HTC launches standalone VR headset Vive Focus with 6DoF tracking support

HTC yesterday launched its standalone VR headset called the Vive Focus. The launch comes after 4 months as the company had announced about the device back in July.

The HTC Vive Focus was launched at the Vive Developer Conference in Beijing. With its six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) support, the headset is said to offer "world-scale" tracking. The best part of its device is that unlike the HTC Vive, the Vivo Focus doesn't need a smartphone or a PC to function and offer you an immersive experience.

If you are wondering about the price, it has not been revealed yet. However, since the Vive Focus is an independent device, it brings an "unlimited freedom of mobility while reducing the total cost" for end users. Talking about other features, the headset comes with a high-resolution AMOLED display. Under the hood, the device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.

What's more, the HTC Vive Focus is equipped with inbuilt water-repellent padding and instant-on support. There is also a 3DoF controller that comes along with the headset.

When it comes to the content part, the Taiwanese company has also released its own Vive Wave VR open platform and tool-set to make the Vive Focus headset more content-rich.

Some of the initial partners are companies including Quanta, Pimax, and Nubia. In addition to this, HTC has also released its View Wave SDK for third-party vendors so that they can make accessories for the new headset.

The event witnessed 14 live demos showcasing the VR content developed for HTC Vive Wave. As of now, more than 35 Chinese and global content developers have created content meant for the headset.

"Vive Wave will assure a higher consistency in the user experience on a variety of mobile VR devices across various price points, making quality VR more accessible to the mass market. What's more, with the new Vive Focus, we are excited to bring high-quality 6DoF VR experiences, which were previously only available on tethered devices, in a more convenient and portable form factor," stated Alvin Wang Graylin, China Regional President of Vive, HTC.

HTC has also partnered with a VR development platform called Unity Technologies to enable one-click publishing of VR content on to Viveport library.