"Vive Pro offers an immediate upgrade for both VR enthusiasts and enterprises that want to utilise the best VR experience". The Wireless Adapter is coming in the fourth quarter of this year, while more information on the Vive Pro's price and availability are coming "soon".
It's a slight shame that HTC Vive hasn't jumped for a meaty 4K resolution, but seeing as even as Nvidia's GTX 1080ti would struggle to push out 4K per eye for VR, it's somewhat sensible to scale ambitions down.
Teasing the news earlier with a tweet about New Year's resolution, HTC revealed the re-designed VR machine and all the goodies inside.
"Viveport is moving to a VR first experience model, and with the all-new Viveport VR, we are changing the way consumers discover, experience and acquire VR content", said Rikard Steiber, president, Viveport, in the announcement's press release.
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Last year, at Computex, HTC announced that it was working with Intel to create a wireless VR solution that uses Intel's WiGig wireless data transmission technology. The refreshed headset, which now has no price, will arrive in "Q1" of 2018, and it adds one huge upgrade, and a few small ones, to an otherwise familiar-looking Vive. Compared to the original Vive, the Pro model adds sharper resolution with 2880x1600 dual-OLED displays, built-in headphones, a redesigned headstrap, and dual front-facing cameras.
But for those interested in owning the next step, HTC hasn't committed to exact release dates - for the Vive Pro, or for a proper successor to the now available Vive. The new portal features sample VR previews that give quick interactive glimpses into a game.
Indeed, HTC says it is a 78 per cent increase in clarity - users will be able to easily read text when experiencing virtual reality. The full Vive Pro kit with 2.0 tracking is said to ship in the Summer time frame. There's no word on when the wireless adapter is going to be available, or how much it will cost. This piece of equipment will operat in the interference-free 60Ghz band, says HTC, and will be up to "the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers", so says Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation.
Beyond the blue colouring and a slightly tighter design, the Vive Pro also features a redesigned head strap, making it easier for users to resize to suit their unique noggins.