Are you after a premium VR headset that doesn’t should be tethered to a PC? Then, you’ve most likely thought of choices just like the Meta Quest Professional and the brand new HTC Vive XR Elite, however which is healthier?

I’ve had the prospect to check out the HTC Vive XR Elite and, to date, my first impressions are combined. There are a few methods it beats the Meta Quest Professional, however many elements of it are worse – leaving HTC’s headset feeling identity-less.

Right here’s a rundown of my preliminary impression of how the headsets stack up. For a extra in-depth have a look at the units, try our Meta Quest Professional evaluate, and hold an eye fixed out for the upcoming HTC Vive XR Elite evaluate.

HTC Vive XR Elite wins: consolation

In case you worth consolation above all else, then it is close to unattainable to beat the HTC Vive XR Elite within the VR area. 

For a begin, the headset is fairly gentle, weighing in at 625g – touchdown it halfway between the Quest Professional at 722g and the Oculus Quest 2 at 503g. Nonetheless, due to its well-balanced design (the headset’s weight is evenly distributed between the entrance face and the battery pack behind your head on the strap) you’d be forgiven for pondering the machine is definitely lighter than the front-heavy Quest 2.

If 625g remains to be too heavy for you, and also you don’t thoughts being tethered to an influence supply, you’ll be able to unclip the Vive XR Elite’s battery pack and put on it as a pair of glasses.

I would not suggest the glasses mode for gaming, however if you happen to’re at your desk and utilizing VR to be productive, then the battery-less setup is the way in which to go. The one draw back is that the Vive XR Elite glasses really feel considerably precarious like this, so be ready for the odd “wbmcevjh” to punctuate your paperwork if it falls out of your face onto the keyboard. That stated, it hasn’t slipped from my face but, so possibly I shouldn’t be so afraid that it will fall.

HTC Vive XR Elite wins: combined actuality

One other win for the Vive XR Elite is the standard of its combined actuality. The cameras are so good you may overlook you’re taking a look at the true world via a digicam; the one clues being a slight distortion attributable to its fish-eye lens and a few issue studying screens. 

The Meta Quest Professional’s mixed-reality high quality could be very grainy, so I’ve not seen a lot cause to make use of any app’s elective MR mode on it. On the Vive XR Elite, I’ve used its app’s MR modes often. 

That stated, the HTC Vive XR Elite nonetheless suffers from the identical common lack of distinctive MR use circumstances that Meta’s {hardware} struggles with. A lot of the apps that use MR additionally supply completely good VR modes, in order cool as this function is, it’s nonetheless extra of a novelty than a completely fleshed-out instrument.

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: specs

By way of specs, the HTC Vive XR Elite is on par with or falls behind the Meta Quest Professional in nearly each regard.

The visuals are the one space the place HTC has the sting. The XR Elite boasts a 90Hz refresh charge LCD display that affords a 1920 x 1920 pixel-per-eye decision with a max 110-degree discipline of view. Meta’s Quest Professional LCD additionally has a 90Hz refresh charge however solely presents 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye and a max 106-degree discipline of view.

By way of energy, the Vive XR Elite lags behind, utilizing a daily Snapdragon XR2 relatively than the upgraded XR2 Plus discovered within the Quest Professional. It additionally solely gives 128GB of storage versus the Professional’s 256GB – although each units have 12GB of RAM at their disposal.

HTC’s {hardware} additionally lacks a number of the Quest Professional’s bells and whistles in the case of face and eye monitoring. HTC’s headset will solely present these options through an elective add-on that’ll launch someday sooner or later (and no agency launch date has been supplied but).

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: controllers

A VR headset permits you to peer into the metaverse and is undoubtedly an important a part of any digital actuality setup, however the second most important side is the controllers that allow you to manipulate the digital world. With out them, VR video games and apps would merely be movies, relatively than immersive interactive experiences.

Sadly, the Vive XR Elite doesn’t appear to understand the significance of its handsets, with the packed-in controllers being exceptionally lackluster. The plasticky end is in stark distinction to the ‘Elite’ headset’s premium id, they usually don’t really feel as ergonomic as alternate options supplied by even Meta’s budget-friendly Quest 2. Additionally they don’t appear to function haptics – or the VR experiences I’ve tried to date don’t use them in any respect. With out this bodily suggestions, the immersive feeling of digital worlds is well damaged.

In distinction, the Quest Professional’s controllers are very good. They’re weighty and premium feeling, and the reasonable haptic suggestions they supply helps persuade you that your digital interactions are actual. The Quest Professional’s handsets additionally forgo the chunky monitoring ring for cameras, which presents a extra correct monitoring methodology and means you’re much less more likely to bump the handsets collectively – one thing I’ve performed fairly a bit with the Vive XR Elite.

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: Software program

One other letdown is the XR Elite’s software program. The Viveport choice doesn’t stack up in opposition to what’s accessible on Meta’s Quest retailer. Each nice Viveport expertise can be accessible on Quest (or Meta presents one thing comparable that’s at the very least nearly as good), whereas most of the finest Quest video games are lacking from the Vive. 

You possibly can broaden the Vive XR Elite’s library if you happen to tether it to a PC – which unlocks video games like Beat Saber via Steam or Walkabout Mini Golf via Viveport – however it’s annoying that these experiences are restricted to PC when Meta’s {hardware} presents these and different apps utilizing simply the headset.

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: value

When HTC introduced the XR Elite and its value, the pricing felt proper. Sure, the headset was much less technically succesful than the Quest Professional in some regards, however it was cheaper, with HTC’s {hardware} coming in at $1,099 / £1,298.99 / AU$2,099.95.

Nonetheless, Meta then performed a relatively merciless trick on HTC, slashing the Quest Professional’s value by roughly a 3rd of its authentic right down to $999.99 / £999.99 / AU$1,729.99.

This cheaper price level undercutting the Vive XR Elite leaves HTC’s machine with out an id. When it was the cheaper headset the XR Elite appeared like a viable different to the Quest Professional, however now that it’s the higher-priced gadget, the XR Elite is clearly much less worth for cash than Meta’s premium headset.

Are these premium headsets nonetheless too expensive for you? Try our roundup of one of the best Meta Quest 2 offers and one of the best Meta Quest promo codes we will discover proper now.