trackers” and told us a blog post would be posted in a couple of weeks. That blog post hasn’t yet surfaced, but the Trackers have. You can now order Vive Trackers that include the new tracking sensors.

The HTC Vive accessory page now features images of the new Trackers (the blue power button gives it away). And the company appears to have discontinued the original model. When you put a new tracker in the shopping cart, you should see the old tracker listed as out of stock, and the new tracker in stock.

Shen Ye, a product manager at HTC’s Vive division, confirmed via Twitter that these are indeed the new model.

HTC hasn’t released much detail about the new Trackers, but as far as we can tell, they are just like the old model except for the new tracking sensors. The Trackers still communicate via 2.4 GHz wireless, and they still offer up to 4.5 hours of battery life.

The Vive Trackers are available at HTCVive.com for $99.

Updated, 03/19/2018, 9:40pm PT: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that the Vive Pro included 'Fallout 4 VR.' The game is included with the standard Vive package.

Original article, 3/19/2018, 6:00am PT:

HTC today announced the price for the highly-anticipated Vive Pro HMD, and it’s a hard pill to swallow. The HMD-only upgrade kit for the existing Vive platform carries a staggering $799 price tag. If you can afford it, pre-orders are now open, and shipments are expected to begin on April 5.

In January, at CES 2018, HTC revealed an updated Vive headset that boasts higher resolution displays, better integrated headphones with upgraded microphone, a revised mechanical head strap system, dual front-facing cameras, and support for Valve’s upcoming SteamVR Tracking 2.0 technology. HTC teased that the headset would be available in the first quarter of the year, but the company refused to talk about pricing.

Now that we know the price, we’re not surprised the company kept it under wraps until now. We didn’t expect the Vive Pro headset to be cheap--HTC said that it would be a premium product-- but weren’t expecting the HMD-only upgrade to be $799. HTC asked $799 for the full Vive package on launch day in 2016, which included the HMD, two base stations, two controllers, and all the cables to plug it in. The Vive Pro is not a complete package; it does not include base stations or controllers.

For just shy of $800, you get a Vive Pro HMD, the new link box with the proprietary data port, and the cables for the link box. You need a set of base stations and controllers before you can use the new headset.

HTC’s Vive Pro is a big upgrade from the original Vive headset. The new device features Samsung’s new high-resolution 1440x1600, low-persistence display panels, which are the same screens found in the Samsung Odyssey headset. The combined resolution of the two panels is 2880x1600, which is a 78% increase in pixels compared to the original headset’s 2160x1200 resolution.

The headset features a completely redesigned head strap, which includes built-in headphones and a mechanical adjustment like the Deluxe Audio Head Strap. HTC said that the new design offers improved weight distribution and comfort. HTC said that the new headphones feature “high-performance” speakers, and the headset includes a built-in amplifier to deliver a premium audio experience.

The Vive Pro also features dual, front-facing chaperone cameras that developers could use for advanced features. HTC hasn’t said much about the potential of the stereo cameras, but we’ve heard rumors of potential hand-tracking capabilities, like a Leap Motion sensor. At the least, it should provide better depth perception in the visual chaperone mode.

Ready For The Future

In 2016, the HTC Vive became the first headset to support Valve’s SteamVR Tracking technology, and now, the Vive Pro is the first HMD to support Valve's SteamVR Tracking 2.0 technology. Valve started talking about SteamVR Tracking 2.0 last year. The upcoming tracking technology offers tracking volumes up to 10m x 10m, and also enables communication between up to four base stations in one room.

SteamVR Tracking 2.0 isn’t quite available yet. Valve started shipping base station samples to hardware designers, but we don’t know when the new base stations would be available for consumers. However, the Vive Pro headset is ready for the new system when Valve releases it. The original Vive won’t work with the new base stations because the sensors in the headset aren’t compatible with the over-the-air identification system in the new base stations. The new headset features the updated sensors, which make it compatible with the original base stations, and the upcoming base stations.

Pre-Order Now, Receive Early April

HTC opened pre-orders for the Vive Pro headset today, and the company said that the first shipments would be delivered on April 5, which we should have guessed. April 5, 2018, is the two-year anniversary of the original Vive system's launch.

HTC is also throwing in a free six-month trial subscription for Viveport, which allows you to rent up to five titles per month. HTC said the promotional deal would apply to all Vive Pro purchases made before June 3, after which new orders would include a two-month trial.

Anniversary Price Drop

If you don’t already have a Vive, but you would like to get a Vive Pro, you could purchase the base stations and controller individually. However, at $135 per base station and $129 per controller, you’d be better off buying a standard Vive system plus the new HMD, especially now that HTC lowered the price of the original Vive system.

When HTC launched the Vive system in 2016, it set the price at $799. Last fall, after Oculus slashed the price of the Oculus Rift, HTC dropped the asking price for the Vive to $599 to stimulate sales. Now that the premium Vive Pro headset is available, HTC trimmed another $100 off the standard Vive to bring its price down to $499. The headset also includes a redemption code for Bethesda’s Fallout 4 VR, which is a $60 value.

“With the Vive Pro we are delivering the best quality display and visual experience to the most discerning VR enthusiasts. Our goal has always been to offer the most premium VR platform available and to drive adoption for VR,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM U.S, VIVE. “By lowering the price of the current Vive, we are making VR more accessible while expanding the potential market for developers. Whether you're a VR enthusiast or new to the platform, there’s never been a better time to join the most complete VR platform available.”

The new price puts the Vive into much more competitive territory for today's market, and it gives consumers an excellent range of options in several price segments. The basic Windows Mixed Reality headsets from Acer, HP, and Lenovo are often on sale for ~$200-250, the Oculus Rift sells for $399, and the Samsung Odyssey premium Windows MR headset sells for $449. At $499, an original Vive remains a reasonable solution, especially if you favor tracking volume over visual fidelity.

HTC is gearing up for the imminent release of the Vive Pro. The company is now seeding developers with new hardware, and some have taken to Twitter to share their excitement. In doing so, we’ve learned more about the upcoming headset upgrade.

Cloudgate Studio co-founder Steve Bowler excitedly tweeted some images of his shiny new Vive Pro headset yesterday that reveal new details about the Vive Pro that we weren’t yet aware of. We already know that the upcoming Vive HMD features higher resolution displays, dual front-facing cameras, upgraded headphones, and a refined head strap. We didn’t know that HTC completely redesigned the Vive Link Box.

The Vive Link Box is an intermediary device between the Vive headset and your PC. It enables HTC to feed additional power into the headset, and it’s where HTC houses the Vive’s Bluetooth controllers. The original Link Box design features a USB Type-A port, HDMI port, and AC power port to plug the HMD into. The other side features a USB Type-B so you can connect it to your PC and a power port for an AC adapter. It also includes an HDMI port and a Mini DisplayPort for use in case you don’t have a free HDMI port.

Bowler’s images reveal that HTC heavily revised the Link Box for the Vive Pro. The new design should be somewhat more foolproof that the older model. HTC marked the ports of the original Link Box to indicate which side you should plug the HMD into, but the ports on both sides match, so it isn’t hard to get it wrong if you aren’t paying attention. The new Link Box has completely different port configurations on each side, which should  be impossible to mix up.

HTC also designed a new port for the tether cable that combines the USB, video, and power into one connection. As a result, the HMD side of the Link Box now features a single port instead of three. HTC used the free space afforded by the single cable to install a power button, so you can power the HMD down without unplugging it. There’s also an LED light on the top to let you know when it's powered on.

HTC reworked the backside of the Link Box, too. The new model no longer offers an HDMI port. DisplayPort is now the only video signal option. The change isn’t due to bandwidth—we know that HDMI 1.4 can drive 2880x1600 pixels because the Samsung Odyssey features the same resolution. However, we’re not surprised that HTC made this change. Graphics cards generally offer single HDMI ports and three DisplayPort interfaces. We always thought it was silly to use HDMI for VR HMDs, and it’s nice to see HTC moving away from that trend.

Coming Soon

HTC has yet to reveal the shipping date and price for the Vive Pro, but when the company revealed the Vive Pro headset at CES, it announced that the device would be on sale before the end of Q1—a deadline that is fast approaching. We anticipate hearing more about the new high-resolution Vive in the coming weeks.

Last February, Qualcomm launched its VR Accelerator Program, which provided guidelines for hardware manufacturers to fast-track the development of Snapdragon-powered VR HMDs. The accelerator program also included a reference headset, which featured the company’s Snapdragon 835 SoC and offered 6DoF tracking and low power consumption. This year, Qualcomm is offering an improved headset design that includes the company’s new Snapdragon 845 SoC and eye tracking hardware.

It’s fair to say the first year of Qualcomm’s VR Accelerator Program was a success, with big name players such as HTC, Lenovo, and Oculus committing to building headsets based on Qualcomm’s design. Now the company wants to build on that foundation with a new reference device.

“We continue to deliver new advancements in technologies for our customers to utilize as they aim to capitalize on the growing standalone and smartphone VR industry,” said Hugo Swart, Head of Virtual and Augmented Reality Business Group, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “With the Snapdragon 845 Mobile VR Platform, we’re supporting the next wave of smartphone and standalone VR headsets for our customers and developers to create the immersive applications and experiences of the future.”

The Snapdragon 845 SoC features a Qualcomm Adreno 630 visual processing subsystem, which the company claimed delivers 30% faster graphics performance while achieving a 30% improvement in power efficiency over the previous version. The Adreno 630 can also deliver 2.5x higher display throughput, with support for display panels with resolutions up to 2400 x 2400 @ 120Hz per eye.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 SoC also offers additional performance gains that designers can enable with eye tracking hardware. In December, when the company introduced the new Snapdragon model, it also revealed Adreno Foveation, its take on foveated rendering. With the help of gaze tracking technology, Qualcomm can pinpoint where you’re looking and target that zone for high fidelity rendering while displaying the outer regions in lower quality, thus freeing up valuable computational resources. The company’s previous SoC supported foveated rendering through a plugin for Unity and Unreal Engine.

Qualcomm’s reference VR HMD also features a dedicated Qualcomm Hexagon Digital Signal Processor to enable 6DoF SLAM inside-out tracking.

Who Would Adopt The New Reference Design?

Qualcomm likes to stay ahead of the curve, but how far ahead can a company be and remain effective? The company releases a new mobile SoC on an annual basis, which works well for the smartphone companies that release new devices annually like clockwork. The VR HMD market is a little bit slower to the punch.

Last year, several companies announced that they would be developing VR headsets and AR Smartglasses that use Qualcomm’s processing units. ODG revealed its R8 and R9 smartglasses alongside the Snapdragon 835 SoC launch, but the company has yet to deliver the product to customers. On the VR side, HTC and Lenovo announced standalone Google Daydream headsets, but HTC backed down from that plan, and Lenovo hasn’t released the Mirage Solo headset yet. Oculus also announced that it's building a standalone VR HMD based on Qualcomm’s reference hardware.

“HTC has consistently delivered VR experiences with the highest quality possible catering to the industry’s most discerning users,” said Alvin Wang Graylin, President HTC Vive, China. “By collaborating with Qualcomm and leveraging our internal hardware and software innovations, HTC has been able to deliver an uncompromising VR experience with the Vive Focus premium standalone VR headset.”

HTC’s Vive Focus headset is now available in China, and we’re not aware of a plan to bring the headset to North America. We don’t expect HTC to change the Vive Focus specifications, which include the Snapdragon 835 SoC, but Lenovo and Oculus’ standalone HMDs are still in development. We wouldn’t be surprised to see those devices adopt Qualcomm’s latest hardware update.

Lenovo announced the specifications for the Mirage Solo headset at CES, which include the previous Snapdragon SoC, and it said the device would be available this spring. Lenovo is probably too far along in the development and manufacturing process of its headset to adopt Qualcomm's new design or the Snapdragon 845. However, we don’t know of any other standalone Daydream headsets in development, and Google said it has already seen Daydream run on a device powered by the Snapdragon 845. Hopefully we'll see what Google saw soon enough.

"Daydream works well on the Snapdragon 845. Using Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP, we're able to achieve significant power improvements and optimizations we aren't able to reach on other platforms,” said Amit Singh, Vice President, Business and Operations, Google VR and AR. “With Snapdragon 845, we believe we can achieve a high-quality VR experience with low latency, high frame rates and smooth head tracking performance for our users."

Oculus is a much more likely candidate to adopt the new reference design. The company is developing a standalone device called Santa Cruz, which offers 6DoF tracking for the HMD and the motion controllers. Oculus brought an early prototype of the Santa Cruz headset to Oculus Connect 4 in October 2017, and it featured a Snapdragon 835 SoC. However, the current processing unit likely falls short of Oculus’ ambitious goals for the headset. In many ways, the Santa Cruz headset should be a portable Rift headset, and we suspect the company will jump at the chance to get its hands on a more powerful processing unit to deliver the best experience possible.

“The Snapdragon Mobile VR Platform lends itself to the highest possible level of performance to meet the high computing demands of the standalone VR product category,” said Ash Jhaveri, Vice President of Business Development for Oculus and Facebook. “Qualcomm’s technology, coupled with Oculus’ expertise opens up lots of possibilities to bring people the best standalone VR.”

Qualcomm didn’t say when the Snapdragon 845 powered HMD would be available to hardware designers, but we get the impression that the big players already have access to the new HMD based on the comments from Google's VP.

Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality Platform

Microsoft jumped into virtual reality last October with the formal launch of its Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which includes the Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) platform. Although Microsoft took its time getting there, the company does see VR as a serious computing revolution, not just an enthusiast fad.

More than 18 months after Oculus and HTC began shipping Rift and Vive headsets (early 2016), Microsoft is playing fast follower and focusing on making easier, more user-friendly solutions. For example, the company invested in creating a reliable inside-out tracking system to eliminate the need for external cameras and reduce setup complexity. Microsoft also wanted its immersive computing platform to support a wide variety of applications and use cases. Today, the Windows Mixed Reality platform supports both augmented reality and virtual reality devices.

Of course, Microsoft had its first kick at the can in 2016 with the HoloLens development kit, an augmented reality device featuring inside-out tracking. The HoloLens is too expensive for regular consumer use, but it's worth noting that the system does support Windows Mixed Reality and UWP apps. Moreover, Microsoft was able to re-purpose the HoloLens tracking technology for its more affordable VR headsets.

Rather than designing a proprietary headset for the Windows Mixed Reality platform, Microsoft partnered with a half-dozen familiar hardware companies to create compatible devices, including Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, and HP. Most of the Windows Mixed Reality headsets were announced the same day as Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, but Acer was the first WMR partner to provide a headset for testing, so that's where we'll start our comparison of how WMR stacks up against the established Rift and Vive.

Beach House

Microsoft calls its sole Windows Mixed Reality environment the Beach House. Eventually, you'll be able to change the default environment, but this is it for now. As with the SteamVR and Oculus Home environments, Beach House is the primary hub from which you can launch apps and games.

Inside the Beach House, you’ll find a handful of rooms that are configurable for different use cases. You start outside on what can be described as the patio. On the ground in front of you, there's a bag with the Windows logo on it. When you select the bag, windows open with quick links that take you to the apps, games, and free content available for Windows Mixed Reality.

On the right-hand side, you’ll find a giant window to access the Microsoft Holograms app, which hosts items for customizing and decorating your virtual space. Some of the Holograms are static objects, such as pictures for the wall and plants for a window sill. Other Holograms are animated, and you can place the holograms anywhere in your Beach House, resized to taste.

Navigation & Locomotion

You move around in the Beach House by teleporting. This involves pressing the thumbstick forward to activate the teleport reticle and using your motion controller to place the reticle on your landing spot. Simply let go of the thumbstick to teleport. You can also change orientation as you teleport by pointing the thumbstick in the direction you'd like to face when you land.

Microsoft’s locomotion mechanics draw from Cloudhead Games’ Blink system. But unlike Blink, Microsoft’s teleport system doesn’t fade the screen as you move. Instead, the field of view shrinks in to help reduce the potential for motion sickness.

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The Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset

Acer's WMR Headset and its controllers come packed in a pair of blue boxes. The headset is wrapped in plastic, and then stuffed between foam padding on either side to keep it snug during shipping. You also receive an owner's guide and a voucher for a free copy of GhostBusters VR.

The headset sticks out from most consumer electronic devices because of its vibrant blue color, which seemed odd at first, but grew on us over time.

Specifications

Up front, you'll find two black-and-white cameras, along with an infrared sensor, both derived from the Microsoft HoloLens headset. The cameras enable inside-out spatial tracking, while the infrared sensor tracks the wand controllers. Those tracking cameras do not facilitate pass-through vision (a live video feed, basically), meaning you can’t use the headset for AR experiences.

Acer's design employs a mechanical head strap system like the one found on Sony’s PlayStation VR. This strap has a moisture-proof padded section for your forehead, and another one for the back of your head. On the strap's back side, you’ll find a blue dial that lets you adjust for different head sizes.

Unlike the PlayStation VR, Acer’s head strap mechanism doesn’t include a release button. We consider this to be a serious oversight. The dial locks in place with a click when you tighten it, and if you turn it too far, force is the only way to unlock the mechanism. We predict this will be a premature wear point that could cause problems down the road.

Fortunately, you don’t need to remove the headset as often as you would with a Rift or Vive. Those devices prevent you from interacting with the real world altogether. But with Acer's WMR HMD, you simply flip the visor up.

Though the flip-up visor is a nice feature, it does introduce some fresh concerns. For instance, because of the hinge system, Acer’s headset doesn’t put any pressure on your cheeks. That sounds like a good thing. But it could also allow light in if you have slim facial features. The hinge is also a potential failure point. So far, ours is holding up well enough. However, the hinge's actuation feels cheap, like something you'd find on a child's toy. We worry it might eventually fail to hold the headset upright.

At least Acer’s headset is a featherweight. HTC’s Vive weighs 563 grams with the standard head strap, and a staggering 812 grams with the Deluxe Audio Strap installed. The Rift is somewhat lighter at 470 grams (with its cable detached). And Acer’s headset is lighter still at 446 grams. The Windows Mixed Reality Headset's cable doesn't disconnect, as it does from the Rift and Vive, so our comparison may not be exact. Still, we're confident that Acer’s headset weighs less than a Rift.

The WMR Headset is also surprisingly compact. Its body measures just 195.8mm wide and 73.9mm tall, whereas Oculus' Rift, which was once the benchmark for compactness, is 171mm wide (216mm with headphones) and 88mm tall. Acer's headset is about as deep as Oculus' Rift, though: it measures 109mm, compared to the Rift’s 102mm depth.

Inside, Acer’s team installs two 2.89” x 2” 1440x1440 LCD panels. Similar to Sony's PSVR, the displays can operate at 60 or 90 Hz to accommodate lower-performance hardware. The headset also includes a proximity sensor that activates the displays when it detects your head.

There are two 50mm round Fresnel lenses in the headset, and they're mounted at a fixed 63mm interpupillary distance. Unlike the Rift and Vive, Acer’s WMR Headset doesn’t offer a mechanical IPD adjustment. Acer instead relies on software-based IPD calibration, allowing an 8mm adjustment range.

When the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive came out, screen door effect was a major concern. Acer’s headset offers a higher resolution than either competing HMD. This helps reduce SDE, but doesn't eliminate it. If you look closely enough, you will see gaps between the sub-pixels.

Subjectively, Acer’s headset provides superior image clarity compared to the Rift and Vive. However, its screens still aren't crisp enough to make small text legible.

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The Acer Mixed Reality Motion Controllers

Acer's controllers ship in a box that doesn't include any padding. Each Windows Mixed Reality wand fits on either side of the box, with a piece of cardboard separating them. Acer tucks AA batteries for each controller (two each) in the packaging, too.

The WMR controllers feature a thumbstick, a trackpad, a trigger button, a grip button, a menu button, and a Windows button on the handle for input. The backside of each handle opens to reveal a slot for the batteries. We noticed that this compartment includes eight pogo-pin contact points, suggesting that it may be possible to install rechargeable packs in the future. A Bluetooth Connect button is also located under the battery compartment cover.

At the top of each controller is a halo ring with 18 white LEDs, which provide reference points for the camera-based tracking system. The controllers include IMU and magnetic sensors as well. These serve as backup for Acer's primary system, keeping the controllers in line whenever they're outside the headset camera's visual range.

Uncomfortable Controller

Acer went with Microsoft’s reference controller design, which offers plenty of input buttons, but lacks ergonomic refinement. Manufacturing quality leaves much to be desired, too. We're left wondering how the controllers made it past the prototype stage in this from.

Microsoft is obviously no stranger to building input devices. It arguably makes the best gamepad money can buy in the Xbox One controller. In fact, we expected Microsoft to equip the WMR controllers with components from its Xbox One parts bin, or at least to leverage its experience in designing comfortable gamepads. This doesn’t seem to be the case.

Instead, we found the WMR controllers surprisingly uncomfortable to use for even moderate lengths of time. The handles are narrow and thin, mostly rectangular, and therefore a poor match for the shape of a hand. The handle's base pushed into our palms when we held on firmly, and our fingers cramped up even with a loose hold on the device. A little more girth in the handle, similar to HTC's controllers, would likely help.

We weren’t impressed with the placement of the buttons, thumbstick, and trackpad. We often had to adjust our grip to reach the various elements. The trigger's position would be fine, except that the controller has a bulge to make space for the trackpad, which affects how you place your finger on the trigger. The trigger has a nice springy feel, but the action is too short and it doesn’t have the smooth click feel you get from an Xbox One gamepad.

The grip button's placement is good. However, you might have a different experience if your fingers are particularly long. Depending on how we held the controller, we could either press the grip button with our fingertip or the middle of our finger. With longer fingers, you may not find a comfortable position at all.

The trackpad and thumbstick are too high on the handle for us to reach comfortably. If we placed our hands where we could reach both the trigger and grip buttons, we couldn’t reach the full trackpad with our thumb, and the thumbstick was just barely within reach. We were able to manipulate the thumbstick from our natural grip position, but couldn’t get our thumb fully over the stick. This removes precision control. The controller's thumbsticks are accurate and smooth, but they lack any form of texture to keep your fingertip planted.

To reach the thumbpad, we had to slide our hand up the handle so far that we could no longer reach the trigger button, forcing us to squeeze that button with the inside of our large knuckle. All factors considered, it becomes quite a nuisance to work with any application that requires trackpad and thumbpad input, such as the Windows Mixed Reality home environment.

We have no qualms with the menu button's placement, but we don't like where Microsoft put its Windows button, which is located exactly where our thumb naturally rests when we hold the controller most comfortably.

Warning: Fragile

The Vive wand and Oculus Touch controller can take a beating, which we know because we've inadvertently slammed them into walls, bookshelves, display cabinets, ceiling fans, and the floor. We’re not convinced that Acer's controllers will stand up to similar abuse, though. Our primary concern is the piece that holds the handle to the tracking halo.

The tracking halo is secured to the handle with a plastic bracket. This bracket is rigid, but the attachment inside the handle is flexible and seems weak. There's enough flex in the attachment that the handle wiggles whenever you place the controllers on a surface halo-side down. We don’t have much confidence that it would survive a good smack against a solid wall.

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System Requirements

When Oculus and Valve launched their VR platforms, both companies emphasized the need for a high-performance host machine to avoid motion sickness. Following years of internal research, Oculus and Valve both concluded that a 90 Hz refresh rate is ideal. Such an aggressive goal requires lot of graphics horsepower. Early on, you needed a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 390 to handle the workload. Oculus and Valve have since introduced technologies like Asynchronous Space Warp, Asynchronous Time Warp, and Asynchronous Reprojection to help compensate for less-powerful graphics subsystems. Nevertheless, you still need a modern gaming PC for comfortable VR.

Microsoft offers two performance tiers for WMR headsets, and these enable different experience levels. Basic Windows Mixed Reality compatibility requires a PC equipped with a sixth- or seventh-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor that includes integrated graphics and at least 8GB of memory, running Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. This base performance tier lets you interact with WMR-compatible UWP apps in the Windows MR home environment and enjoy 360° images/videos. You can even play some games with Intel HD Graphics, including Space Pirate Trainer.

We asked Microsoft how it achieves all of this using decidedly mainstream graphics hardware. The company credits its ownership of the OS and access to the entire pipeline for its ability to optimize performance.

Ultra MR Experience

If you’re serious about using Microsoft’s platform, especially at 90 Hz, you really need a PC that meets or exceeds the Windows Mixed Reality Ultra configuration. Higher refresh rates make it easier to keep the device on your head for extended periods. And of course, the Ultra configuration enables support for more content, particularly modern VR games.

At the very least, you want an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960/GTX 1050 or AMD Radeon RX 460/RX 560 graphics card. But even those boards won't give you access to the full gamut of available content. If you want to play SteamVR games with your Windows MR headset, you need a GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon RX Vega 56. Granted, SteamVR for Windows MR is still in Early Access, so the requirements may change. Just remember that WMR headsets boast a higher resolution than the Vive and Rift HMDs, imposing a more taxing graphics workload.

The standard Windows MR Ultra configuration offers support for a wide range of CPUs, from an Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 on up. Microsoft and Valve won’t cut you off from running SteamVR on one of those mid-range processors. However, both companies suggest a Core i7 for the best possible experience.

Bluetooth Needed

Many PCs meet the requirements for one of Microsoft’s WMR performance tiers. However, most don’t offer native Bluetooth 4.0 support, which is required if you want to use the WMR controllers with your headset.

Use Microsoft’s compatibility tool to check if your system meets the Windows MR requirements. When we ran it on our VR test system, we received a warning that the machine didn't have a Bluetooth controller. We expected that the Acer HMD would have one in it like HTC’s Vive, but alas, that's not the case.

We picked up an inexpensive IOGear USB Bluetooth 4.0 receiver for less than $20, but you shouldn't have to endure such an inconvenience. Take note, Acer: leaving out critical (and inexpensive) components leads to confusion and, ultimately, dissatisfied customers.

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How We (Couldn't) Test The Acer Windows MR HMD

When we received the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset, we hoped to run some benchmarks on it. Previously, we dabbled with Nvidia’s FCAT VR utility, which reports graphics performance using Oculus' Rift and HTC's Vive. Unfortunately, FCAT VR does not support Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform, though. We did reach out to Nvidia regarding WMR testing and were told that FCAT VR wouldn't be updated in time for the launch.

Although we were disappointed by Nvidia’s response, we weren't surprised. It took the company more than one year to develop the first iteration of FCAT VR, and constant runtime updates have necessitated maintenance releases ever since. We have full confidence that Nvidia will eventually add WMR support to FCAT VR, but until then, we're unable to quantify frame rates or dropped frames as we did in FCAT VR: GPU And CPU Performance in Virtual Reality.

As of December 7, 2017, Nvidia pulled the FCAT VR download from its site and left a note stating that a new version would be available soon. If the upcoming build supports Windows MR, you can be sure that we'll test with it.

Display Performance Testing

FCAT VR is a great tool for evaluating the VR graphics pipeline's performance, but a host PC’s ability to deliver high frame rates doesn't matter if the headset's displays can't keep up. Last year, Basemark released a utility that measures how fast an HMD’s display reacts to the signal coming from your computer.

Basemark’s VRScore software pairs with a device called a VRTrek, which features two photodiodes that detect light emitting from your headset’s displays. The software determines the latency between a command's initiation and its execution on the display. In the past, we used VRScore and the VRTrek device to evaluate the performance of Oculus' DK2, Oculus' Rift, HTC's Vive Pre, HTC's Vive, and the OSVR headsets. Unfortunately, we may never be able to run the same test on Windows MR headsets.

Before we received Acer's solution, we checked with Basemark to see if there would be a new version of VRScore with support for Microsoft’s Mixed Reality platform. The company planned to release VRScore 1.1 over the summer, but was forced to delay its release for several months. We still don't know when the new version will be available. But even when Basemark gets 1.1 out the door, it still won't include Windows MR support.

“Regarding Microsoft VR headsets, we had to, unfortunately, cancel the support as nor we or our current partners were able to get enough interest from Microsoft to help us out with the integration,” said Arto Ruotsalainen, Basemark Co-Founder, and CEO. “VRScore PC 1.1 will have updated Oculus, HTC Vive, and OSVR SDKs.”

With that news, our hands are tied. Lacking the tools to test real performance, we can’t verify Microsoft’s claims. Subjective experience is all we can offer at this time. We hope that, eventually, performance analysis won't be as challenging. But until then, we're at the mercy of an emerging market.

Subjective Tests

We tested Acer's Windows MR headset with three different systems. First, we used our primary VR test system, which includes an Intel Core i7-5930K, 16GB of Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-3200, and a Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme. Then we tried the headset with less powerful machines, including a system with an Intel Core i3-4330, 8GB of G.Skill DDR3-1600, and a GeForce GTX 950. Microsoft also made a big deal about Windows MR headsets working with the HD Graphics engines in Intel sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-gen Core processors, so we auditioned an Intel Core i5-6500 and 16GB of Corsair DDR4-3200.

First, we tried Acer's Windows MR headset on our highest-end system. This allowed us to experience what a premium experience should look like. Backed by a powerful host machine, Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform ran well. Its frame rate felt smooth, and the visuals were crisp. Our informal test sequence suffered no perceivable dropped frames, leaving us satisfied.

We did, however, experience frame rate problems when we enabled a preview window to let others see the display output. Microsoft’s spectator view contributes significant load, bringing performance down across the board. When we have access to a version of FCAT VR that works with Windows MR, we’ll quantify the spectator window's true impact.

Next, we moved on to a lower-end Core i3-4330 and GeForce GTX 950. This system exceeds Microsoft’s minimum requirement for Windows MR, but it doesn’t satisfy the baseline for an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset. To our surprise, though, it had no trouble with mixed reality. In fact, we had a hard time discerning between the Core i7- and Core i3-based PCs. We played around in the Beach House, pinned apps on various walls, and jumped between windows to push the hardware as hard as possible. We even fired up Bigscreen, which calls for a Core i5 and GeForce GTX 970 at least, and noticed no performance hitches.

VR Through Integrated Graphics

Finally, we tried Acer's Windows Mixed Reality Headset hooked up to a Core i5 with Intel HD Graphics. Microsoft made a big deal about the Window MR platform’s ability to run well without discrete graphics, and we were skeptical of its ambitions from day one. Nevertheless, we were eager to test the company's claims.

To accommodate the lower performance of an integrated graphics engine, Windows Mixed Reality headsets must operate at two refresh rates. When a discrete GPU is present, they refresh at 90 Hz. Without an add-in card, they run at 60 Hz.

Oculus and Valve put a lot of time and effort into determining what makes VR comfortable, and both companies concluded that 90 frames per second is the sweet spot where most people experience no negative side effects. When the frame rate dips much below that threshold, users start to get sick. Thus, we weren't sure how Microsoft's pursuit of 60 Hz would go, and our real-world experience didn't help. In fact, we don't think 60 Hz should be an option.

Of course, Microsoft’s intent is to make immersive technology accessible to a wider audience, which should drive adoption for MR (and VR) hardware/software. However, if mixed reality leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, you probably won't line up to buy it. And unfortunately, the most accessible configuration for Windows Mixed Reality proves to be incredibly jarring. By now we’re accustomed to VR, and we’re rarely affected by motion sickness. But Windows MR running on integrated graphics ranks among the worst experiences we’ve ever had.

As you might expect, graphics quality in the Beach House is reduced when you don’t have a discrete GPU installed. The environmental details aren't what worry us, though. Performance is the more serious issue. As soon as we turned around for the first time, we wondered what Microsoft was thinking. As we rotated, the scene had trouble keeping up. Intel's HD Graphics engine couldn't even maintain a consistent 60 FPS. The problems worsened when we tried moving around. Pressing the joystick to teleport, we noticed a prominent delay between controller input and on-screen action. There was even lag when we moved our hand to place the teleport reticle in a different place.

The primary purpose of supporting Windows MR headsets on integrated graphics hardware is to make the platform appealing in the business world. This idea falls flat due to the performance implications, though. Sitting in front of a static window works fine. Turn your head to the side to check another screen, though, and the image gets choppy, quickly becoming uncomfortable.

Gaming powered by integrated graphics was the only redeeming experience, ironically enough. i-illusions somehow managed to smooth out the performance of Space Pirate Trainer on the most basic hardware configuration. Of course, all of the advanced graphics details were disabled, but we still had to be impressed by the fluid frame rates. Few games demonstrate this level of refinement, and fewer support the entry-level Windows MR hardware configuration. But if you can find a few gems like Space Pirate Trainer, you could potentially justify using Intel’s HD Graphics as a temporary solution. Still, we do not advocate skipping a dedicated GPU for long-term use.

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Health, Safety & Maintenance

Before using any product, it’s always wise to brush up on the health and safety precautions. Acer’s quick-start guide offers a handful of tips for operating the WMR Headset. Like Oculus and HTC, Acer recommends that you consult a doctor before using the headset if you suffer from conditions that could be triggered by mixed reality. Issues with your heart, trouble with physical tasks, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress are all potential problems. According to Acer, pregnant women and the elderly should also refrain from using its headset.

The guidelines include a healthy dose of common sense, too. Don't use the headset while you're sick, fatigued, or intoxicated because “a comfortable VR experience requires an unimpaired sense of motion and balance.” Don't use the headset with a sharp object in your hand. And always ensure that your play space is clear of trip hazards.

Acer suggests that its Mixed Reality Headset “should not be used by children under 13” because it can’t accommodate their narrower IPDs. The company cautions against prolonged use, and recommends that parents monitor kids over 13 to ensure they take regular breaks.

Maintenance & Care

Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset isn’t covered in sensors like the Vive, and it isn’t dotted with an array of hidden IR lights like the Rift. As a result, the headset itself isn't as fragile as competing HMDs.

You can wipe down the entire device, including the cameras up front, with a damp cloth. Acer doesn’t advise using detergents, and your cloth should not be wet enough to leave drips behind (naturally, moisture is bad for the electronics inside). The instruction guide even suggests that humidity could cause a short circuit, so store the headset somewhere dry.

Acer says the headset's operating temperature ranges from 0-35°C, but recommends avoiding use following a dramatic temperature change. In other words, don’t plug the WMR Headset into a computer right after receiving it.

It’s also important to keep the headset away from dusty and smoky areas. If dust accumulates inside the headset, it could short out. And smoke can cloud the lenses, which may void your warranty.

Acer’s WMR Headset utilizes two moisture-proof cushions that shouldn’t absorb sweat. Wipe them down with a damp cloth or dry towel, but don’t attempt to wash them, and definitely don't use any detergent. The face cushion is removable, so you should be able to find replacements when the stock cushion wears out. But again, don't attempt to wash it because it may deteriorate.

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A Simple Setup Process

Microsoft boasts that it offers the “quickest, easiest setup available” of any desktop VR system, claiming you should have your Windows MR headset up and running in 10 minutes or less. After trying this for ourselves, we agree. The Windows MR setup process is quick and (mostly) painless.

Microsoft’s WMR platform doesn’t require external cameras like the Oculus Rift, and it doesn’t have external base stations like Valve’s SteamVR Tracking technology. Instead, this is the first platform to offer inside-out tracking, which uses embedded cameras to track your surroundings. As a result, there are far fewer steps in the WMR setup process.

First, ensure that your PC is up to date with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. If you don’t already have this build installed, you can manually apply it with Microsoft's Update Assistant.

With Windows fully updated, launch the Mixed Reality Portal. You can open the software manually from the Start menu, or plug in the headset, which launches the software automatically. Click on Get Started, and you’ll receive a prompt to read the terms of service and agree to its stipulations. After pressing “I Agree,” the software runs a compatibility check on your system.

The next step requires a Windows MR headset. If the headset isn’t hooked up yet, you’ll see a prompt to connect it. Windows should detect the HMD and install its drivers automatically. Then click Next to pair the controllers.

To turn on the WMR controllers, press and hold the Windows button for two seconds. The LEDs on each controller’s halo should light up and blink slowly. You should also feel a slight vibration when the controller powers on. Pull the battery cover off and press the Bluetooth pairing button next to the batteries.

If the Bluetooth signal is strong enough, the controller should pair in a couple of seconds. If your computer’s Bluetooth controller shares the antenna from your motherboard’s Wi-Fi connection, make sure the external antenna is installed or you’ll experience tracking problems.

Room-Scale or Seated

Microsoft offers room-scale tracking (the recommended configuration), facilitating seated, standing, and room-scale VR experiences. Like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Microsoft’s room-scale platform employs a boundary system to help keep you within a safe tracking area. If you select the room-scale option, you must clear a space and then trace its area so that your computer understands where your safe zone is located. Rather than tracing with a controller, you carry the headset around to trace this safe zone.

Microsoft indicates that you need at least a 5x7-foot space for room-scale tracking. We’re not sure what the maximum play area is, but our Acer WMR Headset's tether is shorter than the one on our HTC Vive, which means it won't cover as much ground.

Cortana Can Help

Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant is deeply integrated into the Windows Mixed Reality platform. With Cortana, you can use your voice to dictate many tasks within the virtual environment, such as launching and closing applications, moving and resizing windows, adjusting or muting the volume, and taking snapshots or recordings.

To use Cortana, you must have a wired headset attached to the HMD's audio jack. Microsoft does not support Bluetooth headsets in WMR. To activate Cortana, say “Hey Cortana” like you would on your desktop PC or Surface device. For a full list of commands, refer to Microsoft’s support documentation.

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What You Can (And Can’t) Do With Windows Mixed Reality

Microsoft believes that the Windows Mixed Reality platform will attract those who want to bring their working environment into the virtual world. At least initially, though, the company is more focused on gamers. It recently released Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR in Early Access on Steam, which gives WMR headsets access to the vast content library on Valve’s VR platform.

There aren’t many games in the Microsoft Store that support WMR yet. However, after speaking with two of the developers who brought games to the WMR platform, we’re confident that list will grow rapidly.

In particular, Trevor Blom, Vertigo Games’ lead programmer, told us that bringing Skyworld and Arizona Sunshine to Windows MR was almost as easy as checking a box in Unity and compiling a new build. The inputs and functionality of Microsoft’s platform translate well from the Rift and Vive.

Space For Entertainment & Productivity

Inside the Beach House, four loosely segregated sections allow you to set up different work spaces. The one directly ahead as you enter the building is for casual Web surfing. On one wall, you find an Edge browser window. On the other side, there's a bench for sitting as you browse.

To the left of this room is an entertainment room, which has a virtual seating area and a giant display for watching movies. Microsoft configures the theater screen to launch its rental service. Here, you can watch trailers and pay for feature-length films.

We didn’t bother renting any movies, but we did watch a few trailers. The image that Acer’s WMR Headset produces is acceptable for short clips, but we're not sure we'd enjoy it over a couple of hours. Microsoft designed this space to resemble what you'd find in a high-end home theater. It's not as inviting as a real theater, though, mostly because it can't be shared with anyone. You can make the room a bit more interesting by opening the walls to reveal night sky behind the screen.

Again, this experience would be better if it could be shared, and we expect that'll be possible in the future. Microsoft recently acquired AltspaceVR, and it’s not hard to imagine that the company would merge AltspaceVR technology directly into Windows MR to enable group movie nights.

The other side of the Beach House offers two more configurable spaces. A room on the right side of the hallway has a large screen on the wall that opens to the Windows Store games section. Clearly, Microsoft considers this the game room. However, you can use it for any task you'd like. We chose to make it a productivity space. The room on the left side of the hallway features a large window for viewing photos from your image gallery. This room has several bare walls that you can decorate or fill with app windows.

If you’re looking for a less confined workspace, you can also set up shop on the building's roof, which gives you a clear view of the ocean and shoreline.

Limited By Window Placements

We usually work with windows open across multiple monitors, so we attempted to emulate that setup by placing Skype on the left, a browser window on the right, and OneNote in the center. But with three windows active, we started to see a problem. The space around us quickly filled up because we had to place the windows within a foot or two from our face, or the screens had to be rather large so that we could read them.

To counter this, we tried placing windows above and below us in ways that would accommodate a quick glance. This didn’t work well, though, because we couldn’t place the app windows where we wanted. Microsoft doesn’t facilitate fine-tuned control over the angle at which apps appear. The windows instead snap to wall surfaces, which interferes with configuring a perfect 3D workspace.

We wanted to give the Acer WMR Headset and Microsoft's platform a fair chance, so we tried using it to write our review. Typically, that'd involve Microsoft Word. But to our dismay, the company's own Office suite isn't one of the 20,000 UWP apps with Windows MR support. So much for getting your work done in a WMR headset.

We spoke to Microsoft about the lack of Office support and, to our surprise, we learned that it should be working. Microsoft designed Windows MR to support all UWP apps natively, without the need for an update from the developer. Company reps told us that they're aware of a bug in the Windows Store that prevents you from seeing all available apps when you’re in the headset, including those in Microsoft’s Office suite. The company is working on a solution.

Without access to Word, we attempted to write the article in OneNote, which proved futile for such a long story. You could easily take a few short notes, but OneNote just isn't suitable for long-form documents. It is possible to use Google Docs within Windows MR, but you must do that from Microsoft’s Edge browser. There is a UWP Google app that lets you access Gmail, Google Drive, and your Google Calendar, but it doesn’t include access to Google Docs.

Some day, we imagine you'll be able to perform a full day's work within Microsoft's mixed reality environment. Access to more than 20,000 UWP apps in WMR is a good start. But the app selection currently comes up short.

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Conclusion

Microsoft's mixed reality concept sounds good. Who wouldn't want an infinitely customizable workspace where you can place apps wherever they're most convenient to access? You'd think that removing the restriction of a fixed display would be liberating. However, we found that using a 3D environment for 2D tasks was more difficult than a traditional monitor. With just four apps open, we found ourselves surrounded, which made the virtual space feel claustrophobic. When headsets sport resolutions that make small windows practical to read, Microsoft’s virtual environment will likely be much more compelling.

Working in mixed reality isn't terrible, it’s just impractical. The more time we spent in Microsoft's 3D environment, the more we got used to its limitations. However, even as VR veterans, we don’t feel compelled to swap our triple-monitor array for an HMD.

Hardware Conclusions

From a hardware perspective, there’s a lot to like about Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset. In some respects, it’s a better device than the Rift or Vive. Acer’s headset is light, comfortable enough for moderate use, and capable of producing a crisp, clear image. We're also impressed by the inside-out tracking system's fidelity. It's spot-on, and as long as the controllers are in view, they track just as well as the Vive wands or Touch controllers.

However, we’re not impressed with the build quality of critical wear points, such as the visor’s hinge. Its construction seems questionable, and we believe it'll break long before it should. The controllers also have us concerned about their longevity. Let's be honest: when you’re fully immersed in a virtual space, accidents happen. We already see signs of wear with one controller's battery cover. These things just weren't built to last.

We would also have preferred a replaceable cable. We’ve already damaged the cable from one Vive, and our Rift's cable is showing signs of wear. With either of those HMDs, you can order a replacement if the existing cable breaks. Given Acer's design, though, if the cable gets damaged, the whole headset has to go back to Acer for repair.

The shortcomings of Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset would be easier to overlook if the hardware was less expensive. Indeed, when Acer announced its pricing, the WMR Headset seemed like it'd be the most affordable option out there. But Oculus crushed Acer’s advantage days before it started shipping by slashing the price of a Rift with Touch controllers to $400—the same price as Acer’s device.

Bottom Line

If Acer’s headset was $100 cheaper than the Rift, it would be a tremendous value. However, we cannot recommend the WMR Headset over the Oculus Rift at a similar price point. Acer's advantages (a higher display resolution and no external sensors) do not make up for Oculus' superior build quality and bundled content.

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