HTC Vive Cosmos, the company’s upcoming PC VR headset, is officially going into pre-order starting September 12th.

HTC announced the news via Twitter, saying that more information, including specs, price, and special offers will be made public at the time when pre-orders go live.

As far as headset releases go, this is an entirely new strategy for HTC. The media hasn’t publicly had the opportunity to go hands-on with Cosmos yet, so there’s still no telling how well the inside-out optical tracking works, how comfortable the headset is, and what actual level of display clarity it boasts over HTC’s past devices, including Vive, Vive Pro, and its enterprise-facing mobile VR headset Vive Focus.

HTC has previously stated that Cosmos boasts “40% improved lens clarity over the original Vive,” although that’s not exactly a telling figure.

There’s also the mystery of price. There’s been some supposed leaks, most notable of which was a price listing by British high street shop Argos that put Cosmos at £700. HTC told Road to VR shortly after the listing was removed that it was “listed by mistake” on its retail partner’s website, although didn’t specifically comment on whether the price was accurate or not.

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HTC Unveils New Cosmos Design, 6 Inside-out Cameras & Removable Faceplate

Whatever the case may be, HTC has gone on the books to strike down at rumor that Vive Cosmos would sell for $900, stating that the figure was “incorrect (and high).”

Cosmos, which publicly debuted back at CES 2019 in January, was also teased to work with smartphones in addition to its primary use as a tethered PC VR headset. The company has yet to mention smartphone compatibility outside of the image below, which was showed at its unveiling.

Image courtesy HTC

We’re sure to have more solid information in the next two days, but in the meantime, here’s some of the specs we do know:

  • Resolution – 1,440 × 1,700 per-eye (2,880 × 1,700 total), an 88% increase in pixel count over the original Vive at 1,080 × 1,200 per-eye
  • Display type – RGB LCD displays
  • Refresh rate – 90Hz
  • Tracking – 6 inside-out sensors
  • Controllers – optically tracked
  • Audio – integrated, flip-up design
  • Input – USB & DisplayPort, Vive Wireless Adapter, teased connectivity with smartphone

Check out the reveal video below, which shows off a slight redesign from the version initially shown at CES earlier this year.

Newsletter graphic

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Jarilo

    It looks like a good kit if you don’t want or have the Index to me. 2800×1700 RGB and flip up visor sound dope.

    • Zantetsu

      But it’s HTC. As a Vive and Vive Pro owner, I would not recommend an HTC headset to anyone. Of course, maybe this one will be different; maybe they’ll have done more than just warmed-over their poor quality optics for a big price spike like they did for the Pro. I guess we’ll have to wait to read the reviews.

      • appleman

        the vive and VP are great idk what ur talking about

      • Psycold

        Agreed. I was first in line to get the OG Vive, had it since April 2016, and got the Pro a few months after it launched, ended up selling it, but over the years I have talked to countless VR enthusiasts who had horror stories about having to deal with HTC support. Got my Index in the first wave, couldn’t be happier. Had an issue with the controllers and Valve immediately got back to me for troubleshooting/RMA.

        • Jarilo

          Why would you hate something based on other people’s experiences? If it was awesome for you then that’s the review you should give it. I have an Index too, awesome headset also. The Vive Pro is awesome, I still use it over the Index because it’s wireless for room scale. Everything else goes in the Index.

          • Psycold

            Because the stories were from people I game with and trust.

          • Jarilo

            I think some people just got unlucky with light houses and had one go on them or something, I hear otherwise of people using these things still to this day with no issues, that includes me.

      • Jarilo

        I disagree, as an owner of a Vive and Vive Pro + Wireless adapter I have had no issues with their products. Good stuff.

    • Grey Lock

      Really depends on price imo

  • The Bard

    Slightly higher resolution than ODyssey+ from 11/2018. Nothing special.

    • Grey Lock

      And original Odyssey from 2017

    • Ratm

      Why you choose the (+) model?the best is the unfiltered original and its probably even better visually with those amoleds..The big difference is
      better tracking -comfort(if any) with this.

    • Erilis

      I have the odyssey+, rift s, and I have vive pro available too, just not the index. I’m telling you, there is something off about WMR headsets, all of them. Odyssey, Reverb, the lot. It’s really not just pixel density. Rift s has tiny amount and the clarity is vast, like 4k, something to do with this stuff: https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/latest/concepts/unity-ovroverlay/ . in any case, odyssey+ has a tiny sweetspot, and I think wmr is having some sort of foviated rendering for the middle, because they are all blurry on the outside of the center like that. reverb has the same pixelcount as Pimax or the extraordinary Xtal (they are suggesting to use it with double 2080ti), but the reverb runs fine on a gtx 1060, and no way can anyone use a pimax 5k+ with that. odyssey is still one of my favorites for certain things, don’t get me wrong, I really like that anti screendoor filter at times too

      • The Bard

        Interesting. About the sweet spot you are right, but it is only physical about the lens. You need to find that spot. However once you find the sweet spot, the image you see is not blurry on sides. It is very crips and sharp.

        • Erilis

          I think people are giving too much credit to lenses. Oculus go just have clear lenses and have as much clarity as rift s, but more screen door.

  • MW

    Another Rift S. Probably slightly better. Probably significantly more expensive. Probably available for anyone around q1 2020. Really nothing exciting. Same generation.

  • Marco Dena

    Inside out tracking with 6 cameras, hi res screen, IPD adjustment and wireless from Day1 via Vive Wireless Adapter. Can’t wait, this is a no brainer to me!

    • where did you get the info about IPD adjustment, is it software or physical?

      • Marco Dena

        It has a double display so i think it is likely to be physical like Vive1

        • johann jensson

          HP Reverb has double display, but still no IPD adjustment. :)

      • Jarilo

        If you find the older article from RoadtoVR where they check out the headset it says and I quote “Rift S also lacks a hardware IPD adjustment (the distance between the lenses) while Cosmos has one”

    • MW

      You forgetting about the price. Rift S (very similar headset – I spend couple hours playing on it and it’s more than enough for most of users) is now for 399, and maybe will be cheaper in 2020. If cosmos (entry level HMD) will cost more than 600 USD it will be DOA.

      • Marco Dena

        Lets make a parallelism with graphic cards. There is 2070, 2080 and 2080 ti. Different prices and performances.

        • MW

          Incorrect comparison in my opinion. Consider size of the market. GPU market was shaped by how long – 30 years? Hi end (expensive) cards are for hardcore gamers (for majority 1060 is a top). There’s no such thing as ‘hardcore VR users’ – not in significant number.

          VR market is so small, and products are so expensive that this comparison doesn’t work.

          And another thing – Cosmos is not hi end. You want hi end? Buy Index. You want try VR? Buy Rift. Cosmos can work only if price will be much below 500 USD.

          • Marco Dena

            Cosmos is on the same league of Index IMHO. Actually better at the moment (lets wait for reviews) due to inside out tracking and especially because its wireless add on modular feature.

          • MW

            ? No, it’s not. Are you saying that you will buy cosmos for the same price as index…?

          • Marco Dena

            Yes, it is. I will not buy Index, i will buy Vive Cosmos. Together with its Wireless module its price does amount to the same as Index. Unleashed high end VR.

  • brubble

    After all Ive read about HTC’s dogsh*t customer service and abhorrent ultra selective warranty policies, I dont care if they make the HMD of all HMDs, Im out.

    • gothicvillas

      Tbh I get that people dislike HTC.. but I had Vive for 3 years and didnt have any problems besides the issue with trackpad on controllers. That was their weak point.

      • aasd

        ive gone about 4-5 years with one and still no issues and i use it almost daily.

      • Jarilo

        Same, people read angry posts on reddit where it’s just a gathering pool of complaints and base their opinions on what they hear on the internet. I have had ( and still do ) TWO og Vives, a Vive Pro with the wireless adapter. The only thing that EVER gave me any problems is the track pad on one controller. Otherwise the OG Vive is the most tank like HMD I’ve owned, dropped it many times and it didn’t give a damn.

        • Immersive_Computing

          For angry posts on Reddit look at the valveindex sub Reddit…there’s been no media coverage of the multiple problems since launch.

          6 RMA’s since launch (2 headsets, 3 pairs of controllers and right ear speaker) I still don’t have a working Index, my HTC Vive’s never gave me any trouble.

          • Jarilo

            Ouch, mines been fine. Had the Vertical lines SDE issue but they patched it in SteamVR so luckily it wasn’t hardware. 6 RMAs? what’s wrong with them ?

          • Immersive_Computing

            2 headsets (cable and vertical scan line) 3 pairs of controllers (no click/actuation on joysticks) and now the right ear speaker is faulty.

          • Jarilo

            Damn, I’m just sorry to hear that. Knock on wood mine keeps on trucking along.

          • Immersive_Computing

            It’s unfortunately something that comes with early adopter territory. At least Valve has been responsive with support, even sending “advanced replacement” on headsets

      • brubble

        Fair enough. Personally I wont take the risk with that much dough no matter how good a product is when a company has repeatedly proven itself to be shitty to its customer base.

  • gothicvillas

    Imho this headset wont make any big strikes due to small FOV. Unless they announce surpris news saying that FOV is increased.. which is unlikely.

    • Mr. Goldfinger

      From what I have seen, they have refused to release this key spec. I doubt there is any improvement in FOV, or they would have used it as a key selling point.

  • Marco Dena

    It also does look good IMHO: on par with Valve Index, def better than Rift S

  • I still don’t know WTF this thing is supposed to be besides a VR headset.

    Like it’s it supposed to be stand alone with your phone, but can connect to your PC too.

    So it’s an in-between to the Rift S and Quest competitor?

    • asshat

      yeah i originally thought it was wireless because they dont show any cables in any promotional images but like one. and with htc making the vive hub i thought it was going to stream to the headset. like how people are streaming steam to the quest with VD and ALVR. I think they really really missed out here

      • Yeah, I have no idea what this brings to the table that makes it worth upgrading.
        I get that it doesn’t need lighthouses, but I already have them up.
        Like who is the target audience?
        People that have a fast computer but were turned off of VR due to having to put sensors up?
        Why should I buy this if I already have a headset?
        Other than the enthusiast that just buys all the headsets, I don’t know who they are targeting with this device.

    • Jarilo

      “I still don’t know WTF this thing is supposed to be besides a VR headset.”

      I think that’s usually what these things are trying to be…you know…a VR headset. lmao

  • PJ

    Price and controllers ergonomics depending, this could be the headset I upgrade too, wireless comparability is a must for my next headset

  • The Bard

    Nothing better than my Odyssey+ (actually worse. no OLED) and the price is 200% more. I pass on this one.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      The price is still not clear. And because it isn’t OLED doesn’t mean the image will be worse.. OLED also has it’s problems..

  • Marco Dena

    However, i think the fact the VR offer is starting to differentiate quite a lot is a good sign for the whole market.

  • JesuSaveSouls

    The specs look nice but this has still a wired connection but needs no sensors ? Jesusavesouls !

  • WyrdestGeek

    At this time, I don’t really see anything here but a bunch of #HopeAndDreams. I will be curious to see when there’s tangible information on it.

  • Jdog2442

    Non of this means jack as long as 98% of the games have you jumping around like an idiot. A huge demographic is still left out over their insistence of making all of the games standing