HTC Vive Elite XR Review: Elite only in price

Verdict

The Vive Elite XR scores factors for its modular strategy to the design of the headset and simply how snug it’s to put on over lengthy durations, however just about every part else, from the controllers to the processor to the shortage of fashionable apps on Viveport, makes the Vive Elite XR a troublesome promote – particularly at £999/$1099. 

Introduction

The HTC Vive Elite XR is one among few opponents to Meta’s standalone VR headset assortment, providing an alternative choice to the vastly fashionable Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Professional – so protected to say it has its work reduce out. 

However whereas the Vive Elite XR’s modular design permits it to face out from the competitors, that’s about the one component of the headset that may be universally praised. Nearly every part else, from the controllers to the processing energy, feels considerably dated.

Nevertheless, that might’ve been forgiven had the Viveport Retailer been somewhat extra plentifully stocked with fashionable VR and MR apps and video games, with a woeful assortment in comparison with the may of Meta.

It’s not wanting good for the HTC Vive Elite XR, is it?

Design and match

• Snug match with balanced weight
• Distinctive modular design
• Glasses-free strategy to VR

The HTC Vive Elite XR is an evolution of the Vive Move headset from 2021, with various tweaks to the fantastically modular design that make the Vive Elite XR stand out within the standalone VR market. It’s arguably the strongest level of the headset general – however I’ll get to that in a bit. 

In its customary type, the HTC Vive Elite XR doesn’t look that dissimilar to the Meta Quest Professional, full with a battery pack on the rear with a high-end crank mechanism to offer the perfect match – a method higher implementation than the material strap of the Quest 2 and Quest 3 that helps steadiness the load of the headset to make it much less front-heavy. 

The entrance of the headsets do differ by way of look although, with the Vive Elite XR’s giant clear lenses reminding me of a Praying Mantis when donned. Anyone else?

The place the Vive Elite XR separates itself is by actually separating itself from the again of the headset, with customers capable of change out the battery pack for a pair of glasses-like plastic stems that rework the Elite XR right into a VR-enabled pair of sun shades. It additionally greater than halves the load of the headset, all the way down to 273g down from a (not that vital) 625g.

After all, the headset will must be tethered to some sort of energy supply to work, however you should utilize virtually any USB-C system that gives energy, from energy banks to a USB-C-enabled smartphone with reverse charging capabilities. However the distinction is these can sit in a pocket, not in your head, and that makes the VR expertise much more snug for prolonged use. 

That’s an actual boon not just for VR gaming however VR productiveness, with a considerably extra light-weight and cozy design than the Meta Quest Professional that would probably enable for all-day use. The draw back is that the headset is much less safe on the pinnacle than when related to the battery pack and, thus, shouldn’t be supreme for gaming or quick actions. 

That consolation additionally extends to the face plate that bridges the hole between the plastic construct of the HMD and your face, with a mushy material materials that feels fairly good when worn. What isn’t so good, nonetheless, is doing VR train in Les Mills Physique Fight utilizing the headset, as that mushy facia turns right into a sponge, absorbing all of your sweat, and it’s very tough to wash too. 

Vive also needs to be praised for its glasses-free strategy to VR. Slightly than promoting face plates to accommodate glasses-wearers like myself, which I typically discover don’t match my glasses that properly, you may modify the main target of every lens individually from -6 to +6, negating the necessity to put on glasses in any respect. 

That makes for a way more snug VR system, although it’s not supreme if you happen to’ve received notably sturdy prescription lenses outdoors of the vary supplied by the headset. 

Controllers

• Pretty cumbersome controllers
• Large monitoring rings
• Low-cost, plastic-y really feel

In considerably stark distinction to the future-thinking, modular design of the Vive Elite XR headset, the accompanying controllers are giant, plasticky and customarily a bit naff in comparison with not solely the Quest 3 and Quest Professional controllers, however even these that include the three-year-old Quest 2.

The button format is fairly customary, comprised of ABXY buttons, two analogue sticks, triggers and grip buttons, however the accompanying monitoring rings are fairly substantial – sufficient to conflict collectively in some VR titles, briefly ruining the immersion I used to be feeling on the time. 

The controllers are additionally notably longer than the comparably compact and ergonomic controllers of the Quest 3, nor do they boast the built-in monitoring tech of the Quest Professional controllers, that means they’ll solely be tracked when in full sight of the headset. 

The vibration suggestions can be somewhat uninteresting and mushy in comparison with the extra detailed haptic motors from Meta’s latest headsets – an identical distinction in sensation when evaluating the PS4’s DualShock controller to the PS5 DualSense controller.  

Admittedly, the controllers are a slight step ahead from the even bulkier OG Vive controllers that shipped with different latest Vive-branded headsets with a barely extra compact design, however as acknowledged, it’s removed from the compact and technically extra superior choices supplied by Meta’s headsets. 

Specs and efficiency

• Similar efficiency because the £299 Quest 2
• Hand monitoring, however no eye or monitoring
• Wi-fi telephone mirroring wants loads of work

The HTC Vive Elite XR’s Snapdragon XR2 chip would’ve been acceptable again in 2020, however in 2023, and particularly after the launch of the Meta Quest 3, the chipset is exhibiting its age. 

For context, the equally priced Meta Quest Professional boasts the Snapdragon XR2 Plus chip with a 50% enhance to energy output and 30% improved thermal efficiency in comparison with the Elite XR’s common XR2, and the hole is just widened if you take a look at the chipset within the Quest 3.

The Quest 3 boasts the model new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform that boasts severe good points on the unique XR2 chipset, together with a 2.5x enhance to GPU energy with 50% higher effectivity and a 33% enhance to the CPU that makes it wholly extra able to operating high-quality apps and video games with higher textures at increased resolutions than the Elite XR can. The XR2 chipset is identical as discovered within the £299 Meta Quest 2.   

That ought to assist paint an image of the expertise on supply; whereas not essentially a nasty one, with apps that run on the most 90fps allowed by the headset’s 90Hz LCDs, they’re not fairly as complicated or graphically spectacular as what I’ve seen from different headsets in 2023. 

It’s extra akin to what you’d get from Meta’s entry-level headset than what you’d anticipate from a premium standalone headset, albeit at a better decision, clocking in at 1920 x 1920 per eye. The decision does assist the expertise considerably, with comparatively crisp visuals that make studying textual content a lot simpler than cheaper headsets. 

HTC appears to distinguish itself from Meta’s headsets with a fairly cool characteristic that was first launched on the HTC Vive Move – wi-fi smartphone mirroring. At the very least, it might be fairly cool if I might get it to work extra reliably. 

The difficulty appears to return all the way down to smartphone compatibility, with help for Miracast and HDCP 2.2 or later required to entry your cell OS from the headset. I attempted it on a number of flagship-level telephones together with the Honor Magic 5 Professional, Xiaomi 13 Professional and the Google Pixel 7, and none labored. 

In actual fact, a look at HTC’s support page reiterates this level, with only a few smartphones formally appropriate with the performance. 

It’s a problem that was prevalent on the Vive Move and it appears HTC hasn’t discovered an answer with the Vive Elite XR both. I can solely surprise why the workforce didn’t go for a extra simple {hardware} connection, given that you may join the headset’s USB-C port to your smartphone for energy – it’d seemingly take away the restrictions on which telephones might use the performance. 

Hand monitoring is current and works in a really related option to that of the Quest 3 and Quest Professional, monitoring your palms within the digital house with point-and-pinch gestures to navigate the UI.

It’s a wonderful option to navigate via the OS and extra conveniently browse your telephone in its wi-fi mirroring mode, however the huge frustration is that vanishingly few apps on the Viveport Retailer benefit from HTC’s hand-tracking tech, that means you’ll greater than possible want to select up these cumbersome controllers as soon as you choose an app to load through hand-tracking.

I’ve additionally discovered that it’s not fairly as succesful as Meta’s possibility in something however supreme lighting circumstances, with the headset often dropping monitoring after I tried a little bit of VR in a desk lamp-lit room one darkish night. 

Hand monitoring is a nice-to-have characteristic, however HTC’s characteristic set doesn’t broaden to extra superior monitoring just like the face- and eye-tracking of the Meta Quest Professional, which permits for a way more pure social VR expertise the place it’s straightforward to select up on non-verbal communication like smiles, winks and extra. 

It’s not essentially a dealbreaker for many customers, nevertheless it’s one thing I’d have appreciated to have seen baked into an ‘Elite’ VR headset that prices the identical as Meta’s top-end headset. HTC has claimed that these options shall be out there through optionally available add-ons in future, however these are but to materialise and can undoubtedly hike the value even additional. 

Recreation and app availability

• Majority of apps and video games run properly
• Nice try at combined actuality
• Extreme lack of VR and MR apps and video games

The Viveport Retailer is the primary option to get standalone apps on the Vive Elite XR headset. A fast browse and also you’ll discover a number of fashionable apps together with Les Mills Physique Fight, Richie’s Plank Expertise and Digital Desktop, however this lulls you right into a false sense of safety as there are some fairly glowing omissions in comparison with the competing Quest Retailer. 

That features fashionable VR video games like Beat Saber and Gorilla Tag, together with greater, longer VR titles like The Strolling Useless: Saints & Sinners and Ghost Busters: Rise of the Ghost Lord – and that’s after seven months of the Vive Elite XR being out there for buy. I truthfully can’t see the state of affairs getting any higher any time quickly both. 

Certain, many of those apps can be found to you if you happen to tether the headset to a gaming PC, however that sort of defeats the aim of a standalone VR headset. 

The headset additionally helps combined actuality apps due to its forward-facing color passthrough cameras, with a surprisingly crisp expertise that’s higher than the marginally mushy interpretation from the Meta Quest Professional and one with out the intense fisheye distortion of the Pico 4. It was clear sufficient for me to stroll round my room with out bumping into furnishings, on the very least.

I’d argue that on MR visuals alone, the Elite XR can compete with the brand new Quest 3, although Meta’s new headset comes with {hardware} like a depth sensor that makes it a lot simpler to map the house round you, even incorporating parts like chairs and tables into the MR expertise – HTC doesn’t do that simply but. 

The larger downside for HTC is the provision of mentioned MR apps. Identical to with common VR apps, the choice is fairly barebones in the mean time – and when you think about that the Meta Quest 3 already had 50+ devoted MR apps inside a month of its launch, it appears that evidently Meta once more has the higher hand. 

Battery life

• 2-hour battery life
• Expenses through USB-C
• 1 hour of use with half-hour of cost

Battery life – when the battery pack is related, in fact – is fairly according to different standalone VR headsets available on the market, providing round 2 hours of use earlier than it’ll want a top-up through USB-C. That permits it to final somewhat longer than the Meta Quest Professional’s 1hr half-hour, though it does fall barely behind the Quest 3’s 2-3 hour battery life claims. 

Nonetheless, the modular design of the headset means that you can swap the official battery head strap out for a generic USB-C energy financial institution that may sit within the pocket and additional lengthen battery life, as can your smartphone in a pinch. That might make it a barely extra tempting possibility, notably for lengthy travels with no plug close by. 

Charging is fairly quick too, reaching an hour of use after simply half-hour of charging from the supplied USB-C energy brick, although a full cost will take round 2 hours.

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