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HTC Vive Pro Eye hands-on: Everything is prettier with gaze-tracking
HTC's newest Vive Pro headset adds just one feature to the existing hardware, but it's a doozy -- integrated eye-tracking. Using Tobii technology, the Vive Pro Eye is able to follow users' eyeballs in real-time, letting developers gather data on exactly where they're looking and when, and opening the door for new, more immersive experiences. But eye-tracking isn't just a clever input method. Its existence also enables foveated rendering, a technique that essentially means VR is about to get a lot prettier.
Steam VR update lets low-end PCs run games more smoothly
Steam VR has introduced a feature for Beta called "Motion Smoothing," which will give PCs with hardware that aren't quite top of the line the power to deliver VR experiences more smoothly. It functions like Motion Smoothing for TV and Asynchronous Spacewarp for Oculus devices, which are frame-rate smoothing techniques that generate synthetic frames between two real ones in order to avoid a stuttery experience.
$1,099 Vive Pro Starter Kit has everything you need for VR but the PC
One of the bigger complaints about the HTC Vive Pro from our review was that the $799 headset felt like an upgrade path for existing Vive owners -- not an entry point for new users. HTC and Valve must've heard those complaints and the pair will start packing its existing $300 accessory pack in with the Vive Pro. The Vive Pro Starter Kit will set you back $1,099, and it comes with the Vive Pro headset, two Vive 1.0 controllers and a pair of Vive 1.0 base stations. More than that, if you already have your Pro, HTC is giving away $100 store credits for the Viveport marketplace. The bundle will go on sale April 5th.
HTC's Vive Pro headset is available to pre-order for $799
Once staunch rivals in high-end VR, it now seems Facebook-owned Oculus and HTC are treading different paths. While Oculus is gearing up to launch a more affordable standalone headset, HTC has gone in the opposite direction with the Vive Pro, a new top-of-the range facehugger announced at this year's CES. Today, HTC has revealed the Vive Pro is the antithesis of affordable at $799/£799, and that it's now available to pre-order globally ahead of its April 5th shipping date.
