HTC unveils Vive Focus Plus standalone headset

HTC's virtual-reality focused Vive subsidiary has announced a new standalone headset design, the Vive Focus Plus, which it claims offers 'premium standalone VR experiences' for enterprise customers.

Originally unveiled back in 2017 as a China exclusive and given a wider roll-out a year later, the Vive Focus headset is a fully self-contained standalone entry to what is becoming quite a crowded device family.

Like the Vive Pro before it, the Vive Focus Plus is designed to offer an upgraded experience over the standard Vive Focus: The integrated six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) sensor system is now augmented by Vive Pro-like dual 6DoF handheld controllers, a move HTC points out will make porting Vive and Vive Pro content easier, while the headset itself has been tweaked for improved comfort.

'At Vive, the announcement of Vive Focus Plus furthers our commitment to rapidly iterate and refine the VR market for both businesses and consumers,' claims Daniel O'Brien, HTC Vive's general manager for the Americas. 'This roll-out of Vive Focus Plus leads the way for deeper immersion, more realistic training and simulation, and easier porting of experiences from PC to the stand-alone category.'

HTC has confirmed that the Vive Focus Plus will launch in the second quarter, and while pricing hasn't been released the company has stated that it will include an enterprise licence for business use at no additional cost 'in most markets.'