Even though augmented reality is making headlines, with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro and the upcoming Meta Quest 3S, virtual reality remains the best option for a good portion of users, such as gamers and some businesses. And in this sector, the reference remains HTC.
Indeed, this is the same HTC that was once the most popular Android phone brand, and has disappeared without a trace. In fact, HTC still releases mobile phones from time to time, but now the company is focusing on a sector in which it has managed to become a leader, virtual reality. While its big rival, Oculus, was sold to Facebook and is now only trying to realize Mark Zuckeberg’s wishes for the metaverse and augmented reality, HTC preferred to continue betting on virtual reality.
The result of this commitment is the HTC Vive Focus Vision, the brand’s most advanced model of virtual reality glasses. These are the successors to the Vive Focus 3, launched exclusively for businesses, but with modifications to also please the general public.
So these are very versatile and powerful glasses that can be used independently because they have a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 processor inside; In this mode they are similar to Meta Quest, but more powerful and with higher image quality thanks to their resolution of 2448 x 2448 pixels for each eye, with a field of vision of 120 degrees.
But that’s not all. The Vive Focus Vision also can be connected to a computervia USB-C and DisplayPort, to display the games and applications that we have on the PC; such as compatible Steam games or design programs. In this mode, the screen supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz, while in standalone mode it reaches 90 Hz.
Perhaps the most interesting development concerns eye trackingThe glasses are able to detect where we are looking with an accuracy of between 0.5 and 1 degree with a 20-degree field of vision, 120 times per second.
In this way, the glasses can use what is called “foveation”; a technique that devotes more resources to the parts we see directly, instead of spending them on areas that we only see “out of the corner of our eye”. This should result in games and applications that work better or can display better graphics, because they only have to focus on what we are actually looking at.
Likewise, eye tracking support means these glasses can do the same as the Apple Vision Pro: gaze control. It is possible to control the interface and elements of applications simply by looking at them, but HTC specifies that this is a secondary option and not the primary control method, which remains the controls.
An important detail is that, although these glasses are committed to virtual reality, they also allow the use of mixed or augmented reality. Thanks to integrated cameras, they can show our environment and superimposed elements, such as three-dimensional objects or the interface of our programs.
The HTC Vive Focus Vision is available for reservation in Europe at a price of 1,209 dollars; The reservation includes the kit necessary for using the wired glasses, as well as seven gift boxes.
