The First Standalone VR Headset On Google’s Platform

HTC has partnered with Qualcomm to create the self-contained headset, known as Vive Standalone. Revealed at the ChinaJoy entertainment expo and conference in Shanghai, announcements like how much it will cost, technical specs and when it will be released, are expected to come in the next few months.

The headset, which has been billed as a ‘premium’ device, will be powered by a Snapdragon 835 chip, the same chip found in top-of-the-range smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S8.

It’ll be based on Google’s Daydream VR platform, making this the first standalone headset on Google’s platform. Most, such as Google’s own Daydream headset, require a compatible smartphone.

HTC unveiled its first virtual reality headset, Vive, at Mobile World Congress in 2015. However, it required a powerful gaming PC to run games and VR experiences on the headset, and it cost £700.

Earlier this year HTC also announced a western release for the TPCast wireless upgrade kit for $250 (£190). High-end virtual reality is plagued with the enduring problem of tethering to the base of a PC, so both the TPCast kit and Standalone are addressing an enormous gap in the market.

The new headset will compete with the likes of the Samsung Gear VR, designed in partnership with Facebook-owned Oculus and supported on Samsung smartphones.

According to a report by SuperData Research, the Gear VR is the best-selling VR headset on the market. It estimated Samsung sold 782,000 Gear VR headsets in the Q1 2017, followed by 375,000 of Sony’s PlayStation VR.

HTC hasn’t revealed sales of the Vive headset, but the same report suggested HTC sold 95,000 Vive headsets in Q1 2017, compared to 64,000 from its most direct competitor, the Oculus Rift. Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games and creator of Unreal Engine, suggested earlier this year the Vive was outselling the Oculus Rift 2-to-1.