CES 2018 has come and gone, and with it, a pace has been set for what we can expect to see in VR in the next six months or so. If you weren't following the day-to-day news, here's a look at the top stories and what they mean going forward. HTC Vive Pro [caption id="attachment_73447" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] Perhaps the biggest reveal at CES 2018 was HTC's Vive Pro. The new VR headset is essentially a complete redesign, notably with an improved screen (upgraded to 2,880 × 1,600 from 2,160 × 1,200), but a number of other enhancements as well. Check out our hands-on for a breakdown of everything the headset has to offer. Set to be offered initially as a headset-only upgrade to existing Vive users in Q1, a complete package offering new controllers and base stations compatible with SteamVR Tracking 2.0 will be launched later in the year. The Vive Pro and original Vive are planned to be sold alongside one another. As a side note, HTC confirmed to us that the Vive Pro won't ship with Valve's 'Knuckles' controllers, a bummer for those hoping to finally get their hands on the anticipated controllers which were first revealed back in mid-2017. HTC also announced an official, optional Vive Wireless Adapter which is planned for availability in Q3 with support for both the Vive Pro and the original Vive. See our hands-on here. Pricing for the Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adapter hasn't yet been announced. What It Means The lack of pricing information leaves a big question mark over the impact that the Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adapter will have in 2018. The Vive Pro is a clear upgrade over the original Vive, with greater comfort and better visuals. Undoubtedly it stands to put pressure on Oculus who have suggested on a number of occasions that they don't plan to release a successor to the Rift in 2018. While the Rift debuted back in 2016 with many of the conveniences that now come default with the Vive Pro (notably the rigid head strap with built-in audio), the Pro now has an unignorable lead in visual clarity thanks to its higher resolution screen. My best guess is that the complete Vive Pro system (headset, base stations, and controllers) will debut at the $800 price point that the Vive had originally launched with back in 2016. If that's the case, the headset may be in a difference price class entirely compared to the $400 Rift, which means the Rift would still be primarily competing against the Vive rather than the Vive Pro. But when it comes to commercial and enterprise usage, the Vive Pro (assuming an $800 price point) now appears the obvious choice, especially thanks to SteamVR Tracking 2.0 which can track up to 33 × 33 feet volumes with four base stations. In these sectors, HTC is already believed to have a strong lead over Oculus, and the Vive Pro could cement that throughout 2018. The big question is whether or not Oculus will introduce their own 'Rift 1.5' with an upgraded resolution to match the Vive Pro. With the original Rift and Vive believed to the using the same Samsung-made OLED displays, it seems likely that the new displays being used in the Vive Pro (also believed to be from Samsung) could be installed into the Rift without a major redesign, but, without a better understanding of the internals of the Vive Pro, it's hard to say. Lenovo Mirage Solo [caption id="attachment_73459" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image courtesy Lenovo[/caption] At CES 2018, Lenovo debuted the first of the Google-inspired standalone VR headsets based on the Daydream ecosystem, the Mirage Solo. As a standalone headset, the Mirage Solo has everything built inside for a VR experience (display, battery, processing, etc), which means it doesn't rely on a snap-in smartphone or external computer/console. It's also the first Daydream headset to debut with inside-out positional tracking (6DOF), though the controller retains only 3DOF (rotational tracking). The Mirage Solo is set to hit shelves in Q2, though Lenovo is being cagey about the price. The company says it'll be priced "under $400;" and while we'd usually assume they just mean $399, they told us "We're working on driving down the price so that it’s accessible to more people, and we believe we can reach a more mainstream price point than the prices we shared." What It Means From a performance standpoint, the Mirage Solo is definitely an upgrade over pretty much every mobile VR headset currently on the market. The addition of 6DOF tracking makes for a much better experience which feels much closer to high-end VR headset. There's also a lot of advantages that come with a standalone design, like improved battery life (which isn't shared with your smartphone), potential for much better thermal design (resulting in greater performance with less overheating), and more. However, with the controller having only 3DOF (rotation only) tracking, input is going to be a bit awkward and limiting compared to what would be possible with a fully 6DOF standalone like Oculus' Santa Cruz prototype which we saw late last year. It's also unclear how many developers will develop games and experience which take full advantage of 6DOF tracking when the vast majority of mobile headsets currently in existence are only 3DOF. The 6DOF/3DOF split could create undesirable capability fragmentation, at least until the bulk of mobile VR headsets have 6DOF (which they hopefully will sooner rather than later). Another major question is the price of the Mirage Solo and what it will mean for traction. Mobile VR is all about 'causal' and 'convenient', but $400 (or even $350) is a significant purchase for a dedicated gaming device. When serious gamers can pick up a 1TB Xbox One or PS4 for $280, the question must be asked—exactly what kind of casual gamer will be dropping $400 on a VR headset? And if they aren't casual, they probably already own a PS4 or modern gaming PC, which means for about the same price they could easily nab a Rift or PSVR. Oculus, on the other hand, plans to debut their standalone 'Go' headset soon with a much more 'casual' $200 price point. And while means the exclusion of 6DOF tracking, it may make more sense for the casual VR niche than a $400 headset like the Mirage Solo which has more features but still fundamentally provides a mobile VR experience. Continued on Page 2: Xiaomi-branded Oculus Go & Pimax 8K » Xiaomi-branded Oculus Go [caption id="attachment_73431" align="aligncenter" width="640"] image courtesy Xiaomi[/caption] Oculus had no official presence at CES this year, but that didn't stop the company from making a key announcement: Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi, manufacturer of the Go, will be selling its own branded version of the headset in China, which will be called the Xiaomi Mi VR Standalone. Curiously, the headset won't run the Oculus store/software, instead it'll run Xiaomi's own Mi VR ecosystem. The Mi VR Standalone will be available exclusively in China while the Oculus Go will be available elsewhere worldwide. What It Means This is a somewhat curious move which reinforces Oculus' decision to not officially bring the Oculus brand to China, but still offers a pathway for their hardware to enter the country. Mirroring Facebook's own position toward the Chinese market, Oculus hasn't offered any of their headsets for sale in one of the world's largest markets. Oculus' choice to steer clear from China has left HTC to dominate the high-end VR market in the country. With the launch of the standalone Vive Focus headset, and the headset agnostic 'Vive Wave' platform, due starting this month, HTC could quickly become the leader and unifier of mobile headsets in China, though Xiaomi will now be battling to prevent that. Pimax 8K [caption id="attachment_73555" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] Pimax, the Chinese startup hoping to deliver a consumer VR headset with an ultra wide field of view and high-resolution, debuted its latest V5 prototype at CES 2018. The company is hot off of a very successful Kickstarter and subsequent $15 million Series A investment. Expectations are high for consumers who have wanted more from the incumbent high-end headsets offering ~110 degree fields of view. We went hands on with the "8K" headset and detailed a number of issues that Pimax will need to fix before the headset feels market ready. Among them: distracting blurring and reflections (despite an otherwise awesome field of view), insufficient tracking, and questions surrounding ergonomics. With an originally anticipated delivery of the "8K" to Kickstarter backers set for January, it's likely that we'll see delays before the headset ends up in backer's hands. What It Means It's not one bit uncommon to see delays from Kickstarter projects (in fact, it's almost the norm). So seeing Pimax slipping on the initial backer delivery date isn't overtly concerning. Evangelists for the headset have high hopes that it will not only deliver an otherwise unavailable level of immersion thanks to the field of view and resolution, but also light a fire under the feet of incumbents headset makers to further push those characteristics on their own headsets. For that to happen though, Pimax needs to nail the basics (not just get close), especially since it's one of the most expensive offerings out there. The company doesn't yet seem to have mastered Valve's SteamVR Tracking technology that they've employed for the headset, and questions remain about what the finished head strap and controllers will actually look like. If Pimax plans to meet the quality bar set by headsets like the Rift and Vive, we don't expect to see the headset launch before mid-2018, in order to give the company time to finalize their design, tune up outstanding issues, and sort out manufacturing issues which always seem to crop up during initial production. Kickstarter backers of the headset could see beta/prototype versions delivered in small batches prior to mid-2018, however it'll likely take some back and forth between backers and Pimax before the headset is truly ready for open sale. - - — - - Overall, our sense from CES 2018 is that the VR industry is beginning to heat back up after a mid/late 2017 lull where there was little concrete info about new hardware on the horizon. VR has a long way to go toward creating immersive, frictionless, comfortable and affordable headsets to act as the foundation of the many virtual worlds now available to users; new announcements from CES 2018 paint a clearer picture of that ongoing evolution, with a number of exciting advancements launching in the next six months.