Newsletter
HTC has been boosting its Vive ecosystem of VR headsets recently. The company has just unveiled the successor to their Vive Focus Plus, which is called the Vive Focus 3. This is a headset that’s more business-focused.
The HTC Vive Focus 3 will have a better display than its predecessor
One major aspect of VR headsets is the display. The Vive Focus 3 will have a rather sharp display that’s 2448 x 2448 for each eye- that’s over 5,900,000 pixels per eye. The Vive Focus Plus has a resolution of 1440 x 1600 per eye, so that’s a pretty substantial improvement.
Adding to the display improvements is the fact that the Vive Focus 3’s display is running at 90 Hz. That’s a half step behind the 120 Hz displays that we are seeing on smartphones. This is still a minor leap over the odd 75 Hz display on the Vive Focus Plus. Powering all those pixels if the Snapdragon XR2 chip, which is based on the Snapdragon 865.
The display on the Vive Focus 3 will have an impressive 120-degree field of view. That’s a nice bump over the 110-degree field of view of the Vive Focus Plus.
HTC made some welcome changes in the battery department
HTC says that the battery in the Vive Focus 3 can last you up to two hours of use on a single charge. That’s not the best run-time, but it’s understandable considering the much sharper display. However, the battery can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes.
The Vive Focus Plus had an integrated battery. The Vive Focus 3, however, brings a removable battery. Having a swappable battery is always a great feature to have, especially if you need to use the headset for more than two hours. You can quickly swap for a fresh battery and let the other one charge.
HTC placed the battery on the back of the headset. It says that this will help with balance. That makes sense because all of the heavy components are held mostly at the front of the device, weighing the user’s head down. Other VR headset makers should follow this.
This is a business device, and the price really shows
The HTC Vive Focus 3 retails at $1,300. That’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. This is mainly because it’s not entirely meant for the point of gaming. HTC looked to business professionals, like carmakers and doctors, to give feedback about the product. This is mostly for those fields among others.
It’s very clear that HTC isn’t only focusing on gaming with their VR headsets. This is made even more clear by the fact that the company developed a fitness-focused headset not too long ago. Hopefully, this headset will help HTC’s financial fortunes.
