The HTC Vive may be dead, but it looks like the virtual reality headset maker will be back next year.
to me the edge (Opens in a new tab)HTC will unveil its flagship mixed reality headset at CES 2023 on January 5th. Yes, you heard that right – a mixed reality headset. This means that it will compete with the Meta Quest Pro and not the Meta Quest 2. It may eventually be closer than not to the Meta Quest 3 (which is rumored to be getting some augmented reality features to bring it closer to mixed reality) if HTC’s comments are any indication.
In a conversation with The Verge, Shen Ye, HTC’s global chief of product, appears to be preparing a more expensive VR headset for us. “We’re in an era where consumer VR headsets are being heavily subsidized by companies trying to offload and take personal data to provide to advertisers,” he says. “We don’t think the way we want to handle it is to compromise on privacy.” This is clearly a reference to the Quest 2 and indicates HTC has no plans to compete with the entry-level headset — at least not with this one.
Alternatively, it looks like the Quest Pro could be a closer competitor, though we think HTC’s new headset isn’t likely to match the Quest Pro’s $1,499 price tag. Ye’s comments on the device’s unnamed feature certainly sound familiar when compared to the Quest Pro.
HTC VR headset: specifications and features
HTC’s unnamed headset will be an all-in-one headset like the Meta Quest set, rather than a restrictive device like the PlayStation VR2. Since the target is a mixed reality headset, this makes sense, since tethering doesn’t make for a good augmented reality experience.
Ye promises a device that can be used for “gaming, entertainment, exercise, and even “some more powerful use cases,” including work and productivity tools.” It will have a depth sensor, something the Meta Quest Pro hasn’t been able to provide, and the outward-facing cameras will allow full color AR passthrough. These cameras will be facing forward and sideways. The headset is said to have up to two hours of battery life and “supports controllers with six degrees of freedom as well as hand tracking.”
The use of the word “support” is interesting, as it indicates that more than one console will be compatible with the new device. We imagine the supported controllers are all made by HTC, but like many other details — like the inclusion of eye tracking — we’ll have to wait for CES.
If you don’t want to wait, you can always grab a Meta Quest 2 – or pre-order a PS VR2. The Quest 2 remains our best VR headset, and the PS VR2 could be the future of gaming; Although you will need a PlayStation 5 to use it.
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