Out of a small, black drawstring bag, I take out a pair of bizarre black mirrorshade glasses. I present them to my son. I inform him they’re VR. A Quest 2 participant, he appears to be like stunned.
The HTC Vive XR Elite seems like some form of unimaginable future step in direction of the subsequent era of VR and AR. These bug-eyed, shiny goggles appear to be a approach to make smaller, self-contained blended actuality occur. But that tiny transportable dream has fairly a number of issues.
It’s not simply the foldable goggles, you see. There’s a battery pack strap, too. And the VR controllers. And, optionally, an adapter in order that these small goggles truly match over your glasses, for those who put on glasses. The XR Elite is a package, and it is fairly just like the Meta Quest Pro. But, if you wish to strip it all the way down to a smaller dimension, and run from a separate battery pack or a laptop computer, you are able to do that.
HTC’s aggressive subsequent step in VR {hardware} feels extra like glasses than Meta’s Quest Pro, for certain. It’s an indication of the evolutionary steps which might be going to return for all VR/AR {hardware}.
HTC Vive XR Elite
Like
Compact design
Compatible with PCs or works standalone
High-res, clear shows
Capable of operating mixed-reality apps
Has adjustable prescription lenses
Don’t like
Expensive
Modular design will get clunky at instances
Adjustable prescription did not work with my imaginative and prescient
Not many mixed-reality apps to make use of
The Vive XR Elite, very like the Quest Pro, is a VR headset in a unique type. And whereas it could do “blended actuality” — which is, successfully, a mix of video captured from the actual world with its cameras, on prime of which will get overlaid VR objects and experiences — there aren’t many apps but that do very a lot with its mixed-reality options.
But this $1,100 VR headset, obtainable forward of Apple’s anticipated mixed-reality gadget and Meta’s Quest 3, additionally seems like a stepping stone to some future-form product future that is not solely right here. Yet.
The XR Elite, in its little black bag, at first appears impossibly small.
Design: Deconstructed VR
Next to the Meta Quest Pro, the deconstructed design of the Vive XR Elite appears to be like shockingly small. That’s largely as a result of plenty of the elements are optionally detachable right here (the pinnacle strap battery pack could be left behind, and you could possibly plug the XR Elite immediately right into a laptop computer for energy or use your personal battery pack). But additionally, the design of the eyewear is certainly smaller. The mirror-glossy entrance panel is not as extensive because the Quest Pro, and the lenses are extra compact.
That additionally implies that the XR Elite both can really feel a bit too tight on the face with out glasses, or find yourself exposing much more outdoors ambient peripheral imaginative and prescient when worn with them. HTC calls this a “blended actuality mode” profit, and just like the Quest Pro, the feeling is like sporting literal VR glasses, the place you are peering at a unique world by way of your lenses whereas nonetheless seeing bits of all the things else round you within the periphery. That could sound distracting, however over time my eyes bought used to it.
The XR Elite with its controllers and battery pack headstrap, that are obligatory for many makes use of, add to the majority.
The XR Elite did not work in any respect with my glasses once I demoed the {hardware} a number of months in the past in Las Vegas, however a brand new magnetically connected bracket permits the headset to perch over my glasses, resting a padded assist on my brow. This spacer wants the battery head strap connected to remain on my face with out falling off (in glasses mode, it would not keep on my face on this configuration, and it lacked a nostril piece). And in that mode, the entire headset appears to be like and seems like a barely shrunken Quest Pro.
In glasses mode (which requires a USB-C tether to a separate battery pack or laptop computer), the Vive XR Elite (proper) is lots smaller than the Meta Quest Pro (left).
The LCD shows, which have a decision of 1,920×1,920 pixels per eye and an efficient discipline of view of 110 levels, look nice for probably the most half. When sporting the headset on prime of my glasses, I discovered the optics extra distorted than with the Quest Pro. But non-glasses wearers who put on the headset nearer to their eyes could not really feel the identical. It’s fascinating that this headset can modify its prescription routinely, between a variety of 0 and -6. Unfortunately, that also means I’m out of luck for my eyes (that are -8 plus). A separate slider additionally strikes the lenses nearer or additional aside to accommodate for inter pupillary distance (IPD).
The Vive XR Elite has its personal prescription adjusting diopters, however my nearsightedness is past its vary.
Audio is available in by way of the facet arms, an ambient spatial audio just like the Meta Quest Pro meaning no headphones are wanted. Unlike the Quest Pro, the XR Elite would not have a headphone jack.
The swapping out of elements to rework from glasses to full-headband battery pack mode is just a little clunky. The two plastic glasses arms detach by unclicking, and the adjustable battery pack headband snaps into the holes of their place. I anxious that the headstrap’s versatile plastic would possibly put on down or break over time as I saved detaching and reattaching it, although.
The faceplate that enables me to suit the headset over my glasses has foam padding, however the match will not work in glasses mode: You want the battery strap connected as an alternative.
One a part of the XR Elite that is not small, although, are the controllers. HTC features a pair of the identical Oculus-like USB-C rechargeable plastic controllers that had been included with the business-focused Vive Focus 3. There are normal triggers, buttons and analog sticks, however these controllers really feel too massive for the compact XR Elite design. The Quest Pro, by comparability, has new and smaller controllers that even have their very own camera-based monitoring. It would have been good if the XR Elite bought a controller improve to match, particularly to make the entire expertise extra transportable.
The XR Elite would not have included eye monitoring just like the Quest Pro, however a future additional add-on will supply it if you wish to pay up. I do not thoughts it not being onboard.
The included controllers are massive in comparison with the tiny headset.
VR expertise: Pretty strong
With a Snapdragon XR2 chip and a full pair of movement VR controllers included, the XR Elite runs normal VR apps and video games simply effective. It additionally connects wired or wirelessly to PCs to run VR, very like the Quest 2 and Quest Pro. The benefit right here is that you could possibly simply use the headset in glasses mode with a PC and get a much smaller tethered headset than many of the competitors provides.
The XR Elite has built-in full movement monitoring, utilizing its personal array of 4 cameras and a depth sensor. Setting up a room for VR works identical to the Quest 2, portray boundaries onto the room utilizing the passthrough cameras.
How the XR Elite matches on my face with glasses on. There’s plenty of open house under the headset, however it additionally means I can have a look at my cellphone and at my VR, if I get my angles proper.
The XR Elite’s hand monitoring has additionally labored fairly properly to date. Much just like the Quest, hand motion will get interpreted to indicate your digital arms on-screen, which may pinch objects, faucet digital buttons, or scroll by way of menus. Most of the time, you will nonetheless return to the controllers for extra correct and detailed controls (many apps require the controllers).
HTC’s Viveport platform has lots of the similar video games and apps because the Quest, however it’s missing quite a lot of video games and exclusives, so it feels comparatively like a subset. However, when related to a PC, you’ll be able to faucet into HTC’s Viveport apps or Steam VR.
Mixed actuality: Not a lot but
You can hunt round and discover some apps that use passthrough cameras for blended actuality on the Vive XR Elite, however they’re arduous to return by. Much just like the Meta Quest Pro, these are the primary semi-mainstream blended actuality VR headsets within the wild, and present VR apps perhaps aren’t essentially discovering an incentive to assist these new gadgets simply but.
Maestro (a music conducting sport), Figmin XR, and artwork apps are a part of the preliminary providing, and the outcomes really feel just like what the Quest Pro produced. I truly just like the Quest Pro’s blended actuality just a little higher — for some purpose, the XR Elite’s coloration passthrough digital camera video comes off as flatter to me, and infrequently distorted.
You may, perhaps, use this headset a bit like a Magic Leap or HoloLens for sure mixed-reality makes use of down the street, relying on whether or not these apps emerge. But by then, there could be new {hardware} it is best to simply anticipate.
All the gear that the Vive XR Elite has may imply a giant journey bag of stuff.
Conclusion: A type that grew on me, however too many random quirks
The Vive XR Elite, in my week of use, simply appeared too fiddly and typically glitchy to be one thing I’d get used to. The system software program did not appear as refined as Meta’s, both. But the smaller type and the way in which it match over my face grew to become one thing I appreciated extra as I used it.
If solely these had been actually as helpful as on a regular basis glasses, although. Much like many early AR glasses just like the nReal Light, the design nonetheless feels manner too awkward to be snug. And the unusual unclipping headband feels too fragile. I loom again on the chunkier Quest 2 and no less than admire its clear design compared.
However, the XR Elite can pack all the way down to be extra flat than most VR headsets and is much extra transportable than the Quest Pro. But this seems like a bizarre center step for VR, a “rising pains” product that means that future evolutions shall be higher. And at $1,100, meaning it is best to completely wait this spherical out. I desire the Quest Pro’s software program and OS extra, which really feel extra polished, and the Quest’s app library additionally outshines what Vive has.
But that is clearly the place headsets are heading. Expect Apple to take an identical path, for certain; perhaps a much less awkward one. But smaller shows and modular designs shall be a development to observe.