With the Vive currently topping the high-end VR stakes and a standalone Daydream device promised for later this year, HTC is now bridging the gap with a new headset designed to be used with its new HTC U11 smartphone.
The HTC Link has its own displays, but the processing power and experiences are supplied by a physical USB-C connection with the soon-to-be-released HTC U11.
The displays are 3.6-inches and offer a resolution of 1080 x 1200 with a 110-degree field of view. There’s also a 90Hz refresh rate, which is the same as both the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.
Related: HTC Vive review
It uses an external camera sensor and a pair of wand-like motion controllers, which look a little like the PlayStation Move accessories for the PlayStation VR headset.
It also offers six-degrees of freedom (6DOF) motion tracking, which we haven’t seen before in a smartphone-based virtual reality headset.
There’s also a 2,800mAh battery built into the device, along with a set of bundled earphones.
That’s all of the good news we have for you sadly, because it looks like the HTC Link will only be available in Japan (via The Verge). Boo and hiss.
HTC isn’t using Vive branding on this project, so it’ll be interesting to see what experiences are made available through the platform. For starters, the company is bundling a Ghost In The Shell experience called ARISE.
There’s no price tag yet, but it’s going on sale today.
Are you pumped for the next generation of standalone VR headsets? Share your thoughts in the comments below.