For many weeks, HTC has been teasing a stand-alone VR headset that seems to be more portable than the Vive Focus 3. All of these teasers share a common theme of comfort and leisure, and they show a tube-shaped carrying pouch for the VR headset, along with a tagline of “Go with the Flow.” But ahead of the official launch on October 14, seasoned leaker Evan Blass revealed key details about the upcoming HTC Vive VR headset, including its design, features, price, and availability.
The set of images shared by Blass suggest many of the uses of the upcoming HTC Vive headset. Besides confirming what the headset will look like, the images confirm the moniker, Vive Flow, which until now had only been speculated about based on the teasers.
Miss me, @HTC? pic.twitter.com/hB7iPLLCHk
— E (@evleaks) October 12, 2021
As visible in the images, the headset sports a golden-tinted glass that resembles the company’s Project Photon concept smart glasses showcased in 2020. Meanwhile, another image shows onboard processing capabilities, which indicates the HTC Vive will be a stand-alone headset. This corroborates the earlier listing of a VR AIO (all-in-one) product by HTC on the Bluetooth SIG website.
The temples of the smart glass will be foldable for ease of use and portability, and they will feature earphones for an “immersive spatial audio” experience. The images also suggest the headset is designed to focus on “well-being and mindful productivity,” indicating it may have modes to help users meditate when they are not looking for entertainment. The Flow is likely to come with special modes to help users unwind in bed with features for improved sleep.
Leaked material also shows that HTC Vive Flow will connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth — that’s in addition to the wired USB-C connection shown in another image. Users will be able to cast content directly onto the headset from their smartphone and use the phone as a handheld controller.
https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/1448090419452121097?s=20
https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/1448090431401693191?s=20
Lastly, the leaks confirm that the HTC Vive Flow will be up for pre-orders starting October 15 for $499. Shipping begins in early November and comes with freebies such as seven free VR content bundles, two months of access to a service called “Infinity Vista,” and a carrying case. While we are unaware of what Infinity Vista might be, Road to VR speculates this could be a toned-down version of HTC’s Vive metaverse — Viveport Infinity.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.