On Thursday, October 14th, the Taiwanese company HTC, which has not been heard of for a long time, announced its new product. This is the HTC Vive Flow virtual reality headset that looks like big glasses.
HTC Vive Flow is the first Asian brand’s VR headset launched in 2021 and is aimed at mainstream audiences rather than corporate users. The headset has a unique look — the designers tried to make it as similar as possible to ordinary sunglasses. The manufacturer claims that when developing the new device, the main emphasis was on comfort. HTC Vive Flow can be worn like glasses on the temples, rather than fastened with straps like the vast majority of other headsets. The new HTC headset is not only quite compact but also lightweight. It weighs only 189 grams. True, for this I had to sacrifice a full-fledged battery. Yes, the headset has a small battery, but it only lasts a few minutes while you plug the headset into an external power source, be it a power bank or a smartphone with reverse charging support.
HTC’s new virtual reality headset features two 2.1-inch LCD displays with a resolution of 1600 x 1600 pixels each. The screens support image refresh rates up to 75 Hz and have a viewing angle of 100 degrees. Also, the gadget is equipped with two cameras, so that the user will be able to stay aware of what is happening around. The headset is built on the basis of the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 chipset in combination with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory without the possibility of expansion. Also, the headset is equipped with stereo speakers with support for spatial sound and two microphones with noise canceling. And if that doesn’t seem enough, you can connect your wireless headphones to the headset via Bluetooth.
HTC Vive Flow is currently only compatible with mobile devices running Android 9.0 Pie and higher. You can find out if your smartphone supports the new HTC headset on the manufacturer’s website. It is noted that by the end of 2021, 100-150 applications will be released for the headset. Also, users will be able to broadcast the contents of the screen of their smartphone to the headset via Miracast and watch content from streaming services.
The new virtual reality headset is already available for pre-order on the HTC website. The issue price is $ 499.
