The HTC Vive may be launching in April, but you’ll have the opportunity to guarantee yourself a unit long before then.
HTC CEO Cher Wang has revealed that HTC Vive pre-orders will begin February 29. However, it’s still not clear how much the Vive will cost.
HTC’s Vive has been getting quite a bit of praise from folks that’ve spent some early hands-on (heads-on?) time with the unit, so it’s exciting to see that a consumer launch is finally starting to get close. That said, if you’re interested in picking up a Vive, don’t expect it to be cheap. While HTC hasn’t yet revealed the Vive’s price, the Oculus Rift VR headset is now available for pre-order for $599, and so Vive will likely cost at least that much, if not more. Plus, you’ll need a powerful PC to use Vive, which could cost another $1000 or so if you don’t already have a beefy rig.
In other HTC news, CEO Cher Wang has said that her company is starting to focus more on virtual reality and less on smartphones. “Yes, smartphones are important,” Wang told The Telegraph, “but to create a natural extension to other connected devices like wearables and virtual reality is more important.”