With virtual reality in 2018 off to a fast start, let’s see how Facebook’s VR headset compares to HTC Vive.
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Hardware Design Controllers
Games
System Requirements
Price
Conclusion
Update: The HTC Vive Pro is here to challenge for VR supremacy, and with upgrades to resolution and design, it’s ready for battle.
However, those upgrades come at a cost, one that’s much higher than either of last-gen’s headsets. Because of the steep HTC Vive Pro price and some hard-to-ignore challenges (like a difficult setup process), the HTC Vive Pro may not dethrone the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift any time soon. Be sure to check out our full HTC Vive Pro review for all the nitty-gritty details.
Additionally, Oculus Rift has overtaken HTC Vive in the Steam hardware survey for the second month in a row. The opt-in survey is by no means a comprehensive look at everyone using VR headsets, but it suggests that Oculus Rift is gaining ground on HTC, which up until February held the lead in Steam’s monthly survey.
Original article continues below…
HTC Vive vs Oculus Rift. It’s a two-year-old VR battle that’s seen some new contenders arise to challenge for the crown, but for many shoppers, the choice still comes down to Facebook’s VR headset or the one made by HTC.
The answer to which headset is better ultimately depends on a range of different factors – from the types of immersive experiences you’re looking for to the amount of cash you’re willing to spend. Each headset has its own set of pros and cons, as well as different price points.
The story for the top two VR headsets is a compelling one, so before we break down design, specs and price, let’s revisit how the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift got their starts.
Find out if your PC rig is ready for VR!
How it all began
Oculus Rift’s story began as an ordinary Kickstarter project, but within a few years the company was snatched up by Facebook for $2 billion. Now, Facebook has thrown its considerable weight behind Oculus Rift, convinced that virtual reality is the future of social interaction. The social network certainly put its money where its mouth is.
Oculus Rift also has the backing of storied game makers, such as legendary video game programmer (and co-creator of Doom) John Carmack. However, notably the creator of the Rift, Palmer Luckey, left his passion project behind in favor of a more elusive venture.
Oculus and Facebook aren’t stopping with the Rift, either. The companies also announced the Oculus Go in late 2017, a cheaper standalone headset that doesn’t require a smartphone or tethered PC to run. There’s also a much more robust standalone headset in development, called Project Santa Cruz. Though we’ve tried this device out for ourselves, it remains shrouded in mystery.
Despite the emergence of these new headsets including the imminent release of Oculus Go, Oculus Rift remains the star product in the Oculus and Facebook VR line.
Tattooed dude with Oculus Rift
HTC Vive, meanwhile, comes from the minds of two notable tech companies, one known for its hardware and the other for software.
HTC has created some of the most critically and commercially successful smartphones and tablets, while Valve is a long-time ally of PC gaming fans with Steam, a PC gaming client neatly packed with the Vive in the form of Steam VR.
HTC Vive has seen a few add-ons over the years, such as the HTC Vive Tracker, and though there were plans to create a standalone HTC headset that ran Google’s Daydream VR platform, those plans fell through. HTC did launch the Vive Focus standalone headset in China.
Things really got shook up, however, when HTC unveiled the HTC Vive Pro in January 2018. The key upgrade here is a much sharper screen resolution. That upgrade comes at a cost, though, as the HTC Vive Pro price is $799 / £799 (about AU$1,015).
Your considerably less tattooed author wearing HTC Vive
While both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift have introduced new models, the original and most well-known headsets still have top billing (at least, for now).
Despite permanent price drops, both headsets are sure to set you back a considerable amount of dough, so you’re likely only going to be able to afford one. So, who wins the battle of HTC Vive vs Oculus Rift? Let’s find out. Hardware
Both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift successfully offer expansive video game worlds and out-of-body experiences within your living room, and that’s because the technology backing them up is similar in a lot of cases.
This is what you see, every which way you turn
The all-important displays are everything your mother warned you about when she said not to sit too close to the TV. That’s right, your eyes are just inches away from two OLED panels boasting a combined 2,160 x 1,200 resolution. As a result, each eye gets its own 1,080 x 1,200 resolution display to mindlessly gaze at.
With a 90Hz refresh rate on both headsets and asynchronous spacewarp on the Rift for 90 fps VR, this means there are 233 million pixels flying at your face every second, making for a grown-up VR experience versus the 60Hz Samsung Gear VR .
HTC Vive and Oculus Rift also have a wider 110-degree field of view (measured diagonally). This causes the virtual reality world to feel as if it truly wraps around your head.
Here, put this on. It’ll change your world
You’re not going to be able to break free of the required computer, though, as both headsets have to be tethered to a powerful computer with a smorgasbord of cables in order to function. Luckily, that may not be the case for long, as Facebook revealed the PC-less Oculus Go and Project Santa Cruz headset, with the former launching sometime in 2018.
For Oculus Rift fans, Project Santa Cruz is an honest-to-goodness wireless VR headset or, as Oculus describes it, an ‘all-in-one VR device.’ The cameras are built into the device, too, since Santa Cruz has an example of what’s known as inside-out tracking. This gives you a fully 360-degree VR experience without the need for any cables whatsoever.
Also important to bear in mind is that are 37 sensors in the Vive headset providing fluid, seamless movement, while there’s also a front-facing camera that makes a world of difference. It’s not clear whether all of these facets, which ensure accuracy and precision, will be replicable in a VR headset that’s completely wireless.
HTC’s camera also allows for a Chaperone safety system, which fosters room-scale VR within a 15 x 15 space by casting a blue outline on walls and objects established by the Lighthouse sensors when you get too close. What’s more, you can turn it on for a Matrix-like look at everything at once.
The HTC Vive camera has incredible potential
At the same time, third parties like Intel are designing additional camera add-ons for the Vive that allow for improved hand-tracking and real-time environment scanning to avoid walking into obstacles. And, with Valve having made its tracking tech royalty-free, more developers will be able to create similar accessories for the Vive.
Oculus Rift doesn’t have a camera on the front of its headset for augmented reality vision, but you can buy an additional $79 (about £63, AU$104) sensor that enables room-scale VR comparable to that of the HTC Vive. Until earlier this year, that option was in beta, but now Oculus fully supports sitting, standing and room-scale VR.
