HTC has reduced the price of Vive XR Elite, its flagship standalone headset, cutting it from $1,100 to $900.

Update (August 12th, 2024): In addition to permanently cutting the price of Vive XR Elite in the US, HTC has announced the same deal is coming to the UK where the headset will drop to £900.

The original article, covering the initial price drop, continues below.

Released in February 2023, Vive XR Elite was initially positioned as a Quest Pro competitor, offering up a compact and lightweight standalone design and mixed reality capabilities.

Shortly after its release, Meta closed the price gap, dropping Quest Pro from $1,500 to $1,000, essentially removing one of Vive XR Elite’s headlining features.

Now, at $900, it appears HTC is hoping to move Vive XR Elite stock in the US, or what has been the XR segment’s most performant market for consumer devices.

Additionally, the company is also holding two promotions for Vive XR Elite and Vive Ultimate Tracker bundles in the US, which end on August 31st. You’ll find both available on Vive.com.

• VIVE XR Elite + Ultimate Tracker 3 trackers + 1 dongle for $1,398
•  VIVE XR Elite + Ultimate Tracker 5 trackers + 1 dongle for $1,696

Meanwhile, HTC released a video late last month promising something “coming soon,” teasing what promises to be the next XR headset from the company.

While the company hasn’t revealed anything beyond that video, seen above, a supposed leak reported by tech analyst Brad Lynch suggests the headset may be more of an iterative design on Vive Focus 3—delivering what may be Vive Focus 4.

The reported leak maintains the next HTC headset will contain the same displays and optics as Vive Focus 3, however integrate the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 chipset used in Vive XR Elite, and also include built-in eye-tracking, USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode, and work with Vive Focus 3’s accessories—all of which is unconfirmed.

Provided that leak is true, the company may be in danger of undercutting Vive XR Elite’s functionality, becoming a veritable Quest Pro to Meta’s Quest 3, which has a majority of the former’s functionality at  nearly half the price.

HTC released a new video promising something “coming soon,” teasing what promises to be the next XR headset from the company.

The video is largely a sizzle reel of its recent standalone headsets, Vive XR Elite (2023) and Vive Focus 3 (2021), focusing on their use for both enterprise and gaming.

“Soon, out innovation will offer you a new kind of power. Prepare to pioneer the next reality,” the video states, flashing to teasers of the headset’s profile. Check out the video below:

While HTC hasn’t officially detailed anything about the device beyond teasing the headset’s profile, rumors suggest it could be the next iteration of Vive Focus, which, at $1,300, is mainly aimed at businesses.

A supposed leak reported by YouTuber and tech analyst Brad Lynch suggests the headset may be more of an iterative design on Vive Focus 3, containing the same displays and optics as Vive Focus 3, however integrating the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 chipset used in Vive XR Elite.

The device is also rumored to include built-in eye-tracking, USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode, and work with Vive Focus 3’s accessories—although none of that is confirmed.

When should we expect to see more information on HTC’s next headset? It’s impossible to say for now, although the company tends to tease headsets only a few months out from debut.

HTC teased Vive Focus 3 a month in advance of its official announcement, revealing the headset in full at its Vivecon event in May 2021. The company similarly teased Vive XR Elite in October 2022, later revealing it in full at CES 2023 a few months later.

As far as events go, there are a few where it might make the most sense to debut what could be another enterprise-focused headset from the company.

The soonest, biggest opportunity could be Gamescom in August, however that may be a non-starter. The consumer-focused event is largely dedicated to gaming, although it does have a sizable business area for press and industry. HTC doesn’t have a booth there this year though, but it could have some sort of off-site presence there.

Less “soon” events to consider are Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Vienna, Austria in late October, Immersive Tech Week (ITW) in Rotterdam, Netherlands in November (previously called VR Days), and of course CES 2024 in Las Vegas in January. We’ll be keeping an eye on HTC in the coming weeks for any indication of what’s to come, so check back soon.

HTC has teased that some users may not even need to wear their latest Vive Ultimate Trackers soon thanks to an upcoming AI-powered body tracking update.

HTC’s Vive Ultimate Trackers are capable of inside-out body tracking thanks to the inclusion of two on-board cameras that track its own position in space, requiring you to strap them to your elbows, feet, or hips for full-body tracking.

Now the company has shown off a video about how its Vive XR Elite headset, Face Tracker module, and Vive Ultimate Tracker pucks can be useful in physical therapy. In it, we get a look at a single Vive Tracker pointed at a user doing a sit-up, with the device placed on a nearby tripod, ostensibly making sure the user is executing the right moves.

“In addition, the incoming AI body tracking doesn’t require the patients to wear the trackers,” the company says in the video. “This will lead the rehabilitation experience to a new level.”

While it’s clear the update is being positioned for enterprise use, when the company first showed off is AI body tracking at GDC 2024 back in March the company said the new feature would service “VTube, Arcade, healthcare and more” with the OpenXR-supported device capable of tracking 26 joints, suggesting it will be broadly released as an integral software update.

As shown in the GDC 2024 demo, it seems to be primarily targeting non-VR use cases, working essentially like a webcam attached to an AI pipeline. We’ve reached out to HTC for more clarity on when/how the update will work, so check back soon.

Released in late 2023, the $200 Vive Ultimate Trackers are the company’s first to make use of inside-out optical tracking, departing from the SteamVR base station ecosystem that drives its various PC VR headsets and Vive Tracker 3.0 released in 2021.

Thanks to Antony ‘SkarredGhost‘ Vitillo for pointing us to the news.