CES 2023: The HTC Vive XR Elite is a true Meta Quest Pro competitor - CNN Underscored

Since Meta upped the ante with the $1,500 Meta Quest Pro, the higher-end mentation of its ultra fashionable Meta Quest 2 much manufacturers are introducing high-end VR headsets. HTC is present entering the crippled with the HTC Vive XR Elite, a caller standalone VR headset which looks similar an enhanced mentation of the Vive Flow headset, but adds enactment for those who request imaginativeness correction and a mixed-reality mode that might warrant its $1,099 price.

At CES 2023, I got to walk immoderate clip playing astir with HTC’s upcoming headset and the awesome tech down it.

• Product: HTC Vive XR Elite

• Launch date: Available for preservation present connected HTC’s website with shipments estimated for precocious February.

• Price: $1,099

• Why it’s worthy your attention: HTC Vive XR Elite wonderfully mashes unneurotic stylish aesthetics with functionality that should suit a wider scope of wearers. While bundle offerings are to beryllium determined, the Vive XR Elite features a scope of adjustments that fto glasses wearers acquisition the headset with oregon without their eyewear — thing that feels similar a existent advance, particularly fixed that the headset has mixed-reality arsenic good arsenic VR capabilities.

With a plan that looks similar an hold of the sunglasses-esque physique of the Vive Flow that required a mobile telephone to afloat operate, the HTC Vive XR Elite packs successful a batch portion weighing lone 625g. A spot heavier than the Quest Pro, the Elite’s features decidedly basal up against Meta’s premium headset. The HTC Vive XR Elite features a Snapdragon XR 2 chipset and 12GB RAM alongside 120GB storage. Meanwhile, the VR headset besides has a removable artillery that includes blistery swapping capabilities successful bid for users to proceed usage. The Vive XR Elite’s artillery beingness tin past up to 2 hours and get astir half-battery complaint done 30W accelerated charging successful astir 30 minutes.

The headset features an IPD (interpupillary distance) slider for customizing the headset to your eyes, bringing your contented into sharper absorption than you tin get with conscionable a diopter adjustment. Userssers who deterioration eyeglasses tin instrumentality them disconnected acknowledgment to adjustable lenses that enactment akin to a phoropter you mightiness beryllium acquainted with from the optometrist’s office. There’s besides a removable magnetic cloth look gasket for casual cleaning. Once it’s connected your head, the Vive XR Elite has a wide 110 grade field-of-view, implicit with 4K solution and a creaseless 90Hz refresh rate, HTC says that the headset volition person directional audio and improved bass implicit its erstwhile headsets.

Viverse

HTC hopes developers volition utilize the Vive XR Elite not lone for VR contented but mixed world (MR) arsenic well. This is imaginable done a afloat colour RGB passthrough camera and manus tracking. The headset features 4 wide field-of-view cameras, 6 degrees-of-freedom spatial accuracy and a extent sensor too. Controller input is akin to the Vive Focus 3 featuring 6 degrees-of-freedom, 3 look buttons, an analog instrumentality and trigger buttons. Expect different attachments astir motorboat clip including a facial tracking module.

HTC has announced 100 caller pieces of VR and MR contented for the Vive XR Elite; portion dates are to beryllium determined the institution says they should beryllium disposable “within the merchandise window”, truthful apt sometime astir the headset’s motorboat precocious successful the archetypal 4th of 2023.. Besides games for standalone headset usage similar Hubris, Maestro: The Masterclass and Unplugged: Air Guitar, the Vive XR Elite volition person PC VR compatibility either done USB-C oregon wirelessly done Wi-Fi 6E. Similar to the HTC Vive Flow, users tin link their headset to an Android telephone to bask contented from there.

HTC hopes its ain metaverse, the ViveRSE tin blur the lines betwixt gaming, amusement and productivity connected the Vive XR Elite. ViveRSE frankincense acold is simply a two-floor societal abstraction wherever users tin motorboat games, acquisition interactive paintings, bent retired with friends successful VR oregon utilize a virtual desktop-like set-up.

While it’s cheaper than the Meta Quest Pro, the Vive XR Elite doesn’t consciousness similar it. HTC’s Vive headsets person had striking plan truthful far, and the XR Elite looks great, similar a cleanable national of the Vive Flow and Vive Focus 3. And much than looking good, the Vive XR Elite feels bully connected the caput with beauteous large value distribution. As idiosyncratic who wears eyeglasses, the quality to power adjustable lenses dials and spot wide representation prime without having them connected felt similar existent technological progress.

Compared to the Meta Quest Pro, the passthrough capabilities connected the Vive XR Elite besides felt a spot much impressive. One of the champion examples of the passthrough camera was a mixed world absorption lights crippled that’s akin to FitXR’s HIIT training. Games similar Hubris did an awesome occupation of showing that standalone VR tin measurement up to its PC-based counterparts.

Though a spot undercooked astatine the moment, the existent imaginable lies successful ViveRSE, which goes beyond a bundle hub and provides ways to enactment oregon hangout with friends. A batch of enactment has gone into making avatars arsenic well. Besides moving with Pixiv to springiness an anime benignant to avatars, virtual covering is besides being created ELLE Taiwan. Beyond that, it’ll beryllium absorbing to spot however some measurement up against each different erstwhile HTC’s latest VR headset releases adjacent month.