Are you after a premium VR headset that doesn’t should be tethered to a PC? Then, you’ve most likely thought of choices just like the Meta Quest Professional and the brand new HTC Vive XR Elite, however which is healthier?
I’ve had the possibility to check out the HTC Vive XR Elite and, thus far, my first impressions are blended. There are a few methods it beats the Meta Quest Professional, however many points of it are worse – leaving HTC’s headset feeling identity-less.
Right here’s a rundown of my preliminary impression of how the headsets stack up. For a extra in-depth have a look at the gadgets, take a look at our Meta Quest Professional overview, and maintain a watch out for the upcoming HTC Vive XR Elite overview.
HTC Vive XR Elite wins: consolation
If you happen to worth consolation above all else, then it is close to unimaginable to beat the HTC Vive XR Elite within the VR house.
For a begin, the headset is fairly gentle, weighing in at 625g – touchdown it halfway between the Quest Professional at 722g and the Oculus Quest 2 at 503g. Nevertheless, because of its well-balanced design (the headset’s weight is evenly distributed between the entrance face and the battery pack in the back of your head on the strap) you’d be forgiven for pondering the machine is definitely lighter than the front-heavy Quest 2.
If 625g remains to be too heavy for you, and also you don’t thoughts being tethered to an influence supply, you possibly can unclip the Vive XR Elite’s battery pack and put on it as a pair of glasses.
I would not suggest the glasses mode for gaming, however if you happen to’re at your desk and utilizing VR to be productive, then the battery-less setup is the way in which to go. The one draw back is that the Vive XR Elite glasses really feel considerably precarious like this, so be ready for the odd “wbmcevjh” to punctuate your paperwork if it falls out of your face onto the keyboard. That stated, it hasn’t slipped from my face but, so perhaps I shouldn’t be so afraid that it will fall.
HTC Vive XR Elite wins: blended actuality
One other win for the Vive XR Elite is the standard of its blended actuality. The cameras are so good you may overlook you’re the actual world via a digital camera; the one clues being a slight distortion brought on by its fish-eye lens and a few issue studying screens.
The Meta Quest Professional’s mixed-reality high quality may be very grainy, so I’ve not seen a lot cause to make use of any app’s non-compulsory MR mode on it. On the Vive XR Elite, I’ve used its app’s MR modes regularly.
That stated, the HTC Vive XR Elite nonetheless suffers from the identical normal lack of distinctive MR use instances that Meta’s {hardware} struggles with. Many of the apps that use MR additionally supply completely good VR modes, in order cool as this function is, it’s nonetheless extra of a novelty than a totally fleshed-out device.
HTC Vive XR Elite fails: specs
When it comes to specs, the HTC Vive XR Elite is on par with or falls behind the Meta Quest Professional in nearly each regard.
The visuals are the one space the place HTC has the sting. The XR Elite boasts a 90Hz refresh charge LCD display screen that affords a 1920 x 1920 pixel-per-eye decision with a max 110-degree discipline of view. Meta’s Quest Professional LCD additionally has a 90Hz refresh charge however solely gives 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye and a max 106-degree discipline of view.
When it comes to energy, the Vive XR Elite lags behind, utilizing an everyday Snapdragon XR2 slightly than the upgraded XR2 Plus discovered within the Quest Professional. It additionally solely offers 128GB of storage versus the Professional’s 256GB – although each gadgets have 12GB of RAM at their disposal.
HTC’s {hardware} additionally lacks a number of the Quest Professional’s bells and whistles on the subject of face and eye monitoring. HTC’s headset will solely present these options by way of an non-compulsory add-on that’ll launch someday sooner or later (and no agency launch date has been supplied but).
HTC Vive XR Elite fails: controllers
A VR headset lets you peer into the metaverse and is undoubtedly a very powerful a part of any digital actuality setup, however the second most significant facet is the controllers that allow you to manipulate the digital world. With out them, VR video games and apps would merely be movies, slightly than immersive interactive experiences.
Sadly, the Vive XR Elite doesn’t appear to understand the significance of its handsets, with the packed-in controllers being exceptionally lackluster. The plasticky end is in stark distinction to the ‘Elite’ headset’s premium identification, and so they don’t really feel as ergonomic as options provided by even Meta’s budget-friendly Quest 2. Additionally they don’t appear to function haptics – or the VR experiences I’ve tried thus far don’t use them in any respect. With out this bodily suggestions, the immersive feeling of digital worlds is well damaged.
In distinction, the Quest Professional’s controllers are very good. They’re weighty and premium feeling, and the lifelike haptic suggestions they supply helps persuade you that your digital interactions are actual. The Quest Professional’s handsets additionally forgo the chunky monitoring ring for cameras, which gives a extra correct monitoring technique and means you’re much less more likely to bump the handsets collectively – one thing I’ve performed fairly a bit with the Vive XR Elite.
HTC Vive XR Elite fails: Software program
One other letdown is the XR Elite’s software program. The Viveport choice doesn’t stack up towards what’s obtainable on Meta’s Quest retailer. Each nice Viveport expertise can also be obtainable on Quest (or Meta gives one thing related that’s at the least pretty much as good), whereas most of the greatest Quest video games are lacking from the Vive.
You’ll be able to increase the Vive XR Elite’s library if you happen to tether it to a PC – which unlocks video games like Beat Saber via Steam or Walkabout Mini Golf via Viveport – but it surely’s annoying that these experiences are restricted to PC when Meta’s {hardware} gives these and different apps utilizing simply the headset.
HTC Vive XR Elite fails: value
When HTC introduced the XR Elite and its value, the pricing felt proper. Sure, the headset was much less technically succesful than the Quest Professional in some regards, but it surely was cheaper, with HTC’s {hardware} coming in at $1,099 / £1,298.99 / AU$2,099.95.
Nevertheless, Meta then performed a slightly merciless trick on HTC, slashing the Quest Professional’s value by roughly a 3rd of its authentic all the way down to $999.99 / £999.99 / AU$1,729.99.
This cheaper price level undercutting the Vive XR Elite leaves HTC’s machine with out an identification. When it was the cheaper headset the XR Elite appeared like a viable different to the Quest Professional, however now that it’s the higher-priced gadget, the XR Elite is clearly much less worth for cash than Meta’s premium headset.
Are these premium headsets nonetheless too expensive for you? Take a look at our roundup of one of the best Meta Quest 2 offers and one of the best Meta Quest promo codes we are able to discover proper now.