HTC has released a YouTube video that hints at the impending release of a ‘game-changing’ Vive headset.
The Taiwanese consumer electronics company ‘HTC’ posted the video titled ‘HTC VIVE: A Vision for You’ on its company YouTube channel, with what appears to be a silhouette of a new headset at the end of the video.
It is likely that the headset will support virtual reality experiences, as well as contain the latest Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset.
The company wrote the following description to accompany the video: “Dedicated people have always found ways to break down barriers and redefine the human experience.
“Through extended reality, we set out to do the same. Yet everything you’ve seen has only been the start of something greater.
“Keep your eyes open — what’s coming next will change the game for good.”
What Can We Expect?
At the beginning of this year, the US wireless technology provider Qualcomm, announced that it will be providing five companies with its new Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset, including HTC.
It will also reportedly be integrated into Samsung and Sony headsets, Play for Dream MR, and Immersed’s Visor.
The XR2+ Gen 2 is an improvement on the XR2 Gen 2 that was used in the Meta Quest 3.
So far HTC has introduced a number of VR headsets, beginning with its first HTC Vive headset in 2016, with room-scale positional tracking and tracked controllers.
Following the success of this headset, which represented about two thirds of SteamVR users, HTC released its high-end VR headsets, Vive Pro and Vive Cosmos, although these were nowhere near as popular as its original headset. Still today, HTC headsets account for under seven percent of SteamVR headsets.
HTC launched the Vive Focus 3 in 2021, which has better resolution quality than the Quest 3 despite using the old XR2 chipset.
At the consumer electronics show (CES) in January last year, HTV VIVE debuted its XR Elite, a lightweight reality (MR) headset designed to rival the Meta Quest.
The device directly compares to the Meta Quest Pro’s popular mobility characteristics and boosts similar MR passthrough features, which Meta advertised when the firm announced the Quest Pro during Connect 2022.
Looking at the past, the mystery headset could either be a continuation of the Vive Focus 4, a Vive XR Elite 2, or perhaps an entirely new product line.
Within the video itself, HTC gave little away when it came to features and capabilities of the upcoming Vive headset, focussing mainly on some of its recent successes within the world of VR: “Innovation drives us forward. It reveals the many wonders of our universe and helps us preserve our connects, our environment, our culture.
“That’s why HTC 5 forges ahead to create new possibilities; enabling astronauts to overcome the challenges of outer space, empowering scientist to find the solutions to find and control diseases, equipping artists with tools to bring their visions to life, connecting organisations with AI in immersive ways, and allowing students to deepen their understanding of our world.
“Soon our innovation will offer you a new kind of power. Prepare to pioneer the next reality.”
Watch this space to find out more about what exactly HTC’s new headset will entail.
This month has also seen reports that a Meta Quest 4 headset could be launching in 2026, as well as a Meta competitor to the Vision Pro in 2027.
