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HTC Vive Focus Standalone VR Headset Coming to the US

The HTC Vive Focus never saw release in North America, but the more powerful Vive Focus Plus will be available across the world.

Will Greenwald
 & Will Greenwald Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

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Last year, HTC released the Vive Focus virtual reality headset, a standalone device similar to the Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo. Unfortunately, it was only released in China and never made it to North America, so Americans couldn't try it out.

That won't be the case for the new Vive Focus Plus, which HTC just announced and is planning for a worldwide release.

The Vive Focus Plus appears to be very similar to the original Vive Focus. It uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile VR processor and offers six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) motion tracking compared with the 3DOF tracking on the Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo.

The biggest addition to the Vive Focus Plus is two 6DOF motion controllers that use ultrasonic sound to track movement and position; the China-only Vive Focus included only one 3DOF motion controller. The Vive Focus Plus doesn't appear to incorporate the eye-tracking technology HTC is adding to its PC-tethered Vive Pro Eye headset.

The Vive Focus Plus will support content from Viveport and the Vive Wave platform, HTC's VR software development and distribution systems. HTC recently announced the Viveport Infinity subscription service for Viveport, which offers a wide selection of VR games and software for a monthly fee rather than charging for each product. Viveport Infinity will launch April 2.

HTC's announcement indicates that the Vive Focus Plus will primarily target professional users and developers, with statements that emphasize the headset's capabilities in training and simulation.

"This rollout 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," said Daniel O'Brien, HTC Vive General Manager for the Americas.

HTC noted that companies like SimforHealth and Immersive Factory are already working on using the Vive Focus Plus for medical training and safety simulations, respectively.

The Vive Focus Plus does not seem to be the same headset as the enigmatic Vive Cosmos, which HTC announced with few details at CES 2019. HTC has not announced pricing for the Vive Focus Plus, but plans to release the headset in Q2 2019.

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I've served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

The Technology I Use

Where to start? I have a standard IT-issued Lenovo Thinkpad for writing and editing, supplemented with an iPad Air and an 8Bitdo Retro Keyboard when I want to write on the go. I also have a Lenovo Legion Go as a platform for running Portrait Displays’ Calman software and controlling the Klein K-10A colorimeter, Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester I use for testing TVs. 

For gaming, I use a Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, and a GeForce 5080-equipped MSI gaming laptop. I like collecting retro games as well, and have an Analogue Pocket and a ton of classic consoles and portables. Photography is another interest, and I use a Sony A7 IV when I’m shooting products and events, and a Fujifilm X-Pro3 for my own attempts at visual creativity. And for reading and writing, I’ve become partial to the Kobo Sage for books and the ReMarkable 2 with Type Folio.

When it comes to phones and tablets, I’m pretty platform-agnostic. I use a Google Pixel 8 for my phone and an iPad Air for a tablet. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are all totally fine, but I need a Windows PC. MacOS just isn’t for me.

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