HTC Vive announces first standalone VR headset for Chinese market

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Taiwan-based HTC announced on Wednesday its first Vive Standalone virtual reality (VR) headset targeting the Chinese market as the consumer electronics giant takes its VR business to new realms and makes good on its promise to make immersive experiences more accessible.

The new head-mounted display (HMD) is HTC’s second such device that requires no PC, phones or cables to operate. In May, HTC said it is teaming up with Google on a standalone headset.

The China-bound device will be able to get content from HTC’s own platform Viveport and is based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 mobile VR platform which supports built-in VR functionality and enables developers to release content faster.

HTC is pinning hopes on its VR business, Vive, which is now introducing independent HMDs to China. /Photo via HTC Vive

HTC Vive, which controls 25 percent of the market share in China, has been working to move beyond its PC-tethered devices and offer easy-to-use cable-free immersive experiences to VR enthusiasts without the hassle of complicated PC setups.

"China is the leading mobile market in the world today, and has the momentum to lead the global VR market as well," said Alvin Graylin, China Regional President of Vive while announcing the China-focused device at ChinaJoy 2017, currently underway in Shanghai.

China's VR industry accounted for 11% of the global market in the first quarter of the year, according to research firm Canalys, after the US (40%) and Japan (14%).

The country is forecast to expand by 441.2 % in 2017, another research firm IDC has said, as more players follow the steps of Samsung, Sony, Microsoft, Lenovo and Xiaomi for a slice of the growing pie, with existent tech companies striving to increase the competitiveness of their mobile and desktop VR platforms, and vie for the upper hand in independent HMDs segment.

"Partnering with Qualcomm to deliver an easy to use and more affordable Vive VR system will enable us to make premium standalone VR widely accessible to the masses in China," he added.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor is the top processor in the world at present.

"Snapdragon 835 is designed to deliver superior VR experiences without the need for wires or a separate PC," noted Hugo Swart, Senior Director of Product Management for California-based Qualcomm Technologies. “We are thrilled to work with HTC’s Vive team as they utilize our rich feature set to create exciting, new VR experiences in the first truly mobile VR headset of the Vive ecosystem.”

The release date of HTC’s devices, either in the US or China, are yet to be made official, although experts predict they will be rolled out in late 2017.

The new Vive Standalone VR headset will use HTC’s own platform Viveport to get content. Photo via HTC Vive

Price also seems to be an issue as making VR accessible means making the experience affordable.

At present, An HTC Vive System costs 799 US dollars for a VR headset, two motion controllers and two Lighthouse base stations, a power adapter and all necessary wires. A yet-to-be-introduced wireless VR HMD will set one back 250 USD, but the device will be worthless without the VIVE system.

HTC however said that its VIVE Standalone VR headset will offer “a more affordable, yet high-quality VR experience,” although it didn’t specify a price tag.

Virtual and augmented technologies have opened a whole new world for China in sectors ranging from video games to education and healthcare, with the country set to be the world’s largest market for VR and AR headsets by 2020 according to IDC.

As of the third quarter of 2016, China had over 5,000 VR experience stores, the Massachusetts-based firm said in an industry report published earlier this year, which predicted that independent HDM “are expected to find a path to growth (in China) thanks to support from chip makers and screen producers,” despite price and technology hurdles.