It’s been about two years since HTC released its first VR headset, the HTC Vive. At the time it carried a hefty price tag of $799, but HTC has slashed the price a few times and today the company is permanently reducing the price of a Vive headset, controllers, and base stations to $499.

But if you’ve got $799 burning a hole in your pocket you can also spend it pre-ordering an HTC Vive Pro.

The upgraded VR system is scheduled to start shipping April 5th.

Here are a few things that make the Vive Pro different than the original:

  • 2880 x 1600 pixel display (up from 2160 x 1200)
  • Built-in headphones
  • Improved head strap and design for better comfort

Customers who purchase a Vive Pro by June 3rd will also get a 6-month VivePort Subscription for free, which gives you access to 5 VR games or apps per month from a library of 400 titles.

The current price of a subscription is $7 per month, but that price is going up to $9 per month starting March 22nd (although anyone who signs up before then will be locked in at the $7 price “through at least the end of the year.”)

On the one hand, I’m kind of more excited about the price cut for the original model, because it’s nice to see high-quality VR headsets becoming more affordable. On the other hand, if I were going to spend hundreds of dollars on a head-mounted display, I’m not sure I’d opt for the one with the lower-resolution screen.

Oh, and something else to keep in mind: the $799 price tag is just for the Vive Pro headset. It’s designed to work with the company’s existing controllers and base stations, which is all well and good if you’re upgrading from the original Vive. But if you’re not, then you’ll probably have to shell out a few extra bucks to get a complete system.

 

 

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6 replies on “HTC Vive VR headset price drops to $499, Vive Pro goes up for pre-order for $799”

  1. Wow, that’s super expensive and that’s just for the headset. The controllers and tracking stations are sold separately.

    1. Pimax is not even 50K. Sad.
      My UnreleasedProduct will bury them all, eventually.
      Too bad this is right now, and not later.

      1. You can buy one right now on Amazon for mere $350 with 3840*2160p.
        So, I don’t understand your sarcasm. Though, may be somebody like to pay more to get less, it’s freewill market. Or may be you just don’t have an information about products from other companies, which make your position weak.

        1. Whoa, don’t go moving the goalposts on me. What do you get for a $350 Pimax right now? From what I hear, some good displays, lackluster software, and horrid tracking.

          The point is you can claim “4K” or “8K” (across both eyes), but if you don’t have the whole package, particularly tracking, down to the standard of the Vive, you’re comparing apples to oranges. It never ceases to amaze me how people are willing to be dismissive of anything outside their narrow field of view, only comparing raw resolution numbers and declaring anything else than their arbitrary standard “sad”. My point about 50K is where does it end? Are bigger numbers always better? In this case, I would say no.

          I would love to see Pimax be successful in, say, making virtual displays for productivity, but without solving their tracking issues, room-scale interaction is not going to be a thing for them. For the time being, the Vive Pro seems to be the place to be, and my experience with the non-Pro has been far from “sad”.

  2. Totally worth the price. It’s a solid headset and currently the highest resolution one that I know of. I use the oculus rift almost on a daily basis and while the resolution is good, higher resolution will definitely help my gameplay–especially for technical games like Rec Room’s paintball where you have to dodge paint balls flying at you from every direction.

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