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HTC's Vive XR Suite is now available for VR collaboration
Following HTC's official announcement of Vive XR Suite in June, today it is finally available to all. Subscription starts at $30 per seat per month, or $250 per seat per year.
HTC CEO Yves Maitre resigns after less than a year
HTC President and CEO Yves Maitre has resigned due to personal reasons, and chairwoman Cher Wang is back in charge.
HTC updates Vive Sync to let non-VR participants attend virtual meetings
HTC has rolled out its first major Vive Sync update, and one of the features it’s adding to the VR collaboration tool is the ability to welcome non-VR participants in virtual meetings. More features are coming to Vive Sync. The first major update includes non-VR PC participation, desktop meeting login, a whole new casual wardrobe for your avatars and more!
HTC's first 5G smartphone is the mid-range U20
HTC stuck to its promise and unveiled its first 5G phone, the U20, at its Taipei event. On top of that, HTC also pushed out its slightly more affordable Desire 20 Pro with 4G connectivity.
HTC's Vive XR Suite lets people work together even if they're not all in VR
Today’s announcement is all about Vive XR Suite, which is an upcoming subscription package consisting of five VR applications that cater to various work and social needs. More importantly, these apps can also be viewed on a PC monitor and even a modern smartphone.
HTC will sell its Cosmos Elite headset and faceplate tracker separately
If you've already got a HTC Vive, you might be in two minds about forking out for the complete Cosmos Elite bundle. If you've got base stations and controllers already, why drop dollars on more? But HTC has you covered. In the coming weeks, it will be launching a headset-only version of the Cosmos Elite and the external tracking faceplate as standalone products. And as is the case for the complete Cosmos Elite package, both purchases will come with a redemption code for Half-Life: Alyx.
Every HTC Vive Cosmos Elite will come with a copy of 'Half-Life: Alyx'
If you're waiting to take delivery of the new VIVE Cosmos Elite which ships today, you're in for a heck of a surprise. HTC has announced that the new headset will come with a free copy of Valve's hotly-anticipated VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx. You'll receive a redemption code in-box that will unlock the game when it launches on March 23rd.
How did we get to 5G? The history of mobile networks
Last time on our explainer show Upscaled, we took a look at 5G, the new high-speed mobile technology starting to roll out in 2020. But 5G isn't entirely new technology, it builds on the mobile networks already in place around the world. This has been the pattern for mobile networks, incremental upgrades that added more capacity and speed bit by bit. This approach has yielded incredible results; as much as we might gripe about coverage or speeds today, the first real cell networks could only support about a dozen calls per tower, had no data capacity, and used unencrypted analog signals that were easy to intercept.
HTC opens pre-orders for its $899 Vive Cosmos Elite VR headset
HTC's new high-end virtual reality headset, the Vive Cosmos Elite, is now available for pre-order. The company unveiled the device a few days ago along with two other upcoming entries to the line-up: the entry-level Vive Cosmos Play and the business-focused Vive Cosmos XR with mixed-reality capabilities.
HTC plans to release its first 5G phone in 2020
HTC may be pouring most of its energy into VR headsets, but it hasn't forgotten about its (frankly languishing) smartphone range. Company chief Yves Maitre said in an interview that HTC's first 5G phone launches sometime in 2020. He didn't provide any clues as to the specs, although high-end models may come first. HTC doesn't necessarily have to release a flagship when MediaTek and Qualcomm both have 5G-equipped processors aimed at mid-tier phones.
HTC's Project Proton is a preview of its next-gen VR headsets
While HTC is betting its VR future on the modular Vive Cosmos for now, it's also been working on next-gen lightweight headsets, under the title "Project Proton," that CEO Yves Maitre said will resemble "really, really close to normal glasses." Well, judging by the renders we received, this is debatable, but these wearables certainly seem more compact than the current crop of VR devices. In a statement sent to Engadget, a company rep said "Project Proton is a prototype of a future XR glasses-style device from HTC Vive that we hope to hear feedback on from the community as we continue to work on the product." We have absolutely no info on specs, but Project Proton does confirm HTC's intention to shift focus to mixed reality use cases, as well as adding 5G connectivity -- be it internal or external -- to its future headsets.
HTC's expanded Vive Cosmos family may help lure more VR users
HTC's Vive Cosmos is positioned as a high-end VR kit that's easier to use, and we liked it, but one concern we had was its $699 price -- a notable jump from Oculus' $400 offerings, tethered or otherwise. The good news is that according to Engadget Chinese, the company plans to release a more affordable version dubbed Cosmos Play, along with the more advanced Cosmos Elite and the experimental Cosmos XR. Best of all, these variants share the same core headset, meaning Cosmos Play owners can later upgrade with other faceplates to suit their needs.
Valve is definitely not working on 'Left 4 Dead 3'
An HTC executive is learning first-hand about the dangers of making unsupported statements in your presentations. Valve has rejected speculation that it's working on a third Left 4 Dead game after Alvin Wang Graylin, HTC's president for Vive in China, posted a slide claiming that "LFD3" (along with Half-Life: Alyx) would spur demand for VR in 2020. The developer's staff are "absolutely not working on anything L4D related now, and haven't for years," according to a statement to IGN. While Valve did "briefly" look at a next-gen version of the co-op shooter a few years prior, there's nothing in the works now.
2020 is VR's make-or-break year
In the nearly four years since the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive hit retail shelves, VR has gone from being the most exciting new computing medium around -- something that could be as transformational as the internet itself -- to a niche accessory for gamers with too much money. New headsets have come and gone, cheap mobile VR was briefly popular (before going extinct) and standalone virtual reality devices have finally arrived. It'd be wrong to say there's been no progress in the world of VR, but it still feels as if we're waiting for it to truly take off as a medium. Where's the killer app? Where's the affordable hardware that everyone can buy (that doesn't deliver a dumbed down experience)? How, exactly, will developers make money without releasing yet another zombie game? There's still so much left up in the air for a medium that arrived amid a torrent of hype. Looking ahead to 2020, though, there are signs that things could shape up. Valve's upcoming Half-Life: Alyx is exactly the sort of VR exclusive that could push gamers to pick up a headset. There's already an uproar among Half-Life fans about the game being available only in VR, with no way to play it on a traditional monitor. Clearly, Valve is leaving money on the table by doing that, but it's also a sign that it's dedicated to the new medium. And if it's a success, Half-Life: Alyx will also prove to other developers that it's worth taking a risk on VR.
HTC recreated the 'Mona Lisa' in 3D for the Louvre's da Vinci exhibition
HTC created Vive Arts back in 2017 to bring museums and the public together in VR, but you may not have thought about it since then. It's definitely grabbed our attention now, though, with its latest, very high-profile experience, Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass. It launches at the Louvre on October 24th in conjunction with Leonardo Da Vinci, the largest exhibition of the great master's works ever assembled.
HTC's Exodus 1s can run a full Bitcoin node for under $250
After first teasing the device earlier this year, HTC has detailed its new, more affordable Exodus 1s blockchain smartphone. The highlight feature of the device is that it can function as a full node. This means the phone is able to validate and transmit Bitcoin transactions independent of a centralized third-party. In this way, you don't need to go through an exchange to buy and sell Bitcoin. Likewise, the phone can also be used to trade, lend and borrow the cryptocurrency. The way HTC puts it, what separates the 1s from other smartphones is that you can operate your own decentralized bank out of your pocket.
HTC Vive Cosmos review: Too late, too expensive
The battle for at-home virtual reality started with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive -- but these days things are getting complicated. The Oculus Quest proves solid standalone VR is possible, and Valve is pushing the limits of high-end VR with the Index. Now here comes the Vive Cosmos, HTC's first true successor to the Vive and business-focused Vive Pro. Technically, the Cosmos is an upgrade in just about every way, but there's just one problem: It costs $699, which makes it far more expensive than the Oculus Quest ($400) and Rift S ($400). The Cosmos's price is a baffling strategic decision by HTC when the competition is so strong.
Add eye tracking to your HTC Vive headset for $149
VR companies have been hyping up eye tracking for years, yet even today, options are limited when it comes to VR headsets with integrated eye-tracking -- namely the HTC Vive Pro Eye we first saw back at CES. Thankfully, a Chinese company dubbed 7invensun is soon offering a $149 upgrade kit that will let existing HTC headsets gain the same feature. Not bad considering the Vive Pro Eye costs $1,599. Pre-orders will commence in mid-November, followed by shipment in December.
HTC has a new CEO
HTC announced that it has appointed a former executive from telecom giant Orange, Yves Maitre, as its new CEO. The company said that current chief Cher Wang will step down while remaining chairperson of the company. Wang took over the position from Peter Chou back in 2015.
HTC Vive Cosmos hands-on: VR never looked so good
In 2016, HTC revealed the Vive VR headset to the world. In the years since, HTC has released several versions, like the Vive Pro, Vive Pro Eye and the standalone Vive Focus and Vive Focus Plus (for developers and businesses). Now it's ready to launch a brand-new headset aimed at consumers: the Vive Cosmos. It costs $699, which includes a trial subscription to Viveport Infinity; you'll get a 12-month trial if you pre-order before October 3rd, and a six-month one thereafter (The VR game service is usually $99 a year).
