With the launch of HTC Vive VR headset, the company promised to enable users to discover virtual reality beyond imagination. Well, that was a justified promise as that’s what VR (Virtual Reality) devices are meant to do. Taking a step further, this time HTC has made an announcement to show off an unusual mobile virtual reality headset which would be ‘a different thing’ and not just a ‘phone slapped onto a headset’.
The plan was revealed by Chia-lin Chang, HTC’s president of global sales, in an interview at the HTC U series launch event in Singapore. “We have a good plan in terms of combining mobility with VR,” he said.
The VR product, which will be compatible with HTC’s new flagship phone the U Ultra, will be launched before the end of the year.
He further made it clear that HTC’s plans in terms of mobility and VR will be known in the coming months, emphatically noting that ‘it’d be a different thing.’
HTC’s best-known foray into VR is the Vive headset which reportedly did a pretty good job. It outsold the competing Oculus Rift during the holiday season. But the high-price and the need of a not-so-easy room set-up proved to be a downer for Vive which was highlighted in a statement when HTC disclosed its Q4 poor financial results recently.
Opting for a mobile VR, is thus no surprise. In fact, HTC’s new phone-based VR could well be a mid-way between its high end Vive system with high tech and the more affordable Google Daydream View which requires a simple plugging of your phone to a cheap headpiece.
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Taking a cue from Chang’s statement, it would be safe to guess that HTC plans to unleash a mobile VR device akin to LG 360 VR, which had its own screen but connected to a smartphone via USB-C cable. This solves the problem of snapping a phone directly into a headset shell which makes it too heavy.
All in all, the idea looks promising, but what remains to be seen is where does HTC intends to take the VR tech from here. The seeds have been sown and only time will tell if HTC is able to reap the benefits this time. Looking forward enthusiastically!
via Cnet
