Announced just last week, Vive Focus Plus is HTC's next iteration of their standalone VR headset that adds a pretty big missing puzzle piece, namely a replacement for its predecessor's single 3DOF controller (rotation only) for the new 6DOF controllers. But that's not exactly all there is to Vive Focus Plus. We've seen Vive Focus using 6DOF controllers a few times before the new version's public debut at MWC 2019—it was only last month at CES that the company's hardware partner Chirp Microsystems (now acquired by TDK) was still giving demos of the 6DOF controller dev kit in action, which included two controllers and an external snap-on faceplate studded with the little pinhole-size emitters and receivers for its ultrasonic controller tracking. [caption id="attachment_85606" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vive 6DOF controller dev kit, Photo by Road to VR[/caption] A few thing have changed about Vive Focus Plus from its predecessor—the new headset now boasts better comfort, a clearer image delivered by new lenses, and of course the 6DOF controllers—although not much else has changed from Focus to Focus Plus outside of that. It still contains the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, the same dual 1,600 × 1,440 OLED displays, and the same optical headset tracking as before. [caption id="attachment_86234" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vive Focus Plus, Photo by Road to VR[/caption] I'll save you some time if you've been following along already by not rehashing the entire product; if not, check out our in-depth hands-on with the original Vive Focus from last year's MWC to learn more about what fundamentally makes both of the headsets tick. Now let's dive into what's new. 6DOF Controllers Predictably the controllers handle nearly the same as Chirp's, and we've written good and plenty about them over the past few months too. A quick refresher: it's a pretty acceptable controller tracking implementation that offers 'good enough' latency and a wide enough tracking volume to keep the controllers spatially positioned even when they're directly outside of the user's field of view, meaning you won't actually ever notice when your controllers go outside of their operational range (putting your hands behind your back, or behind your head). [caption id="attachment_86235" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] The headset and controllers send and receive ultrasonic sound in a frequency that it's well out of the range of what even a dog can hear, so there's seems to be little that can throw them off in terms of interference. I found the controller tracking to work as advertised even on the noisy expo floor. That said, the final production controller isn't the best design out there, but certainly not the worst. This mostly comes down to button layout and its ambidextrous design—both left and right controllers are interchangeable. While a bespoke left and right controller molded to each hand would invariably be a better fit, it's decidedly much more natural-feeling than the wands that come with the other Vive varieties on offer. [caption id="attachment_86236" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] On the controller you'll find a touchpad, an index finger trigger and a secondary grip button on the under side, and two awkwardly placed menu and home buttons that require you to adjust your grip to press. In contrast to the dev kit, the new controllers offer only one new real hardware feature I could tell just by handling them; button and trigger presses offer an improved analogue feel. In short, the controllers get the job done and appear to do so without taxing the Snapdragon 835 too much. [irp posts="86147" name="Hands-on: HoloLens 2 is a More Than Just a Larger Field of View"] Improved Ergonomics & New Lenses The new headset makes one obvious change from the original Vive Focus in the ergonomics department, a larger forehead piece that provides better weight distribution. And while it's not an unsubstantial change, I'd really need a much longer session than an expo floor demo to figure out just how much of an effect it has. That said, it did feel more comfortable than Vive Focus, something I last tried at CES in January. Now that the ultrasonic controller tracking system is embedded in the headset itself, the new Focus Plus boasts an obvious benefit over the dev kit by delivering better balance, as the front-heavy tracking tech is offset internally. The one change that is pretty significant is the new optics, which are remarkably clearer than the previous Vive Focus. While I wasn't able to get confirmation on what specifically changed from Focus to Focus Plus, thankfully it's fairly easy to see with the naked eye. [caption id="attachment_86237" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vive Focus Plus lenses, Photo by Road to VR[/caption] It appears the company has taken a few design cues from Samsung HMD Odyssey, which have a similar Fresnel ridge layout. All other Vive products, the original Vive Focus included, feature concentric Fresnel ridges that terminate at a much smaller circle in the middle of the lens. In Vive Focus Plus you can see the ridges dissipate much earlier before reaching the center. Here's a look at Samsung Odyssey for comparison: [caption id="attachment_86238" align="alignnone" width="674"] Samsung Odyssey lenses, Image courtesy Tom's Hardware[/caption] And now for the original Vive Focus. [caption id="attachment_86253" align="alignnone" width="1256"] Vive Focus lenses, Photo by Road to VR[/caption] The upside to the new lens design is a reduced perception of an optical artifact unique to Fresnels known as 'god rays', or streams of light that appear to emanate from the center of the lens and jut outwards like wispy beams of light. The only app on display with high enough contrast to test this was the company's conceptual 5G Hub cloud-rendering setup that streamed PC VR shooter Superhot VR (2017) to Vive Focus Plus. The reduction in god rays was notable, and I'm hoping HTC moves more towards this lens style in future products. Continued on Page 2 : Enterprise? Consumer? » Enterprise? Consumer? Vive Focus Plus is set to launch as an enterprise product in Q2 2019 in all markets except China, where it will follow in Vive Focus' footsteps as an honest-to-goodness consumer device. This makes a certain amount of sense coming from HTC's corner, and it's not a case of the company withholding what some have stretched to call an Oculus Quest competitor. It's not a Quest competitor plainly because it isn't appealing to consumers outside of China, not to mention the difficulty it would have hitting a consumer price-point to rival Quest's $400 price tag. Note: The original Vive Focus still sells for $600, and it would be a pretty surprising turn of events if Vive Focus Plus either meets or beats that price. [caption id="attachment_86023" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image courtesy HTC[/caption] That said, HTC isn't stopping world-wide consumers from getting their hands on a Vive Focus Plus if they want one, but then again there's probably no real reason to get one anyway if you aren't looking to use it for building a job training program, or other specific work-related task. "But what about cloud gaming?" you might ask. While it's undoubtedly coming at some point, you probably shouldn't hold your breath. It's a likely going to be a multi-year challenge that needs both a working 5G infrastructure and a massive network of localized servers dedicated to rendering SteamVR games as close to the user as humanly possible (aka 'edge computing'), all of which currently doesn't exist. [irp posts="86176" name="Hands-on: HTC's '5G Hub' Demonstrates VR Cloud-rendering is on the Horizon"] HTC's reasoning behind the consumer launch in China: In China, PC gaming is mostly relegated to Internet cafes simply due to the high startup cost. Talking to HTC Vive Americas general manager Daniel O'Brien, the company sees more promise in China because an overwhelming number of Chinese consumers are more apt to spend their hard-earned yuan (¥) on mobile phones, and by that token, on mobile VR headsets. The appeal of having an all-in-one, standalone VR experience is a strong enough draw in China, and now that the headset features at least one important technical capability of the 6DOF-everything PC VR headsets of today, it's logical that HTC would chase the market there with a followup offering. Talking to HTC Vive China president Alvin Wang Graylin, I also learned the strategy is based on how the company has engaged and incentivized Chinese developers to build apps that work on a variety of devices running on HTC's open Vive Wave platform, which includes support for a number of third-party Chinese headsets that consequently also directs users to the Viveport mobile digital distribution platform. The company has so far created enough draw with Viveport mobile to get Chinese developers interested in not only making sure their older content works with 6DOF controllers, but also build new 6DOF content from the ground-up. So far it looks like consumers outside of China will just have to wait for whatever standalone product is next, as HTC still has a ways to go before they can stock a mobile VR app store with appealing content targeted at the rest of the world. – – — – –