HTC has announced that its much-delayed Vive VR headset will now be arriving in April of next year.
The HTC Vive is a virtual reality headset that’s being developed in conjunction with video game company (and creator of the Steam platform) Valve.
Initially, the HTC Vive was supposed to be launched by the end of 2015, but it recently became apparent that this had slipped into the first quarter of 2016. Now HTC has spoken up about the new launch timeframe in a blog post intended to “clear up speculation and misinformation surrounding the launch of HTC Vive”.
HTC’s plans involve hosting a Vive developer conference in Beijing on December 18, launching the second generation HTC Vive developer kit at CES in early January (and making an additional 7,000 units available to developers), and demoing the product at The Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, GDC and MWC.
This will all lead up to “commercial availability in April 2016”.
Related: What is HoloLens? Microsoft’s holographic headset explained
Of course, this will put the HTC Vive on a collision course with its direct rivals, the Oculus Rift and the Sony PlayStation VR, both of which are due to launch in Q1 2016.
We’re confident it can stand up to the competition, based on our own hands-on time with the HTC Vive. In particular, it has played host some of the most compelling interactive VR demos we’ve yet experienced.
Next, take a look at our Samsung Gear VR video:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
