A premium VR headset with common efficiency

Let’s get this straight up entrance: The Vive Focus Imaginative and prescient is not a competitor to the Meta Quest 3, or the lately launched Quest 3S. At $999, how may or not it’s? As a substitute, it is one other stab on the high-end VR marketplace for HTC Vive, an viewers it is cultivated for the reason that launch of the primary Vive headset in 2016. Whereas Meta has leaned extra in the direction of cheaper and extra mainstream VR headsets during the last decade, HTC Vive has carried out virtually the alternative, aiming for VR gearheads and enterprise prospects with PC headsets just like the Vive Professional 2 and feature-rich standalone fashions just like the Focus 3.

You may consider the Vive Focus Imaginative and prescient as a cross between the Focus 3 and final 12 months’s goggle-like XR Elite. It is a standalone headset with two 16MP coloration cameras for blended actuality, built-in eye monitoring and computerized interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment. It may be interesting to PC avid gamers with its $149 DisplayPort wired streaming package, which provides you an uncompressed view of high-end VR experiences like Half-Life: Alyx.

{Hardware}: An growing old CPU

As intriguing as its new options are, although, the extra I examined the Focus Imaginative and prescient, the extra it felt like a missed alternative for HTC’s Vive VR platform. For one, it is operating the identical Snapdragon XR2 chip because the Focus 3 and Quest 2. That chip initially debuted in 2020, and it merely appears inexcusable in a high-end headset at the moment. Each the $300 Quest 3S and $500 Quest 3 sport the XR2 Gen 2 processor, which is 2.5 instances sooner than the unique chip and in addition has as much as eight instances sooner AI processing. For a high-end headset on the tail-end of 2024, I’d have anticipated HTC to a minimum of match the ability of far cheaper opponents, or – even higher – to incorporate Qualcomm’s newer XR2+ Gen 2 chip.

The Focus Imaginative and prescient can be nonetheless utilizing older Fresnel lens optics, that are vulnerable to artifacts and lightweight bleeding, as an alternative of the sharper pancake lenses within the Quest 3. At the very least HTC shoved in 12GB of RAM this time round, in comparison with the 8GB discovered on the Focus 3 and Quest 3. And the corporate nonetheless has a decision benefit over the Quest 3: The Focus Imaginative and prescient delivers 2,448 by 2,448 pixels per eye, in comparison with Meta’s 2,064 by 2,208 pixels per eye. HTC Vive’s 120-degree discipline of view additionally delivers a higher sense of immersion than the 110-degree FOV within the Quest 3.

The Focus Imaginative and prescient shines greatest with regards to total construct high quality and luxury. Although it is made from plastic just like the Quest 3, it is a sturdy gadget that clearly seems extra high-end than Meta’s choices. Ample cushioning helps the Focus Imaginative and prescient relaxation comfortably in your brow and behind your noggin. And its halo-like head strap, along with the flexibility to flip up the visor, makes it simple to slide on over massive glasses.

Better of all, the Focus Imaginative and prescient contains a detachable battery behind its headstrap. That gives a useful counterweight to the cumbersome front-end, and it may conceivably allow you to keep in wi-fi VR all day when you’ve bought sufficient spare batteries. The headset additionally has a small built-in battery, which lets you keep in your VR session even once you’re swapping out the bigger rear energy cell. That is the type of factor we’ll in all probability by no means see in a shopper Quest headset, because it’s just too costly to implement, and Meta is not constructing for enterprise prospects who demand steady wi-fi. (And to be truthful, it is also simple to simply plug the Quest 3 right into a USB battery pack.)

In use

Utilizing the Focus Imaginative and prescient would not really feel a lot completely different than the Focus — a headset I preferred after I reviewed in 2021, however as a business-focused gadget I warned that no shopper ought to truly purchase it. That is not too stunning, I suppose, since each headsets share the identical fundamental design, shows and CPU. In standalone VR mode, enjoying the Maestro demo genuinely made me really feel like I used to be conducting an orchestra (an expertise I additionally had on the Quest 3S), and I loved hopping round a couple of digital worlds in VR Chat.

Different experiences, just like the basic underwater VR brief theBlu, felt simply as immersive as they did on clunkier tethered headsets. Whereas I may inform the Focus Imaginative and prescient did not have the most effective lenses round, and I wanted it had extra graphical horsepower, it nonetheless delivered a thrill as I stood in the midst of a sunken shipwreck, ready for an infinite blue whale to go by. It was additionally good to see the Vive app storefront a bit extra populated than it was in 2021. Nonetheless, it pales compared to Meta’s Quest library, which has much more titles and loads of compelling exclusives (together with Star Wars titles just like the Vader Immortal sequence and Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge).

We already knew that HTC Vive may construct a good headset – the Focus Imaginative and prescient’s controllers and audio system are simply as succesful as they have been on the earlier mannequin – however what concerning the Focus Imaginative and prescient’s new options, like blended actuality and eye monitoring? Sadly, there’s not a lot to say simply but. There are a handful of blended actuality experiences obtainable, just like the creation app Figmin XR and the shooter Yuki, however they are not precisely thoughts blowing. The Focus Imaginative and prescient’s 16MP blended actuality cameras ship a fuzzy view of the true world (just like the Quest 3 and 3S), so it isn’t almost as immersive as one thing just like the far pricier Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional.

The Focus Imaginative and prescient’s eye monitoring characteristic additionally refused to work for me totally, even after I attempted to calibrate it with out glasses a number of instances. That didn’t seem to be an enormous loss although, as there are solely a handful of video games within the Vive retailer that assist it (like Capsule Critters and Mare). It is a characteristic that appears extra helpful for builders who wish to construct their very own eye monitoring experiences, than it’s for individuals who simply wish to play video games with eye monitoring.

Stable stand-alone VR

A greater promoting level for the Focus Imaginative and prescient is its means to stream uncompressed desktop VR experiences — however solely once you put money into the $149 DisplayPort streaming package. Whereas Meta’s Quest’s headsets have been in a position to hook up with PCs for years, first through USB-C cables then wirelessly, additionally they ship a closely compressed view of desktop VR. By going straight to the DisplayPort connection in your video card, HTC Vive goals to ship one thing nearer to what we noticed with the Vive Professional 2 and different devoted PC headsets.

After enjoying half an hour of Half-Life: Alyx, I can affirm that the Focus Imaginative and prescient delivers a strong desktop VR expertise, particularly for a standalone headset. However on condition that it already prices $999 and requires a further $149 accent to get there, it is laborious to inform who will discover this compelling. True VR heads have doubtless already invested in severe desktop setups just like the Valve Index, or the current Bigscreen Past (which makes use of absurdly clear microLED screens just like the Imaginative and prescient Professional).

The fantastic thing about connecting standalone headsets to PCs has at all times been about worth. It was an enormous bonus when the $300 Quest 2 may ship satisfactory desktop VR. However that simply is not the case for the Focus Imaginative and prescient. I suppose when you’re a developer who needs a single gadget for testing each standalone VR and complicated desktop experiences, or working for a enterprise that wants multi-use VR headsets, the Focus Imaginative and prescient may fill some type of want. However both means, that looks as if a reasonably area of interest use case.

The Focus Imaginative and prescient’s auto-IPD adjustment, which scans your eyes and bodily strikes the lenses to be within the preferrred place, was additionally hit-or-miss for me. Generally it labored simply positive and landed close to my prescribed IPD of 66. However typically the automated course of would land on an IPD of round 72, which made every little thing look a bit blurry. And sometimes the characteristic simply wouldn’t work in any respect. Auto adjustment is useful when you’re sharing a headset with different individuals, however in any other case manually selecting your most popular IPD is way extra helpful.

Throughout my typical standalone utilization, the Focus Imaginative and prescient lasted for round one hour and 45 minutes, near the two-hour estimate from HTC Vive. That’s lower than what I usually see on the Quest 3 and 3S, however a minimum of you should buy extra batteries and simply swap them. The built-in battery, which permits sizzling swapping, lasts for about twenty minutes, nevertheless it’s additionally not one thing you’ll usually be stressing.

Do you have to purchase the Vive Focus Imaginative and prescient?

Regardless of my points, the Focus Imaginative and prescient nonetheless sits in an fascinating place on the planet of VR – particularly since Meta gave up on the Quest Professional, which might have been an in depth competitor. It nonetheless delivers respectable standalone VR, regardless of utilizing an growing old CPU and lenses. And when you don’t need the muddle of SteamVR sensors in your workplace, it’s a sensible technique to faucet into highly effective PCs for extra immersive VR experiences (as long as you purchase the $149 DisplayPort package). However for a $999 headset, it’s a disgrace HTC Vive didn’t strive more durable to make the Focus Imaginative and prescient stand out.