vive pro 2

The 5K, 120° FoV HTC Vive Pro 2 Starts From £659, Available June

May 11, 2021 by GenVR

It’s the start of ViveCon 2021 and as expected HTC Vive has some big hardware news lined up. With reports initially teasing a possible HTC Vive Pro 2 the keynote today has confirmed its existence as well as plenty of juicy details including price, launch date and some very exciting specifications.

The Vive Pro 2 will be HTC’s new flagship virtual reality (VR) headset. It’s still tethered to a PC but it comes with a range of improvements to enhance your gaming experience. So yes, the Vive Pro 2 is going to be for consumer and enterprise customers alike. Mostly retaining the same shape and style as the original Vive Pro, the 2021 model now comes with a striking Black/Blue design – two colour combos seem to be a new fashion trend.

As for what’s inside, the Vive Pro 2 now boasts a 5K resolution, fast-switching panel with real RGB sub-pixels display delivering 2.5K to both eyes. The refresh rate has been upped to 120Hz for buttery smooth gaming, plus there’s even more to see as a new bespoke dual stacked-lens design provides a 120-degree field-of-view (FoV).

Inter-pupillary distance (IPD) is still manually adjustable to fine increments, the quick-adjustable sizing dial at the back remains, and HTC has ensured the weight balance is evenly distributed so the Vive Pro 2 should be comfortable for longer gameplay sessions. While it supports third-party headphones the Vive Pro 2 comes with its own Hi-Res Audio Certified headphones so you’re ready to go right out of the box.

“At ViveCon we redefined premium VR for both businesses and consumers, with stunning 5K resolution and 120-degree field of view setting a new benchmark for PC VR and all-in-One headsets. Vive Pro 2 delivers an amazing immersive experience, with beautifully fluid visuals, comfort, and precise tracking, for when every pixel and polygon counts,” said Graham Wheeler, HTC VIVE EMEA General Manager in a statement.

The Vive Pro 2 is fully compatible with the SteamVR ecosystem, working with 1.0 and 2.0 Base Stations, Vive Wireless Adapter, Vive controllers, and the Valve Index controllers. Plus, all generations of the Vive Tracker and the new Vive Facial Tracker will work with the headset.

HTC Vive will be selling the Vive Pro 2 in both kit and headset-only forms. If you already have a SteamVR setup and wish to upgrade then pre-orders are going live today, with a special discount promotion during the pre-order period offering the device for £659 GBP/ $749 USD/ €739 EUR. The Vive Pro 2 will officially launch on 3rd June 2021. The full HTC Vive Pro 2 kit will go on sale in August, retailing for £1299 / $1399 / €1399. It’ll include the Vive controllers and Base Station 2.0.

For continued updates from ViveCon 2021, keep reading VRFocus.

Vive Focus 3 and Vive Pro 2 Will Supposedly Be Revealed at ViveCon 2021

May 5, 2021 by GenVR

There’s been a reasonable amount of teasing info released regarding HTC Vive’s plans for its first ViveCon event next week, with it being a given that a new virtual reality (VR) headset will be revealed. However, there have been hints that more than one device will feature, with a new report indicating that HTC plans to unveil Vive Focus 3 and Vive Pro 2 headsets, both firmly geared towards enterprise use cases if the pricing is accurate.

In documents reportedly seen by Protocol, HTC will be announcing the Vive Focus 3 Business Edition, the next iteration of its standalone headset range, and the Vive Pro 2, continuing its line of tethered PC VR headsets. Prices then briefly appeared on an e-commerce website called Alzashop which supposedly listed the Vive Focus 3 Business Edition for €1,474 ($1,771), whilst the Pro 2 retailed for €842 ($1,012). If they’re even remotely accurate then HTC is most definitely looking at the business end of the market.

This would certainly track considering HTC’s recent Twitter teases which said: “Now that the accessories are out of the way, let’s get down to business.” Referring to the recent launch of the new Vive Tracker and Vive Facial Tracker. Plus there’s the little mention on the ViveCon website that it’ll feature “game-changing VR headsets.” While no specifications have been released just yet Protocol does mention that the devices will be available at the end of May.

There’s now less than a week to go until ViveCon 2021 and if you wanted any more confirmation of HTC Vive’s focus towards enterprise use cases then look no further than the event session talks. These are all geared around collaboration, training, health, design, and the arts. The only one even remotely gaming-oriented is location-based entertainment (LBE) so there could be some surprises there.

Plus, if you sign-up for the event you’ll be in with a chance of winning “a next-level Vive VR system” the website proudly mentions, so that’s always a bonus.

ViveCon 2021 runs from 11th May at 5 pm BST until 12 May, with day one focused on the keynote and day two hosting all the developer sessions. For further updates as they come in, keep reading VRFocus.

Report: HTC To Announce Vive Focus 3, Vive Pro 2 At ViveCon

May 5, 2021 by GenVR

According to a report from Protocol, HTC will unveil two new headsets at ViveCon next week – the Vive Focus 3 Business Edition and Vive Pro 2.

Protocol found mentions of both devices in company documents, and reports that both were also briefly listed on Alzashop, a European ecommerce site.

The Vive Focus 3 Business Edition will be a standalone enterprise headset following up the Vive Focus Plus, while the Vive Pro 2 will be a high-end PC VR successor to the original Vive Pro.

According to the Alzashop pages, the Vive Focus 3 Business Edition will retail for €1,474 (approximately $1770) and the Vive Pro 2 for €842 (approximately $1012). Protocol reports that both devices will be available to purchase by the end of the month.

HTC has been teasing hardware announcements for the last few weeks and confirmed it would unveil “game-changing” VR headsets at ViveCon next week, which runs from May 11-12.

Most recently, promotional GIFs gave a look at some of the upcoming hardware, including a view of the front of a headset and its tracking cameras, embedded above.

HTC’s previous comments suggested its standalone headset would not be a Quest competitor. This lines up with the Protocol report, which indicates that the Vive Focus 3 is aimed at an enterprise market and, priced somewhere around $1700, comes nowhere close to the Quest 2’s $299 starting price, and still more than double the $799 starting price of the Quest 2 business edition.

The Vive Pro 2 looks to be a successor to the original Vive Pro, which was mostly discontinued in March 2020, spare for a few Vive Pro Eye models.

Keep an eye out for more information next week at ViveCon – or more leaks before then.