HTC’s new VR headsets may debut at the ViveCon event on May 11th

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HTC's new VR headsets
Source: theverge.com

HTC has officially announced the dates of the upcoming ViveCon event, which will be happening on May 11 and 12th. There are many expectations about what new gadgets HTC will reveal at the event. Based on the Protocol claims, the company may announce new game-changing VR headsets. HTC’s new VR headsets could be Vive Focus 3 Business Edition and Vive Pro 2 headsets.

These new HTC VR headsets are claimed to designed especially for the enterprise sector. And for people who have signed up for the show, the company shared something interesting through emails to raise their curiosity about these VR headsets. HTC mentioned in the email about the detailing developer sessions and some interesting gifs of the new VR headsets providing different angles.

Currently, HTC has a three-strong line of VR devices. Those mainly aimed at consumers and businesses. With the new HTC VR headsets that will unveiled at the upcoming Vivecon event on May 11, the company plans to expand its range of VR headsets.

However, the Oculus Quest 2 from facebook currently dominates the VR headsets category. In addition to this, Facebook seems to be working towards Oculus Quest 2 Pro. This means HTC’s new VR headsets will be facing some tough competition and they have to pack something unique to even stand with the competition. Moreover, the HTC promotional email gifs reveal different angles and extra details of the new VR headsets.

Here are the details of HTC new VR headsets

The HTC company revealed some GIFs featuring HTC new VR headsets in the emails for users. These GIFs are tightly cropped images that provide a brief glimpse of the unannounced device. It can be the new All-in-one (AIO) headset HTC plans to announce at the ViveCon 2021’s keynote address. Along with this, HTC China President Alvin Wang Graylin previously stated that we will soon launch a new AIO headset in 2021. So what these GIFs showcase, tracking cameras and what looks to be a vent to dissipate heat from the processor.

This GIF does not inform much but it certainly presents a very sleek-looking design, with none of the fabric that appeared on the Vive Air concept. Still, some features are unknown like manual IPD adjustment and built-in audio. However, it does not seem to resemble the Vive Proton headset which the company had revealed as a prototype in early 2020. This indicates that HTC will provide something entirely different in new VR headsets.

Apart from this, we can observe that the new VR headsets have at least four cameras for inside-out tracking. These mounted in a corner arrangement in a similar fashion we have observed on Oculus Quest.

Initially, HTC made its first tease of the new VR headsets around a month ago. Which showed us a glimpse of the corner of a headset and a tracking camera. This teaser image paired with a tweet that mentioned “it was time to get down to business”. Perhaps it implies that the headset will enterprise-focused and not a general consumer VR headset.

These new HTC VR headsets listed on Alzashop, later taken down

In addition to this, The Protocol reports state that both new VR headsets appeared on HTC company documents initially. Also, they briefly listed on the commerce site Alzashop. But later these devices taken down. When they live they described it as the View Focus 3 Business Edition priced at $1771. And the Vive Pro 2 priced at $1012 as per protocol.

However, there is no confirmation of the images company teased, whether they belong to the same device or different devices. But it confirms one thing that new VR headsets from HTC don’t resemble the previous Project Proton shots. In addition to this, the ViveCon website informs “take a front-row seat at the VR event of the year as HTC announces the new game-changing VR headsets. We can expect two new devices, one focusing on enterprise markets and the other for consumers.

Apart from this, the previous HTC Vive has a hard time competing with the other VR headsets in the consumer space. But with its new VR headsets, HTC may show some significant improvements. And may live upto the popularity of the Oculus Quest and Valve Index. As of now, we have to wait till the event to see what HTC brings with its new VR headsets.

Other details

There are still no specific leaks revealing specs or images about HTC’s new VR headsets so far. So we can’t confirm whether the new devices will need a cable or standalone devices. Or else they can be wire-free headsets like Oculus Quest 2.

Recently the Company posted a photo giving us a glimpse of a small part of a black device in a teaser ad for ViveCon. Which reveals that we will be witnessing new hardware. Along with that, a leak from the World Design Guide awards showcased a fitness-focused VR headset called the Vive Air. If rumors are accurate, we can expect that HTC will be launching the Vive Focus 3 Business Edition. And this device will not be cheap, it can be a much more expensive enterprise-level Oculus Quest competitor.

Conclusion

HTC will be launching two new Vive virtual reality headsets on the ViveCon event that will happen on May 11th and 12th, as per Protocol. These new HTC VR headsets can be high-end Vive Pro 2 and Vive Focus 3 Business Edition which is reported to specially designed for the enterprise sector. In addition to this, the company has revealed some interesting GIFs through email for the people who registered for the event. These GIFs feature images from different angles of the new device.