The Newest Entry to High-End VR Headset Territory: The Vive XR Elite

I recently had the opportunity to see the Vive XR Elite, the newest entry to the high-end VR headset territory, at a show here in Las Vegas. It's coming out soon in February, and it's clear that HTC is making a push into mixed reality with this device. While the Meta Quest Pro has been seen as a strong contender in this space, with its built-in eye tracking and attempts to blur the lines between VR and AR, the Vive XR Elite takes a slightly different approach.

While it doesn't have built-in eye tracking, there will be modules available for Iron Face Tracking later on. However, the Vive XR Elite does feature pass-through cameras and color, as well as a depth sensor in front that enables mixed reality capabilities. I had the chance to try out a handful of experiences with the device, including some standard VR content like scuba diving and punching little targets.

One experience that stood out to me was Maestro, which felt like a hybrid of Beat Saber and conducting an orchestra. The VR headsets allowed for movement in sync with the notes, while also providing a view behind the wearer to see the audience. While I wouldn't say it was a full-fledged mixed reality experience just yet, there was something cool about turning around in the room to find a little check-in desk sprouting from the floor that seemed to be part of the game.

One thing that's really noticeable about the Vive XR Elite is its size and weight. It's considerably lighter and smaller than the Quest Pro, with a battery pack in the back and a design that folds up into a compact travel tube. This makes it feel almost like wearing a pair of glasses detached from your face. However, one major drawback is that it doesn't work with prescription glasses, instead using either prescription inserts or adjustment dials to achieve the right fit.

I personally struggled with this, as I'm nearsighted and have trouble finding the right balance without feeling like my eyes are being pinched or strained. It's frustrating because I know I'm not alone in this struggle, and it would be great if companies could find a way to address this issue more effectively. However, the experiences I had with the Vive XR Elite were still enjoyable, even if they felt a bit fuzzy around the edges.

The price of the Vive XR Elite is 1099, which may seem steep for some but is actually less than the Quest Pro. It's also worth noting that HTC seems to be growing towards a more glasses-like form factor, acknowledging that AR is the end goal and encouraging developers to move in this direction. While it's not yet clear when we can expect to see full-fledged mixed reality experiences from these devices, it's clear that companies are making progress in this space.

As I watched and tried out the Vive XR Elite, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation for what's to come in the world of VR and mixed reality. There's still so much to learn and explore, and it's clear that these devices are being pushed to their limits in order to deliver the most immersive experiences possible. With full reviews and more detailed analysis on the way, I'm looking forward to seeing how this device continues to evolve and improve over time.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe newest entry to the high-end VR headset territory is the Vive XR Elite I saw it here in Las Vegas and it's coming out really soon in February now if you've seen the metaquest pro which has mixed reality and eye tracking and tries to push where VR and AR will intertwine that's what the HTC Vive headset is doing as well but it's a little bit different this doesn't have built-in eye tracking although there will be modules for iron face tracking later but it does have the ability to do pass-through cameras and color and has a depth sensor in front for mixed reality we got to try a handful of experiences here and you'll get to see a bunch of them some were standard VR like one where I was scuba diving um one where I was punching little targets and you know the background was not integral but I could see things around me my favorite one was Maestro which was kind of like beat saber for conducting an orchestra you know where I'm moving along with the notes and pointing and then behind me I could see the audience there wasn't much mixed reality there but in the beginning it was really cool that I turned around in the room and there's this little check-in desk for the game that seemed to sprout from the room I want to see more of that and what's possible so the couple of mixed reality demos I had were really quick and really kind of surface ones but you know it wasn't like there were things in the room that were sprouting up that I was interacting with now this Vive Elite XR is totally capable of that it has a depth sensor so which is more than the quest pro has so it could potentially measure spaces and put stuff in those spaces but right now I didn't really see stuff that really Blended reality that much it was more that I could see reality around me one thing that's really different with this is its size this is considerably lighter and smaller than the quest Pro it's about half the weight and you can feel it almost feels more like a pair of glasses detached the battery pack in the back and it's smaller still it folds up into a little compact travel tube that's cool what's not cool it doesn't work with my glasses prescription so it turns out these don't fit over glasses they're meant to be worn without them in a growing Trend that looks to have either prescription inserts or adjustment dials this does something called a diopter that dials from 0 to -6 in prescription right in the headset super cool if you're in that prescription range I am a minus 8.2 or so in prescription very nearsighted and I'm a little left in the dust I had two options squeezing these glasses into the headset which I could just about do when it felt uncomfortable or not wear them and feel like I had an immersive experience that was a little fuzzed out I would really like companies to solve this now it's not HTC only that's going into this question this this kind of conundrum we have a lot of companies making air glasses and other things please solve my eyesight I know I'm an outlier I don't want to have to wear contacts but the experiences in this show that yeah sure with it with a steam VR connection on PC or with apps there's a growing number of VR headsets that are dabbling in mixed reality at 1099 though this price is expensive even if it's less than the quest Pro but it does show that HTC is growing towards a more glasses-like form acknowledging that AR is the end goal you're seeing VR developers go towards AR you're seeing smart glass makers go towards AR they're aiming to meet in the middle sometime maybe in a bunch of Years anyway that's what we're seeing right now and look forward to seeing more in full review if you have any questions let us know Below in the comments thanks for watching and make sure to like And subscribethe newest entry to the high-end VR headset territory is the Vive XR Elite I saw it here in Las Vegas and it's coming out really soon in February now if you've seen the metaquest pro which has mixed reality and eye tracking and tries to push where VR and AR will intertwine that's what the HTC Vive headset is doing as well but it's a little bit different this doesn't have built-in eye tracking although there will be modules for iron face tracking later but it does have the ability to do pass-through cameras and color and has a depth sensor in front for mixed reality we got to try a handful of experiences here and you'll get to see a bunch of them some were standard VR like one where I was scuba diving um one where I was punching little targets and you know the background was not integral but I could see things around me my favorite one was Maestro which was kind of like beat saber for conducting an orchestra you know where I'm moving along with the notes and pointing and then behind me I could see the audience there wasn't much mixed reality there but in the beginning it was really cool that I turned around in the room and there's this little check-in desk for the game that seemed to sprout from the room I want to see more of that and what's possible so the couple of mixed reality demos I had were really quick and really kind of surface ones but you know it wasn't like there were things in the room that were sprouting up that I was interacting with now this Vive Elite XR is totally capable of that it has a depth sensor so which is more than the quest pro has so it could potentially measure spaces and put stuff in those spaces but right now I didn't really see stuff that really Blended reality that much it was more that I could see reality around me one thing that's really different with this is its size this is considerably lighter and smaller than the quest Pro it's about half the weight and you can feel it almost feels more like a pair of glasses detached the battery pack in the back and it's smaller still it folds up into a little compact travel tube that's cool what's not cool it doesn't work with my glasses prescription so it turns out these don't fit over glasses they're meant to be worn without them in a growing Trend that looks to have either prescription inserts or adjustment dials this does something called a diopter that dials from 0 to -6 in prescription right in the headset super cool if you're in that prescription range I am a minus 8.2 or so in prescription very nearsighted and I'm a little left in the dust I had two options squeezing these glasses into the headset which I could just about do when it felt uncomfortable or not wear them and feel like I had an immersive experience that was a little fuzzed out I would really like companies to solve this now it's not HTC only that's going into this question this this kind of conundrum we have a lot of companies making air glasses and other things please solve my eyesight I know I'm an outlier I don't want to have to wear contacts but the experiences in this show that yeah sure with it with a steam VR connection on PC or with apps there's a growing number of VR headsets that are dabbling in mixed reality at 1099 though this price is expensive even if it's less than the quest Pro but it does show that HTC is growing towards a more glasses-like form acknowledging that AR is the end goal you're seeing VR developers go towards AR you're seeing smart glass makers go towards AR they're aiming to meet in the middle sometime maybe in a bunch of Years anyway that's what we're seeing right now and look forward to seeing more in full review if you have any questions let us know Below in the comments thanks for watching and make sure to like And subscribe\n"