HTC slashes Vive price, starts taking Vive Pro pre-orders at $800

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HTC is now throwing open the pre-order doors for its upcoming next-generation “Vive Pro” virtual reality headset for the PC. The device will ship on April 5, 2018, but you can reserve your headset now at HTC and Amazon for $799. Everyone who purchases a Vive Pro before June 3, 2018 will receive a six-month subscription to Viveport, a $40 value.  

If spending $799 on a virtual headset is a bit too steep for your wallet, HTC has reduced the cost of the previous Vive headset to $499. That’s still $100 more than the Oculus Rift, but based on our testing with the two headsets, you have a better experience with the slightly more expensive HTC Vive. The company’s Vive Pro should take those experiences to the next level. 

To get you caught up, here are the difference between the first-generation Vive and its successor now available to pre-order: 

 

Vive 

Vive Pro 

Display: 

2x 3.6-inch OLED 

2x 3.5-inch AMOLED 

Display resolution: 

1,080 x 1,200 each 

1,440 x 1,600 each 

Total resolution: 

2,160 x 1,200 (448ppi) 

2,880 x 1,600 (615ppi) 

Refresh rate: 

90Hz 

90Hz 

Field of view: 

110 degrees 

110 degrees 

Tracking area: 

15 x 15 feet 

33 x 33 feet 

Sensors: 

Lighthouse laser tracking
Interpupillary distance
Gyroscope
Proximity
Acceleration 

Lighthouse laser tracking
Interpupillary distance
Gyroscope
Proximity
Acceleration 

Audio: 

Integrated microphones
3.5mm audio jack 

Integrated microphones
Removable Hi-Res Audio headphones 

Connections: 

1x USB-A 2.0
1x HDMI
1x Power
Bluetooth 

1x USB-C 3.1 Gen1
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x Power
Bluetooth 

Controllers: 

2x motion-sensing 

2x motion-sensing 

Current owners of the HTC Vive may feel somewhat frustrated given they just dumped $799 into the headset when it hit the market in 2017, but there is good news. HTC says the Vive Pro headset will be sold stand-alone, as well, and will work with existing Vive Tracker and Vive Controller hardware. What the company didn’t say, though, is how much the Vive Pro headset will cost alone, or when it’ll be available outside the bundle

The difference between the Vive and Vive Pro might be a game changer for VR enthusiasts. In our hands-on with the Pro unit at CES 2018 in January, moving from Vive to Vive Pro was similar to moving from a traditional SD television set to an HDTV. The visuals are “crisp and clear” although the Pro model still doesn’t expand your field of view, limiting the experience to 110 degrees. The human eye has a natural field of view of over 210 degrees. 

Right now, there are no known minimum and recommended system specifications outside what you need to run the original Vive headset. Still, it will require a better machine to reach its maximum capabilities.

Pre-order now from:

Vive Amazon

Editors’ Recommendations

• HTC Vive vs. Vive Pro
• Oculus Rift vs. Vive Pro
• HTC’s Vive Focus mobile VR headset uses the same lenses, displays as Vive Pro
• HTC Vive Pro hands-on review
• HTC Vive review