HTC lines up Vive Focus as an Oculus Go rival

The HTC Vive Focus is currently only available in China. — AFP Relaxnews

The new virtual reality headset from Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, previously only available in China, will progressively roll out worldwide, offering an alternative to Facebook's Oculus Go, which could be on the market from May 2018 (in the United States, at least).

HTC has announced plans to bring its Vive Focus VR headset to international markets during 2018, although the firm has given no further information about its release, whether in Europe or the United States.

Presented at the end of 2017, this fully standalone wireless headset doesn't need to be hooked up to a computer or a smartphone to function. It is, above all, the first headset on the market to offer inside-out six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) tracking, and doesn't require any external sensors for positional tracking. In terms of specs, it has a 2880x1600-pixel AMOLED screen with a 110-degree field of view, as well as a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. In China, it sells for 3,999 yuan to 4,299 yuan (RM2,484 to RM2,670).

The announcement follows rumours of an upcoming launch for the Oculus Go, a low-cost virtual-reality headset (priced around US$200 (RM779)), possibly coming in May 2018. Sales of VR headsets are expected to take off this year. Predictions from research firm IDC foresee an increase of almost 50% in the number of units sold worldwide, growing to over 12 million by the end of the year. The 2018 sales boost will notably be buoyed by an increasingly broad offer of relatively affordable products, such as the HTC Vive Focus and the Oculus Go, as well as new products from Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo, developed in partnership with Microsoft and compatible with the Windows Mixed Reality platform.

HTC has also announced that its new high-end Vive Pro VR headset will be available from April 2018 priced US$799 (RM3,112). — AFP Relaxnews