Wireless VR, the current and most pressing of two holy grails for virtual reality hardware manufacturers, will be a reality for the HTC Vive by the end of 2018. Unveiled at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, the HTC Vive will be receiving a powerful new model this year and an adaptor for wireless use.
The HTC Vive Pro is the next version of the VR headset, offering a high field of view, 2880 x 1600 resolution on OLED displays (a 35% jump from the current model) and a pixel density of 615 ppi (75% greater than current). The unit’s built-in headphones have also seen a leap in quality, promising much higher audio quality. Higher resolution is the other of the two aforementioned VR holy grails, allowing for greater immersion while using the headset.
But what about the wireless announcement? The HTC Vive Wireless Adaptor will allow users to address one of the most significant gripes with current VR tech — the sheer amount of cables that must be draped over you in order to use them. The press release states that the adaptor will broadcast on the interference-free 60Ghz band to reduce latency and improve overall performance, but does not get into exactly what will power the headset after the cord is cut. For a room-spanning piece of tech like the Vive, wireless usability is a major win and will see the company become the first VR hardware manufacturer to bring the tech to market. However, we don’t know how it will actually work just yet, so maybe temper your expectations for now because time’s gonna tell on this one.
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