HTC today shared a teaser image which appears to indicate a forthcoming new model of the HTC Vive with improved resolution.

The image, which was shared on the official Vive twitter account, shows the words “New Year’s Resolution;” the first two words are very blurry, while the word “Resolution” is very sharp. Below the words is the date January 8th, 2018, and a photo of the iconic HTC Vive.

The tease appears resoundingly clear: a new version of the Vive with a higher resolution display is on the way, and we’ll get our first glimpse of it at CES next week where the company has in years past debuted major updates to their VR ecosystem. On the off chance that’s a misinterpretation, HTC is going to have a lot of disappointed Vive fans out there!

It’s an interesting move, especially as the company has postured that we won’t likely see a ‘Vive 2’ very soon. Indeed, it appears this update may not be an entirely new model, but a ‘1.5’ version with improved resolution. Road to VR will be on hand at CES to report on HTC’s latest VR initiatives.

SEE ALSO
Here's What Could Be in HTC's 'Vive 1.5'
Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Matilde Constance

    I am very enpolated and excited! Do I need more resolution and also more FOV?

  • mellott124

    Hoping this is improved beyond the Samsung Odyssey displays.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      I doubt it..

    • Jim Cherry

      seeing how samsung makes the actual displays used in most headsets it will probably go up to the odyssey’s resolution

  • Muzufuzo

    There is A LOT to improve and they should hurry up! Everyone I show VR to, says the resolution is horrible.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      And everyone I show it to, doesn’t have a problem with the resolution…

      • Muzufuzo

        Literally yesterday I had shown VR to a person who’s first comment was “it’s so blurry”.

        • Brian Brown

          While I’ve never had anyone say that when trying my Vive, some people might be more sensitive to the native resolution than others, and there are big differences between games.

          Also, if you have powerful hardware in some games you can make things surprisingly clear. Batman: Arkham VR is one of those games, though it doesn’t alleviate the screen door effect.

        • Reuben Ahmed

          My Rift is in another league in clarity, even with super sampling on the Vive on. It doesn’t stop me from playing the Vive, but it makes me know it can be better.

          • Muzufuzo

            Current headsets are low-res. Everyone will say so in 10 years when 2 8K displays will be considered the norm. So no, Rift isn’t clear at all.

          • Raphael

            People who only shit-on about clarity should stay away from VR. I owned VR since 2006 when you’d really have something to complain about, bitch.

          • care package

            You really are as miserable as you come across aren’t ya dude lol

          • Raphael

            i really am as miserable as i come across? Could we say… “i’m as miserable as they come”

          • Reuben Ahmed

            Given we aren’t 10 years into the future, Rift is clear (credentials, someone who owns a Vive and Rift and machines to power them with super sampling on). Vive Pro will be interesting to see if they can close or supersede the gap in visual clarity. They can use help, but they are by far not unusable. And, saying something is in another league does not mean it’s perfect. It’s just clear for lack of a better word which headset is sharper, this might change soon. Sounds like you were showing people your Vive and not Rift…your statement is hilarious, I can say the same thing about 4k sets. They are not clear at all, if we compare them to TVs 20 years from now.

          • Muzufuzo

            I didn’t state they were unusable and 50″ 4K TVs are clear enough when you sit eight feet from them. Vive Pro resolution isn’t even 4K and you’ve got it literally on your face, next to your eyes. There is a difference.

    • Raphael

      You clearly must know a whole bunch of idiots. Everyone I show VR to comments on how clear it is. Then again maybe your setup is muppet-like in optimisation.

      • Muzufuzo

        I haven’t been showing VR only to people I know. Problem is with resolution, not my setup.

        • Raphael

          I’ve been showing vr to people who know nothing about vr and the reaction is always positive. If you want to be a negative twat about currect gen then give it to someone who can appreciate it.

          • koenshaku

            That is true, I actually had 4 HMDs setup at a convention of few thousand people going in and out and I did have a few people say it was blurry that tried it and I told them to pull the HMD down towards their nose some and it resolved the issue. In games you are usually too focused on the action to think about the resolution. If you are trying to read webpages or watch movies you will notice the resolution can be much higher though. It wasn’t until using WMR that I really noticed resolution was lacking in games, so much so that I tend to use WMR more now.

  • Leo Richard Comerford

    It’s hard to imagine they won’t update the HMD (at least) to Lighthouse 2 as well, if only to avoid supply issues for v. 1 base stations and sensors in future.

  • Mike Ford

    I wouldn’t at all be surprised if this isn’t just announcing Vive Focus global distribution plans. The Focus has a higher resolution display than the base Vive PC peripheral (albeit lower refresh), so would fit it with the whole teaser image.

    • Rogue Transfer

      They would’ve used the #HTCViveFocus hash tag rather than just #HTCVive. The Vive Focus has already released last year, so not a global ‘New Year’ resolution.

      Not to mention, the picture is clearly of something similar to the Vive with dimples and not the Focus shape that has distinctive side bands wrapping round.

    • Mei Ling

      If you look at the image of the product it’s aligned with the original HTC Vive. News regarding the Focus would have a very different product image slapped onto that media announcement.

      • In addition to that, It looks like the edges of line 1 are out of focus so that to me would suggest either better optics for a sharper picture or foveted rendering as the peripheral view is low res. Then the next line says RESOLUTION in larger caps. So more resolution too.

        Here is hoping.

  • victor79
  • Manwell C

    oh oh. should I return my Vive?

    • AJ_74

      If you still can, you should.

    • Mjolz

      For sure if you can

    • gothicvillas

      keep it as a 2nd headset. I plan to build one more pc and have 2x VR setups for some vr coop goodness.

  • fuyou2

    RESOLUTION, LENSES, FOV ..Vive 2 where the fuck are ya?

    • Raphael

      Same place octopus CV2 is. Ready when it’s ready.

  • ARK0047

    Just amazing

  • Glenn Smith

    Guessing by the only part that’s white in the tweet of the headset it’ll be the lens upgrade that valve announced last year?

    http://mashable.com/2017/10/10/valve-vr-lenses/
    “Basically, the lenses will make everything look better and move more smoothly, which is really all we can ask for.”
    “The lenses will only be available for developers of SteamVR-compatible headsets, Valve clarified via email, so not just anyone can buy these and attempt to install them on their devices.”

    https://uploadvr.com/lenses-valve-custom/
    “Valve also “developed custom lenses that work with both LCD and OLED display technologies and is making these lenses available to purchase for use in SteamVR compatible HMDs.” Combined with Valve’s software, the lenses are designed “to be paired with several off-the-shelf VR displays to enable the highest quality VR visual experiences. These optical solutions currently support a field of view between 85 and 120 degrees (depending on the display). The lenses, which are designed to support the next generation of room-scale virtual reality, optimize the user’s perceived tracking experience and image sharpness while reducing stray light”