HTC Vive Cosmos

VRS Review

VRS OVERALL RATING
Recomended Not Recomended

HTC is an absolute pioneer of consumer VR. The original HTC Vive pushed many innovations in the industry. While the Oculus was a revolutionary product, it only shipped with a standard gamepad and basic remote control. The Vive brought us motion controllers and room-scale external motion tracking. Raising the bar for what people expected of the VR experience.

Since then, HTC and Valve, who collaborated on the Vive, have parted ways. Valve has brought out the industry-leading Valve Index and HTC has launched the Cosmos.

The Cosmos is certainly a high-end tethered VR system, a product that exceeds the Rift S from Oculus. Which can now be considered a mid-range option. Notwithstanding that the Rift S has been discontinued in favour of the Quest 2. Which means there’s now an even cheaper option for the Cosmos to deal with.

At this price, the Cosmos is really mainly in competition with the Valve Index. On that front, it has a slightly higher resolution, but a narrower field of view. One big advantage is the use of inside-out tracking.

Where the Index is still reliant on external tracking systems, you don’t have to worry about that with the Cosmos. That makes it a good solution for people who don’t want to set up permanent VR spaces or those who move around with a high-end gaming laptop.

It’s in an awkward space being a mere $200 less than the Index and more than twice the cost of a Quest 2, however, HTC is still doing something new with the Cosmos. The faceplate uses a proprietary connector, turning the Cosmos into a somewhat modular system. HTC have therefore produced several variants of the Cosmos. Some have fewer features but cost less. Others are upgraded models or specialized for specific types of experiences.

Still, it’s hard to imagine who exactly the Cosmos is for since it makes more sense to spend a little more or a little less to get a product with a wider appeal or simply better quality overall.

SPECIFICATIONS

Display LCD
Panel size Unknown
Resolution 1440 x 700
Refresh rate 90Hz
Field of view 110-degrees
Sensors Unknown
Connections Unknown
Audio 3D

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