If you believed the whispers about a VR headset from the folks at Valve then you’re going to love this. At its event today in Barcelona, HTC unveiled a new product which it claims will define the ideal virtual reality experience, a “VR experience no one has seen before.” The product is called HTC Vive and the company teamed up with Valve to build it.
The HTC Vive is different from the VR headsets that we have seen from Samsung and LG. Users wouldn’t need to plug in a smartphone separately in order to experience content in virtual reality. Rather the Vive is a complete solution much like the Oculus Rift.
Jeff Gattis from HTC mentioned on stage that the Vive will offer 90Hz refresh rate and 360-degree views. Gattis says that the unit is light so users will be able to wear it for a long time “without feeling weighed down.”
Accessories like wireless controllers will be offered as well for manipulating objects or shooting weapons with hand tracking. Partners like Google and HBO will also provide virtual reality experiences other than games.
HTC promises to have a consumer version out later this year though it hasn’t revealed how much the Vive is going to cost. When Valve teased its first virtual reality headset last week it said that more details about the product will be provided at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which takes place later this week.
Filed in . Read more about HTC Vive, MWC, MWC 2015, Valve and Virtual Reality (VR).