HTC announces Vive Focus Vision, with color passthrough and an eye on gaming

HTC has announced the Vive Focus Vision, a new VR headset based on the Vive Focus 3, with features like color passthrough and improved PC tethering support. The $999 Focus Vision is available to preorder on HTC's website from now until October 17.

The Focus Vision can be used as a standalone device or connected to your PC using USB-C. It's basically an improved version of the Focus 3, which the company released in 2021 — it has the same 2448 x 2448 per-eye resolution and 120-degree field of view and also uses the Snapdragon XR2 chip. But it has features like dual 16MP cameras with color passthrough, and it can now automatically adjust the lenses according to the distance between your eyes.

HTC is eyeing gamers with this headset. Part of that is the inclusion of foveated rendering, which means it can focus its graphical resources only where you're looking, rather than everything in your field of view at once. "Now, PC gamers can bring those same high-end headsets used in VR arcades into their homes," HTC Vive global product chief Shen Ye said in a press release.

The Focus Vision also adds DisplayPort support via USB-C, which HTC says enables a lossless connection when connected to your PC. And after an update later this year, DisplayPort tethering will let the display's refresh rate go from the usual 90Hz to 120Hz. The Focus Vision has 128GB of storage (with a microSD slot for up to 2TB) and 12GB of RAM, up from its predecessor's 8GB. The headset also supports all Focus 3 accessories.

The built-in battery can keep the Focus Vision running for up to 20 minutes, giving you time to replace the main power pack if its roughly two-hour battery life runs out. Additionally, according to the company, the headset has a new fan that will pull 30 percent more air for better cooling.

The head strap was also disliked by some. "Users can be very abusive," said HTC America president Dan O'Brien. But it showed the company where the "weak points" were in the Focus 3's design, and as a result, HTC "improved the metal hooks for handling from the back, top, as well as the side arms."

The Vive Focus Vision is aimed at the consumer market, which loved HTC's Focus 3, with its Quest 2-style controllers. (Previous Focus headsets were much more business-oriented.) HTC's other headsets have also targeted consumers, such as last year's Vive XR Elite, a lightweight, $1,099 headset that also has color passthrough video but uses a lower-resolution screen than the Vision.

Anyone who preorders before October 17 will get a free kit that includes a 5-meter USB-C cable with DP 1.4 Alternate Mode support, as well as several adapters for PC VR streaming. The company also says it's offering "a choice from three popular game bundles."