HTC Vive XR Elite Virtual Reality Headset + Controllers

Marketing so aggressively to such a niche market is only risky if you are unable to deliver, and this headset falls very short of expectations they themselves set. The hardware has promise, in so far as I could be OK with it IF the software experience wasnt so underwhelming. I certainly would like to veer away from Meta to support privacy centric efforts and willing to pay a premium for that. However the state of the UI / UX is so rough, that I do not have the patience to cheerlead for future updates will sort this out. Not for $1200 after tax. I was ready to scoop up accessories and lean into this headset, but I will happily continue on with PCVR via the Quest 2 headset for now. It really boggles the mind how they could even ship a product with software in such a state as if there were no market leaders present currently highlighting the short coming so plainly. Hopefully they can get sorted on future iterations. Im increasingly interested in Big Screens product despite the workarounds for feature parity as I am not skeptical about their marketing. Unfortunately my opinion of HTC is now negatively informed by their willingness to ship a product that over promises and under delivers.

I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this headset so far. It really is as small and light as you would expect, and I don’t get a headache wearing it like I do with other headsets. The hand tracking is fun, but I’ve found I like using the controllers more. Biggest thing for me though is the passthrough. I thought I didn’t care about AR, but it’s really neat being able to look around your room and make drawings, sculpt objects, whatever. Now I just gotta decide what other games to get for it.

PROS - Built in speakers. They are simple but they do the job. I dont care too much about audio quality, so I cant speak for those who do. For me its good. - Form factor. Being able to lie back is a game changer for me. I love how compact and lightweight the device is. The design is great and it looks super cool and futuristic on your face if thats important to you. I really dont see myself going back to bigger headsets. - Diopters. Diopters worked well. I just adjusted each eye to my prescription and thats it. So nice not needing my glasses, but if you have a prescription higher than -6 (or have astigmatism), youre out of luck. - Passthrough. This is my first time experiencing passthrough in VR and I found it very useful being able to see my surroundings just by double tapping a button on the controller. The passthrough is not in 3D, but I think theres definitely something going on to simulate depth. Its a bit wonky at times. CONS - Software. Its basic and broken. The pre-installed apps crash, the brightness setting is completely non-working, hand tracking is simply too frustrating to use, the home environment will not boot up if your room is too dark, (but they make you figure that one out for yourself), most of the pre-order bonus apps are not yet available, and almost everything else is coming soon. For the price, I expected high quality software, but this is basically alpha pre-consumer software. Users shouldnt have to find complicated workarounds just to get basic features functioning. Sorry, but software should just work without effort. As far as apps go, there are very few, but I do keep seeing new ones pop up. Still no YouTube VR, Bigscreen, or really any of the other basic ones youd expect. - Fan Noise. The fan is loud, especially in passthrough mode. It almost makes me not want to use passthrough mode. - IPD slider. I expected a clean feeling slider, but the slider is gummy and hard to move. Its not a precise slider. - Gasket. The front gasket falls off too easily, but only if youre moving around a lot. If youre a stationary user, this wont be an issue. - Comfort. Wearing the headset with the battery cradle is not very comfortable for me. Luckily, glasses mode feels much better. - FOV. I would not say FOV is bad, but I was expecting better for the price. You definitely notice a binocular-like vision but considering the form factor, its acceptable. I cant speak for PCVR, but I havent heard good things sadly. Despite its issues, I still think this is a good headset for my use case and with better software, it could easily be a great headset. VIVE, if youre reading this... Show me how magical software can be. Software makes hardware great. You have to wow people. Dont ship boring broken software. I am excited for future updates.

Im pretty mad - the USB streaming was buggy and unreliable - Ive tried 4 different USB cables - and Im on the official one now - and its not able to work with the exact same everything that worked 2 days ago. I wish I could return it, but alas, its been more than 30 days - but the product simply does not work - as the other reviews also cover. Dont buy it.

I wanted to like it, after about two hours I just couldnt get it to stay focused. It just doesnt feel right for someone with a wider head. I have the same problem with eyeglasses most are not wide enough for me. I returned it, but will have to wait 30 days plus up to 7 days for the banks to process the return. This is not the normal Amazon return efund policy.

Bought it for my kids 16th birthday. He got super frustrated with it. Im a Microsoft Systems Engineer and I cant even get the thing to do what its supposed to do. And our PC is a top Alienware costing over 6K. We have Unifi wireless - everything in our setup is commercial grade except for this device. It is less than fun - its frustrating. If that is what you are into - go for it. But it is total junk IMO. Wait for other options TBH. Its not worth it - ESPECIALLY at this price point. So disappointed.

Horrible first-day experience at the initial setup, the software was a disaster, so many issues with the connection to the PC and phone. It appears HTC is aware of the problem and addressing the problem soon after users pointed it out. Hand tracking is improved, at least it no longer recognizes my feet as a 3rd hand. and Phone mirroring connection is now stable to a usable level. There are many other issues that still need to be addressed before a fair judgment can be passed on the unit. The good news is the developer has not given up on it yet. so I will keep the unit for a month to see.

The goods: 1. I love the futuristic form factor, it’s not as awkward as VR devices were. 2. I was amazed by how small it is, XR Elite is pretty legit 3. Wifi 6E is enabled 4. Stable and low-latency wireless streaming (tethered streaming as good as always) 5. I am excited for the MR gasket, please make it affordable The concerns: 1. The Android interface need to be polished more … 2. The passthrough mode in a low-light environment can be improved

The quality of the headset is good. The full-color passthrough is really neat especially compared to my old Samsung Odyssey WMR. I also like that the controllers pair to the headset and not to my PC. My biggest complaint is that they have clearing been pushing the 5 free titles as part of the pre-order since it was listed back in January. However, only ONE of those five titles are actually available on the headset. The other 4 are apparently coming soon with no clear release date. The Viveport store is pathetic at best. SteamVR worked with a USB cable most of the time, but it would occasionally flake out. Using Wi-Fi 6 from my router in the same room was low resolution a laggy at best. Sometimes it work for a good couple minutes and other times not at all. Overall, this thing is not worth the $1100 asking price in my opinion.

Previously gave it one star, after a couple of weeks upping to 3. Previously had a reverb G2 (1st gen), compared to the G2 its slightly heavier but less bulky. (The headset when disconnected and folded is a little larger than a soda can). Lenses are comparable resolution and are adjustable. (adjustability is great, can get even better resolution on somedays than g2). However, theres some fogging around the periphery and display when looking to the side can be a little blurry. The headset has a little fan built into the display and can be slightly noticeable if its quiet. Speakers are built into the frame, they dont hang or protrude like the reverb or occulus rift v1. Ambient sound isolation is comparable to the Rift Ss speakers. Volume adjustment buttons on the headset are a welcome addition, easier than fiddling with PC volume control though they could be a little louder, I have them on max all the time. Connectivity uses a link cable or wifi. I had to upgrade my router but performance is indistinguishable from when it is tethered. For best performance, the wifi router needs to connect to your computer via ethernet. If using tethered, using the battery pack is a must, they recommend a 30w power supply for headset usage, use of the headset itself I measured up to 18 watts without the battery but observed up to 27 watts when tethering to the headset through the battery. IIRC a lightning port on the motherboard can supply only up to 15 watts. Without the battery the headset randomly blacks out through tethered use, with the battery plugged into the pc you have about 2-3 hours of usage before needing to charge. Right now, Im using a wireless link with the headset+battery combo plugged into a dedicated power outlet. I want to note that the included link cables are comically small for tethered use. Apparently a longer version is sold separately but given the cost of this headset, a longer cable ought to have been included. The streaming software for the PC may need you to allow it in your antivirus/firewall settings. Streaming software is an improvement from WMR, allows you to drop in/drop out of VR compared to WMR which needed you to restart a program if SteamVR/WMR was closed for whatever reason, with HTC streaming you can resume from where you left off as if it never happened. The headset with the battery is comfortable enough provided the included headstrap is used. However, the non battery glasses config becomes very uncomfortable after prolonged use, the legs dig into the temple and are quite distracting. Controllers compared to the G2 V1 are an upgrade as well, hand gesture controls take a little getting used to but seem to have improved in the last update. You need to redefine the boundary and floor every time the headset is fully powered down (as in, no power source connected), this doesnt seem to happen if it has a power supply when shut down. Pros: Increased portability from G2, adjustable lenses are great! Software once running isnt as clunky as WMR and less hassle if the vr is interrupted. Wifi connection, when it works is as good as tethered. No base stations required! Cons: Expensive! Tethered play has a power limit and needs the battery to avoid blackouts, included cables are too short for tethered play. Slight improvements over the G2, mostly QOL improvements but hard to appreciate for the price, high end wifi router needed to fully utilise the new features.