During HTC’s pre-CES event where the new flagship Vive Pro headset was revealed, the company also announced an official Wireless Adaptor for Vive. The optional accessory will allow for a tether-free VR experience, and will support both the Vive and Vive Pro systems when it launches in the summer.

As mentioned during our liveblog, the Vive Wireless Adaptor uses Intel’s WiGig technology and is “optimised for low latency.” Much like the third-party solutions we’ve seen from DisplayLink and TPCast, the official adapter operates in the 60GHz band in order to handle the significant data throughput requirements. Unfortunately, no battery estimates or pricing was announced.

According to the press release, the Vive Wireless Adaptor will be “the first to market with a truly wireless VR headset integration for both Vive and Vive Pro.” The technology could be using the DisplayLink XR codec that was demonstrated at Computex last year as a collaboration between HTC and Intel, but that hasn’t been made clear in the latest communication. Update: The technology is indeed using the DisplayLink XR codec, as explained in DisplayLink’s own press statement.

It is also unclear whether the TPCast Plus solution also announced at CES will support the Vive Pro.

“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”

We have feet on the ground at this year’s CES, so make sure to check back soon, as we’ll be bringing you a detailed hands-on of the Vive Wireless Adaptor along with all things virtual and augmented to come from the show.

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.


Dominic Brennan
The trial version of Microsoft’s Monster Truck Madness probably had something to do with it. And certainly the original Super Mario Kart and Gran Turismo. A car nut from an early age, Dominic was always drawn to racing games above all other genres. Now a seasoned driving simulation enthusiast, and former editor of Sim Racer magazine, Dominic has followed virtual reality developments with keen interest, as cockpit-based simulation is a perfect match for the technology. Conditions could hardly be more ideal, a scientist once said. Writing about simulators lead him to Road to VR, whose broad coverage of the industry revealed the bigger picture and limitless potential of the medium. Passionate about technology and a lifelong PC gamer, Dominic suffers from the ‘tweak for days’ PC gaming condition, where he plays the same section over and over at every possible combination of visual settings to find the right balance between fidelity and performance. Based within The Fens of Lincolnshire (it’s very flat), Dominic can sometimes be found marvelling at the real world’s ‘draw distance’, wishing virtual technologies would catch up.
  • Nicolas Tesla James

    Can’t wait for this!

  • Tyler Soward

    because you don’t look goofy enough wearing a standard Vive LOL! All jokes aside I will buy this the day it goes on sale

    • kool

      Just think a year from now couch potatoes will be jacked from living an active gaming lifestyle!

      • Everybody will be pro athletes playing COD in their VR pod :)

        • kool

          With games like skyrim we’ll be buff up top with skinny legs.

    • Matilde Constance

      Ridiculous!

    • Mei Ling

      Looks like one of those samurai haircuts ;)

    • Dave

      Missed opportunity. I was hoping the horns would spin around like a radar or propeller, lol.

    • Looks upside down. Missed opportunity. So idiotic if it can’t be flipped.

      • AnnoyedAnonymous

        60Ghz is line of sight so it has to be as high as possible to ‘see’ the transmitter. However, I do agree with you.

  • Lucidfeuer

    With a friend working in VR too we bursted out laughing when we saw this, after the horribly ugly and bulky Vive design and ergonomics that was announced this is just…a joke, these guys are not selling a product they’re just making prototype statements that are going nowhere for their investors.

    • Marco Dena

      Yes man you are totally right. Both Vive Pro head strap and this wireless device are unbearable to watch especially when i compare to my Day 1 Vive tuned up with the Deluxe Audio Strap and 14mm and 20mm VRcover foam, black silicone cover around the headset and the controller + controller cage for impact. Higher resolution will may not enough, they won’t have my money this time. I think i will go for model 1 Tpcast this time, its by far the best looking wireless device so far not to mention the only available one.

      • Andrew McEvoy

        I got the TPcast for the Vive….dont waste your money. Really buggy and a pain to set up. There’s no audio wifi and you need to install a second internet port card.

        • Zachary Scott Dickerson

          I too had nothing but problems with TPcast.

      • It’s not like there are mirrors in VR that allow you to the all the ugly life support attachments, etc.

        Unlike a game where you may choose fashion over power/quality, these things cost too much real money to make that mistake.

        Better off w/ first party :)

        • Lucidfeuer

          Being aware, or sensitive if you will, to my surrounding especially when we’re talking about tool extensions of me, I can’t bare badly designed devices, fuck them.

          But then there are clients or prospects I have to present concepts or prototypes to: I will never show them such an awful device because we would lose the project. Fun fact: the Vive set-up had exactly the same impact and that’s why no company is investing in experiences (I’m talking about stores, fairs, conventions, exhibitions…) using Vives.

          • Michael Cowan

            Hahahahahahshab. Lol

          • Marco Dena

            U consider the aesthetic of this device acceptable? You guys go back driving your shitty Walter White – style cars then. I wish i had any car, actually. And a Vive Pro + Titan V for the next year.

      • Michael Cowan

        Really? You care how it looks? Yoi realize you look goofy as hell with any VR system. Crouching and swinging your arms around.

        You worried the bulky box on your head is what is driving girls away? Lol

    • Veldask Krofkomanov

      Im confused. Why the fuck do you care about how it looks when you can’t even see yourself in the mirror when you use it?

  • Matilde Constance

    NOOO!!! Tanks!
    I’ll wait for something even better!

    • Andrew McEvoy

      Who gives a monkeys? You look like a twit anyway as is using vr what difference if you look like a twit+ if you can go wireless?

      • Lucidfeuer

        That’s winning mentality…

        • Andrew McEvoy

          Thats a condescending mentality..

        • NooYawker

          No matter how sleek your HMD looks you will look like a fool while playing VR.

          • Lucidfeuer

            When it becomes so practical that you’d actually be stupid, at least as a professional using several screens, not to use one, then it won’t look anymore stupid than people taking pics with smartphones (not talking about selfies), with big headphones or skateboards.

  • Scottie

    Screw the Vive. Will this work with the Pimax?

    • Caven

      No. Where would you plug the second video cable?

  • I find strange that Vive is now a competitor of TPCast, that is a company of Vive X accelerator

  • David Herrington

    For some reason these remind me of the Rhinoceros Beetle.

    • Tomas Sandven

      Aaaah that’s what they reminded me of

  • Daemon Hunt

    omg lol. What a shame that it’s so… erm… stupid looking. I think Vive needs a better designer.

    • Zachary Scott Dickerson

      probably has more to do with dipole antenna design, rather it be like that than one big box holding the two antennas.

  • Nate Vander Plas

    How can you not laugh at this design?! I find it hard to believe that the Vive designers got it all the way to this point and everyone involved kept a straight face. I don’t care what the constraints were on the internal hardware side- this is a joke. No one (who isn’t a huge Marilyn Manson fan) wants to wear devil horns whenever they use VR.

    • Tomas Sandven

      Devil horns? Really? If anything it looks like a hammerhead shark or some kind of beetle horns.

    • Veldask Krofkomanov

      Actually, most people (at least, those who are looking for the wireless VR experience) don’t give a damn about how it looks because it’ll be strapped to their head and their vision will be completely enclosed in VR. I’m buying it. Why? First of all, because it works (or at least, it appears to, but I’ll still wait for some initial reviews) and second of all, because even if it looked like miniature apes jacking off onto my head, I wouldn’t be able to see it because I’m wearing VR goggles. Why would I give a shit what it looks like? It’s not meant as a fashion statement. Even if it was, I can’t see it while using it.

    • Nate Vander Plas

      I get it that some people don’t care what they look like when in VR, but that doesn’t mean Vive gets to be lazy and make their product as unattractive as possible. We all want more people to get into VR, and the barrier to entry is steep enough with the cost. Most people don’t want to look like a buffoon (not everyone is using VR alone) and now that’s a requirement if you want wireless VR from Vive.

  • OZCAN AKSOY

    You will have either a foot long tail or 2 inch long horn choose is yours

  • Foxpup

    I say flare out the antennas further in a fractal design and make all wireless VIVE users look like ten point bucks. :-) (works great with the Christmas market .. ho ho ho…)