While HTC hasn’t gone in-depth into revealing the features of its new VR headset, the company has revealed that it will make use of cameras on the outer shell of the headset for purposes of tracking and mixed-reality experiences.

HTC global head of product Shen Ye has also revealed that the new headset won’t be as competitively priced as the Meta Quest 2.

We’re in an era when consumer VR headsets have been massively subsidized by companies that are trying to vacuum up and take personal data to provide to advertisers,” Ye said to The Verge. “We don’t believe the way that we want to approach it is to compromise on privacy.”

HTC’s last major VR headset, the HTC Vive Cosmos Elite, was released back in 2020.

While the technology is not quite there yet to break into the mainstream in a major way, virtual reality is still an ongoing project. Several companies have thrown their hat in the ring, hoping to get a part of what will eventually be a pretty good size pie. One of those is HTC and Valve, whose Vive brand has been a constant presence in the VR market. Now a new, slick headset is hitting stores to give VR players more options.

The HTC Vive Cosmos will release in October with a price point of $699.99 USD. The Cosmos is a streamlined take on the hardware that does not require external sensors and fully tracks motion controls. You can check out the video below for more details, and you can check out the specs below.

You can preorder the headset through here, and those that do will get a 12-month Viveport Infinity subscription bundled in. You will also need a computer with the ability to run the headset.

• Resolution: 1440 x 1700 pixels per eye (2880 x 1700 pixels combined)
• Screen: Dual 3.4″ LCD diagonal
• Refresh rate: 90 Hz
• Field of view: 110 degrees
• Audio: Built-in stereo headphones
• Required PC connectivity: USB 3.0, DisplayPort™ 1.2
• Peripheral Ports: USB-C 3.0, proprietary connection to mods
• Tracking: no minimum space requirements for standing/seated, minimum 2m x 1.5m for room-scale mode
• Module Faceplates: Vive Motion Mod (Ships with Cosmos) and Vive Cosmos External Tracking Mod (Sold separately)
• Vive Wireless Adapter support: Yes, sold separately with attaching kit. Available PCIe slot required

While HTC has announced that it is going to be putting more of an effort behind the HTC Vive thanks to Vive Studios, the company has no plans to show off a second generation of the VR device. This is despite rumors which had begun to run rampant that the company was planning on unveiling the Vive 2 at this month’s CES.

Rumors of the Vive 2 were circulated around but eventually the company spoke to Uploadvr and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the Vive 2 isn’t coming anytime soon. “There is no truth to the rumor of launching Vive 2 at CES 2017. At Vive, we are laser focused on building out a strong and growing ecosystem for current and future Vive owners so they can experience the best room-scale VR with the most compelling content available.”

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below and stay tuned for more on Vive in the future.

HTC have announced VIVE Studios, a new initiative that will see them developing and publishing games for the HTC Vive VR headset internally. According to the company, the ijntent is to basically have a first party publishing and developing model like what consoles have.

“Vive Studios is actively creating content across key categories for VR including games, education, cinematic, design, social, real-estate and sports, as well as tools and applications that can revolutionize areas such as media, retail, healthcare and location-based entertainment centres and arcades,” HTC said.

The program will be not dissimilar to the one that Oculus has- but HTC seems to be adamant that they will not be paying for exclusive content like Oculus does, a move that has alienated a lot of customers and VR enthusiasts.

“Each piece of content will be released where it makes the most sense,” HTC said in response to that query, adding that they believe “content should be open and go wherever consumers want to access it.”

Hopefully, they hold true to that. The HTC Vive is available to purchase in the market right now. Though the most expensive VR solution, it is also undoubtedly the most capable one, and arguably more than justifies the cost.

There are so many virtual reality headsets coming to the market all at once this year- we have Oculus launching the Oculus Rift and Sony launching the PlayStation VR. Even Samsung is getting in on the action with Gear VR, while Microsoft is experimenting with AR with HoloLens. Google, meanwhile, has Google Cardboard, and Apple is reportedly working on an Apple VR solution too.

However, the VR solution to rule them all is the one that HTC and Valve worked on together- the HTC Vive. That is according to Valve’s head Gabe Newell, anyway.

“Our collaboration with HTC and the VR development community has allowed us to create the most compelling and complete VR solution,” he said. “In the coming weeks, many of these developers will launch an incredible first generation of VR titles to consumers around the world.

It appears as though he may actually be right- though of course, the ‘most compelling and complete’ VR solution comes at a hefty cost of $800, which is bound to turn a whole lot of potential customers away.

Whatever the case may be, for VR enthusiasts, it seems as though exciting times are ahead.

All aboard the VR train – after the announcement that pre-orders for HTC Vive, the VR headset from Valve and HTC, would open on February 29th, CNET has since reported from the Mobile World Congress that it will retail for $600.

HTC Vive Consumer Edition will include two wireless controllers, two “base stations”, a link box for connecting with your PC, two free games (Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption), earbuds and of course the headset.

HTC virtual reality VP Dan O’Brien stated that “There is nothing else that can do what the Vive does. It’s more compelling than buying things piecemeal.”

On the other hand is Oculus Rift which is releasing by March end and retailing for $600. In comparison, Rift only comes with the headset, a remote control and an Xbox One controller. What are your thoughts on the pricing for HTC Vive and what the package offers? Let us know in the comments.

The Consumer Electronics Show 2016 has already kicked off; as the first major event of the year, technology enthusiasts the world over are anticipating major announcements at the event. For video games fans, Valve’s confirmed presence at the show was an exciting prospect- would we be getting new game announcements from them? Perhaps something exclusive to Steam Machines, or something for their upcoming VR headset?

It turns out no, we won’t. Valve has confirmed that its focus will be solely on hardware at the show- mostly on the upcoming HTC Vive VR headset, as a matter of fact.

The company’s Chet Faliszek stated much on Twitter. “So there is no confusion,” he said, “CES is a hardware/technology show where we will be talking about and showing hardware – VR hardware with HTC…”

“Last year at CES we were just quietly meeting with people and checking things out while we kept our secret. This one will be a bit different,” he continued. Responding to fan questions about Valve’s slate of announcements in 2016, he noted: “Less hype train in my mind – more just all of this becoming real. This year is just starting – pace yourself.”

Of course, VR is an exciting prospect anyway, and Valve and HTC’s Vive looks to be one of the most intriguing ones, so I’m not sure a whole lot of players will be complaining about this anyway.

Less than two weeks ago, HTC and Valve revealed that the VR headset HTC Vive would be delayed into 2016. In a recent report by Engadget at Vive Unbound, HTC CEO Cher Wang revealed the reason for the same – the company apparently made a “very, very big technological breakthrough” with regards to Vive.

This breakthrough is slated to be show at CES 2016 in January and though it meant a delay from the original release date, it was significant enough to allow the development team to take the time to properly implement it. Wang stated that, “We shouldn’t make our users swap their systems later just so we could meet the December shipping date.”

The Consumer Electronics Show or CES 2016 takes place on January 6th to 9th in 2016 and it should be interesting to see what new breakthrough that HTC have made to their VR headset. How will it compete with the likes of PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift? We’ll find out in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

Vive, the virtual reality headset created in collaboration between Valve and HTC, will be releasing in April 2016. This is opposed to the limited launch that was projected for December 2015.

Through its official blog, HTC stated that, “We remain committed to delivering the HTC Vive to a broader group of content creators and partners, and remain focused on delivering the very best experience possible for a consumer release.

“Since announcing the HTC Vive in March of this year we have focused on developing immersive content, refining both hardware design and user experience, and building relationships with new partners both inside and outside of the gaming industry. In collaboration with Valve, we have been distributing the HTC Vive Developer Kits to developers and content creators, and are continuing to work with many other innovative companies to create content that spans gaming, entertainment, medical, education and retail.

“This includes hosting a developer conference in Beijing on December 18th, launching the second generation of the HTC Vive Developer Kit at CES and engaging audiences at key events including The Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, GDC and MWC while expanding our demo tours.”

Though the VR headset will be out on a commercial basis in April 2016, developers can still expect some early units. “We will be starting the new year by making an additional 7,000 units available to developers, followed by commercial availability in April 2016. We are incredibly excited about the future and look forward to sharing more information as we move forward towards launch.”

It should be interesting to see how this pans out especially if Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR plan to release around the same time. Stay tuned for more information and let us know what you think of the delay.

HTC and Valve didn’t offer much more additional information for their upcoming virtual headset Vive after announcing it earlier this year but the plan was to launch it by 2015 end. Plans can and do change though as Valve has announced that VR headset will officially launch in 2016.

The exceptions are community and developer systems who will still receive their units this year. In a press release (as revealed by The Verge), Valve stated that, “HTC will offer the first commercial Vive units via a limited quantity of community and developer systems later this year, with larger quantities shipping in calendar Q1 2016.”

Vive will have some competition in the form of Oculus Rift which is also releasing in commercial form in Q1 2016. It will be interesting to see which device fares better especially given Oculus’s backing by Facebook and its increased exposure till now.

What are your thoughts on purchasing Vive in Q1 2016? Let us know in the comments.