This morning, HTC announced the pricing details for it’s new VR headset, the Vive Pro. The upgraded headset will cost $800 when it ships on April 5, with pre-orders starting today. Before you can even get excited, though, we have to ask — is that way too expensive?
People have been clamoring for a higher-resolution VR headset for years now. The primary reason is the increased pixel density, which should translate to a much more experience and realistic experience with fewer graphical oddities. While we’ve yet to test it in-depth, we did go hands on with the headset at CES this year, and we were pretty impressed with the overall experience.
But remember. What we’re talking about is just a headset. You still need a powerful PC that can actually run it. So, would you pay $800 for just a VR headset?
The @htcvive Pro will cost $800. Is that way too expensive? #HTCVivePro
Please RT for a larger sample size.
— Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) March 19, 2018
At $800, it’s the most expensive headset since the original Vive at launch. For that much, you can buy all sorts of things — let’s say, a 55-inch 4K smart TV, or even a great new laptop.
On the other hand, the Vive Pro has by far the best on-paper specifications of any headset so far. There are some obvious places where that money could have gone, most notably the pair of QuadHD displays (1400 x 1600 per eye). The headset also comes with built-in headphones, upgraded from the Deluxe Audio Strap, which HTC currently sells for $100. There’s other tech that HTC has packed into the package too, whether that’s extra microphones or cameras to enhance in-app immersion. On top of that, the bundle still includes the external Lighthouse sensors, along with the Vive controllers.
From the results so far, you can see that while there are some people who would be willing to pay for the increase in resolution, many simply can’t afford to get into VR at this level.
While Oculus heads in the direction of more entry-level buyers with its stand-alone Oculus Go headset, HTC seems intent to capture the attention of early adopters and VR enthusiasts. You’ll have to stay tuned to get our full review of the Vive Pro, but for now, it seems destined to be a bit out of reach for the average person interested in VR.
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.