HTC has announced a new VR headset today, The Vive Flow is its first VR headset this year that is targeted at consumers and not enterprise users. The new headset also has a unique design that makes it look like oversized goggles.
The Vive Flow is priced at $499 which is pretty steep when compared to standalone VR headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2 which has a $300 price tag.
HTC focused on comfort when designing the Vive Flow. It is designed to be worn like a pair of glasses rather than strapped on like a lot of other headsets. It has also made it light, weighs 189 grams, by not putting a battery inside it. Actually, there is a battery but a very mall one to keep it powered for a few minutes while switching power sources. The headset has a USB-C connector that allows users to plug it into an external power source such as a portable battery pack or a phone with support for reverse charging.
The Vive Flow has two 2.1-inch LCD displays with a resolution of 1600 x 1600 per eye. It has a refresh rate of 75Hz and a 100° field of view. It is also fitted with 2 cameras for inside-out headset six degrees of freedom tracking and has support for video pass-through so the user can be aware of their environment. It has two diopter dials for adjusting the focus for each lens.
There is a Qualcomm XR1 chip powering it along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of non-expandable storage. It also has stereo speakers with spatial audio support and dual microphones with echo and noise cancellation. HTC says users can connect their Bluetooth headphones to the Vive Flow too.
The headset doesn’t have its own controllers but owners can use their connected phone as a controller. To use the Vive Flow, owners have to sign into or create an account on the Vive platform on their phones. Then connect their headset to their phone via Bluetooth and then connect to a 5GHz Wi-Fi network. HTC has revealed that the device will launch with 100 apps and support 150 by the end of the year. Owners will also be able to cast their phone to the headset via Miracast and even watch content from their favorite streaming apps.
At the moment, the Vive Flow is only compatible with Android devices running Android 9.0 Pie and above. There is a tool on the Vive website to see if your device is compatible. It is already available for pre-order on the manufacturer’s website.
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