HTC doesn’t want you to mistake its new VIVE Focus 3 VR headset for entry-level consumer gear like the Meta Quest 2.
Despite sharing certain similar aesthetic philosophies, the two headphones couldn’t be more different. The Quest 2 is designed for the consumer market, those who plan to experience virtual reality as a novelty in the comfort of their own home. This is not where the VIVE Focus 3 lives.
The VIVE Focus 3 lives in commercial spaces and is designed to change the face of interactive spaces. Let’s use Zero Latency as an example: the Australian VR entertainment team recently signed a major deal with HTC to use the VIVE Focus 3 headset as the primary VR device in most of its major locations around the world. To hear it from HTC, what tempted Zero Latency to make this deal was the chance to ditch the now-familiar backpack technology that powers its interactive virtual reality spaces.
For the uninitiated, Zero Latency is, in a sense, what laser tag looks like in 2022. Zero Latency uses a large commercial space filled with real-world obstacles as a map. It uses a 1:1 replica of this map when building specialized game software, so when players put on a VR headset and enter one of ZL’s virtual worlds, everything they see in front of them they reproduce in the real world. If you climb a ramp in the game, it will be under your feet in real life, creating an extra layer of immersion. The compensation for doing this has always been a “backpack” that players must carry at all times. Inside the backpack, a powerful gaming laptop powers the entire experience.
The HTC VIVE Focus 3 ditches the backpack. Instead of carting game data between players and running it in real time, companies like Zero Latency can now use individual headsets and stream game data over powerful Wi-Fi. The headset is a one-piece unit with a removable battery in the headband. When a battery dies, a staff member can quickly rip it out, replace it with a freshly charged unit, and get the player moving again.
Since the VIVE Focus 3’s ambitions are almost entirely commercial, there aren’t that many games available. HTC wants to get headsets like this into the hands of customers who can put them to better use, minus the types of consumers who want to show off VR to friends and family at Christmas.
What I felt during my brief hands-on session with the device at PAX Aus was a device with a considerable amount of power behind it. Its twin 5K lenses (using a pair of 2.55-inch LCD panels running at 90Hz) created a very clear and smooth image, and its wide 120-degree FOV created an enveloping feeling. Response times were fast, close to instant. The fit was snug, and it uses magnets to hold adjustable components like the goggle damper in place, rather than putting them in notches that could cause wear with regular removal. The headband carries most of the weight, although the headphones have been well balanced from front to back. There’s none of the Quest 2’s familiar rubber band downward pull, the HMD wants to follow the pull of gravity. Instead, it sits right next to the bridge of the nose, the weight suspended comfortably above the head.
As an all-in-one headset, the Focus 3 also ditches the VIVE’s famous beacons, beacon-like devices that had to be placed around a room to triangulate movement and position. Like the Quest 2, the VIVE Focus 3 uses a series of cameras across its fascia to “see” and track its surroundings. The replaceable battery and wireless transmission technology mean it cuts the cord completely, allowing for a full range of motion within its preset zone.
And so, here HTC finds itself in a strange position: with a ripper headset that would be the envy of most domestic manufacturers, not available at this level. Even enthusiasts, who can look at these headphones and see the value they represent, on paper and in practice, are left looking through the proverbial candy store window wondering why they’ve been abandoned.
Where most hardware makers in the VR space are pushing for greater accessibility and competitive pricing in the home market, HTC’s interests seem to lie elsewhere. If you’ve really identified a fertile market, it won’t be long before others try to do the same.
Either way, your regular vacation session at Zero Latency is about to get a whole lot easier on your back, and for that alone, we should be thankful.