HTC’s new Vive Focus Plus VR headset will cost $ …

HTC has announced that the Vive Focus Plus, a new virtual reality headset that was introduced last month, will launch on April 15 for $ 799. The Vive Focus Plus is a self-contained headset with full-tracking motion controllers, following the steps from HTC’s Vive Focus, which launched with similar specs but more limited tracking options. It’s slightly similar to the upcoming Oculus Quest, but instead of targeting a massive gaming audience, HTC designed the Vive Focus Plus for business customers.

HTC will allow visitors to its Vive Ecosystem Conference to try out 15 different applications for Vive Focus Plus, including at least one game: a “Paintball VR” experience where the headset is paired with a haptic vest. But he describes the system as something for business users, who will be able to buy it in 25 markets with support for 19 languages.

The Vive Focus Plus, like the original Vive Focus, is based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor. Its display offers 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye, on par with the Oculus Quest and other newer headsets, though it’s more modest than something like the high-resolution HP Reverb. Vive Focus and Focus Plus use built-in cameras for inside-out tracking, so there are no cables or external cameras. We didn’t have a good experience with the Vive Focus Plus tracking system, which was unstable and unreliable during a demo, but could have been the result of testing the headphones at a crowded trade show.

The original Focus shipped with a remote style controller with a small range of motion. The Focus Plus comes with a couple of controllers that are tracked through the internal cameras, once again similar to the Oculus search. Those drivers add a bit to the original price of $ 599, which already costs more than many consumer headphones. (The Oculus Quest, for example, will cost $ 399.) But HTC’s focus on making VR work for businesses could help sell prospective users with the headset. And we’re still waiting for HTC to offer more details on other headphones: the somewhat mysterious Vive Cosmos.