HTC unveiled its “most impressive headset yet,” the Vive Cosmos, at CES back in January. We’ve been awaiting more details ever since.
Recently, HTC has teased more information about the device, including its resolution, frame rate, and inside-out tracking.
Here’s what we know…
The key message from HTC is that the Cosmos has the highest resolution and best fidelity of any Vive headset so far—an incredible 2880 x 1700. This puts it above its main competition, the Oculus Rift S, which sits at 2560 x 1440, but behind the HP Reverb at 2160 x 2160. The frame rate remains at 90fps to ensure your VR experiences are ultra-smooth and comfortable, though this is quickly becoming the standard amongst most headsets.
Ease of use features include a vented front design to help keep players cool and flip-up design to enable users to step out of VR seamlessly, without needing to remove the entire headset. It’s also the lightest Vive headset so far, weighing just 651 grams.
Whereas Vive and Vive Pro use SteamVR’s Lighthouse system, which requires external base stations placed around a room, Cosmos does all of its tracking internally. The Cosmos uses an incredible six cameras for inside-out tracking to pair with the ergonomic controllers, which have a design similar to those for the Oculus Quest. Also, the Cosmos will be compatible with the existing Vive Wireless Adapter ($319).
There has been much speculation about the price point of the headset, with YouTube channel MRTV reporting the expected price of the Cosmos would be “around $900″—a price that HTC quickly struck down, saying that it was “incorrect (and high).”
So, when can we expect to get our hands on this piece of kit? Well, no confirmed dates as yet, but it’s rumored to be available in Q3 of this year.
Here’s how it compares to the other members of the Vive Family:
| Tech Specs | Vive Cosmos | Vive Pro | Vive Pro Eye | Vive Focus | Vive Focus Plus | Vive |
| Resolution (combined) | 2880 x 1700 |
2880 x 1660 |
2880 x 1660 |
2880 x 1660 |
2880 x 1600 |
2160 x 1200 |
| Refresh Rate | 90Hz | 90Hz | 90Hz | 75Hz | 75Hz | 90Hz |
| FOV | Unknown | 110° | 110° | 110° | 110° | 110° |
| Tracking | 6 camera Inside-out Tracking | Outside-in (base stations) | Outside-in (base stations) | World-Scale Inside-out 6DoF tracking | World-Scale Inside-out 6DoF tracking | Outside-in (base stations) |
| Kit Price | Under $900 | $1,098 | $1,599 | $599 (Enterprise only) | $799 (Enterprise only) |
$499 |
