After numerous leaks, HTC finally launched their newest standalone VR headset, HTC Vive Flow. According to the company, the headset is made primarily for media consumption and casual gaming. Unfortunately, it will come with no controllers and will have to be controlled using our smartphones. The headset is priced at $499, making it more expensive than its competitor Oculus Quest 2.
HTC Vive Flow features and specs
HTC Vive Flow will launch in November and come with about 100 apps. Those who preorder it will get seven free VR content and a carrying case, making it very portable. They will also get 2-months of Infinity Viveport Infinity. The headset can also mirror Android apps as well as run standalone applications from HTC’s Viveport app store.
As for the specs, HTC Vive Flow weighs about 189g making it very lightweight. The display is a 3.2K resolution LCD (1600 x1600 per eye) with a refresh rate of 75 Hz and a FOV of 100 degrees, not the greatest in terms of VR headsets. However, there’s good news for people with prescription lenses: Vive Flow will come with adjustable diopter lenses supporting up to -6.0D focusing power.
Unfortunately, the Vive Flow uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR1 and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This is not as powerful as the Oculus Quest 2’s XR2 despite being more costly. As for the sound, the headset uses a spatial audio speaker near the ears, similar to what Oculus uses in its headsets.
The HTC Vive Flow is powered through an external power source via a cable which can be either connected to your phone or a battery case. The device does have an onboard battery but it only lasts a few minutes. The headset supports 6DOF head-tracking and can be paired with an Android phone to be used as a 3DOF controller.
There are two front cameras that allow users to see their environment without taking off the headset. Cameras like these can be used for hand tracking but according to the developers, tracking won’t be supported at launch but will be added in a future update.
HTC Viveverse
According to some leaks, HTC is also working on a metaverse service called Viveport Verse. According to the service’s website, it is a place to meet people, explore events (virtual tourism/exhibitions/sports events/festivals), explore user-generated content, and an NFT marketplace.
The service will be available across other platforms such as desktops, laptops, mobile devices, tablets, and VR headsets. People will be able to interact with each other using avatars similar to VR chat.
