Following mostly silence about the headset from the company after the reveal in January, HTC has confirmed that Vive Cosmos is due to launch in Q3. Vive Cosmos dev kits are now on their way to developers.

HTC revealed Vive Cosmos back at CES 2019, but wasn’t ready to say much about it, let alone let anyone actually try it. Now the company says the headset is due to launch in Q3 and has begun sending dev kits to developers.

However, HTC still isn’t sharing basic info about the headset like resolution, field of view, weight, tracking details, or price. And while we know that the headset will be compatible with PCs, the company has also teased that it will be able to plug into a smartphone, but has yet to offer details on how that will work.

Image courtesy HTC

Presumably some of these questions will start to be answered as developers get their hands on the hardware, though it isn’t clear if they’ll be allowed to share any details until HTC itself makes more information available to the public.

SEE ALSO
HTC: Vive Cosmos is Not a Successor to the Original Vive

While Valve developed much of the technology behind the original Vive, the company partnered to bring it to market under HTC’s stewardship. Valve is now set to launch its very own VR headset, the Valve Index, which in many ways puts the companies in direct competition.

This is likely why HTC appears to be distancing itself from Valve. Cosmos is the first PC VR headset from HTC which won’t use Valve’s SteamVR Tracking technology, and while the headset will support SteamVR, it sounds like HTC plans to make its own Viveport storefront the default platform for the headset.

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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."
  • Adrian Meredith

    By the time they release this it will be too late they need to release details now so that people will hold off purchasing for it.

    • You’re right on this… otherwise if people already buy the Rift S or Index, won’t buy the Cosmos anymore

      • Immersive_Computing

        Could see Cosmos doing well if it hits the right balance of features/price. HTC have good distribution channels with many retailers, it’s easy to buy a Vive or Vive Pro in store or online.

    • Jistuce

      Maybe the details are so bad that releasing them will convince people to buy a something else instead of waiting to see what HTC did.

  • Glad to see that there is an official confirmation of the info that I got some weeks ago!

  • AlexanderBailey

    If the Cosmos is as bad as the Focus then HTC can quit altogether. I’m still so angry with their customer support for telling me 3 times I couldn’t return the Focus because they miscalculated the date of receival.

    My Vive is catching dust now that I have the Quest…

    • Jerald Doerr

      Shit…. I hate to jump on the……. We all play this…. (Beat Saber) But, my Vibe… With the gear VR mod has kept me… The kids… And the woman happy while I wait for my Index…. It’s kinda funny now I “almost” don’t give a shit how the kids beet the fuck out of the Vibe…. It’s controllers…. Just don’t smack the TV…. Cuz it’s old.. And I got well worth my $899.00 out of it….. And I’m sure I’m a get my $1200 out of its little brother/sister…. Whatever… Till the next upgrade.

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  • Ted Joseph

    I dont like the lights on the controllers as it sucks up battery life. I stopped playing with my MR as the controller lights were a nuisance for battery life etc. Also, I dont see a camera on the bottom of the head set. What happens when the controllers come down to your hips? or grab a gun in the front lower part of your belly? I would like some feedback on the tracking.

    • Nepenthe

      Rift Touch has lights too, you just can’t see them as they don’t produce light that your eyes are able to perceive.

      • johann jensson

        AFAIK, it’s more energy efficient to produce IR light (narrow spectrum) than white light (broader spectrum). Please someone with better physics knowledge correct me if i’m wrong.

    • dk

      the lights don’t matter use rechargeable batteries

  • grindathotte .

    One thing to note about the front-facing cameras is that the spacing represents a typical IPD, suggesting that they are positioned that way for viewing the external world, possibly for AR applications. It could be just for marking out the boundaries, like the Quest, or if they are full colour you might be able to record 3D video.