New photos posted Thursday on Reddit revealed what appear to be updated designs for the HTC Vive headset and controllers. The leak comes just a few weeks ahead of the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, where virtual reality headsets, including the Vive and the Oculus Rift, are expected to take center stage. Reportedly found by two separate redditors digging through the Vive developer site, the new hardware generally seems to add another layer of polish, with compositional changes and steps taken to keep wires and sensors out of site.
The headset looks similar to the current developer kit, but now features a smoother faceplate with a small camera at the bottom-center. The sensors have been sealed in, though the distinctive sensor divots remain. The HTC logo has been moved from the center of the plate to a much more subtle position on the end of the vertical strap, which is completely visible now as the over-head running wires seems to have been removed.
The controller, on the other hand, seems to have been greatly refined. The large hexagonal plate at the top of the handle has been replaced by a seemingly smaller oval shaped sensor. The touchpad has been changed from an embedded circle to an finger-grooved oval shape. The button above and below the touchpad are now covered, with indicating symbols of some sort.
According to Redditor Heaney555, who posted the headset, the new hardware could be either a new development kit or retail-ready hardware. Based on the attention to aesthetics and reduced number of wires, both components seem to have been designed with consumers in mind.
Last week, HTC announced it would delay the launch of the Vive until April, 2016. HTC had previously planned to release their headset by the end of the year, ensuring it would launch ahead of the Oculus Rift and Sony’s PlayStation VR, which are currently expected to arrive in early 2016.
A final word of caution: it’s important to keep in mind that, as unsubstantiated information gleaned from Reddit, these designs may be fabrications. We’ll likely find out what’s real and what’s not when we get to CES next month.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.