Focus Vision is the best when it comes to overall construction quality and comfort. Like the Quest 3, it’s made of plastic, but it’s a sturdy device that looks decidedly more premium than Meta’s offerings. Ample cushioning allows Focus Vision to rest comfortably on your forehead and behind your nose. Additionally, the halo-like head strap and flip-up visor feature make it easy to wear over large glasses.
Best of all, Focus Vision features a removable battery behind the head strap. This provides a useful counterweight to the bulky front end, and with enough spare batteries, could potentially allow you to use wireless VR all day long. The headset also has a small built-in battery, allowing you to continue your VR session even while replacing the larger rear power cell. This is the kind of thing you’ll probably never see in a consumer Quest headset. Because it is too expensive to implement. Also, Meta is not built for enterprise customers who require continuous wireless. (To be fair, it’s also easy to just connect the Quest 3 to a USB battery pack.)
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
in use
The Focus Vision doesn’t feel all that different from the Focus, a headset we liked when we reviewed it in 2021, but as a business-focused device we caution consumers shouldn’t actually buy it. did. I guess this isn’t too surprising since both headsets share the same basic design, display, and CPU. In standalone VR mode, playing the Maestro demo really felt like conducting an orchestra (which I also experienced on the Quest 3S), and I enjoyed flying around several virtual worlds in VR chat.
Other experiences, such as the classic underwater VR short film theBlu, were as immersive as a clunky tethered headset. I knew Focus Vision didn’t have the best lenses and I wished it had more graphics power, but standing in the middle of a sunken ship waiting for a giant blue whale to pass by… However, it still brought a thrill. . I was also happy to see that the Vive app storefront was a little more populated than in 2021. Still, it pales in comparison to Meta’s Quest library, which has far more titles and compelling exclusive content (including Star Wars titles like Vader Immortal). series and Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge).
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
We already knew that the HTC Vive could make a decent headset – the Focus Vision’s controller and speakers work similarly to previous models – but when it comes to Focus Vision’s new features like mixed reality and eye tracking, What do you think? Unfortunately, there’s not much I can say yet. There are some mixed reality experiences available, such as the creation app Figmin XR and the shooting game Yuki, but they’re not necessarily amazing. The Focus Vision’s 16MP mixed reality camera provides a fuzzy view of the real world (similar to the Quest 3 and 3S), so it’s not as immersive as something like the much more expensive Apple Vision Pro.
Focus Vision’s eye-tracking feature also never worked, despite multiple attempts to calibrate it without glasses. However, there are only a few games in the Vive store that support it (like Capsule Critters and Mare), so this didn’t seem like a huge loss. This seems like a useful feature for developers who want to build their own eye tracking experiences, rather than people who just want to play games using eye tracking.
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
Robust standalone VR
A better selling point for Focus Vision is its ability to stream uncompressed desktop VR experiences. However, this is only if you invest in the $149 DisplayPort streaming kit. Meta’s Quest headsets have been able to connect to PCs for years, first via a USB-C cable and then wirelessly, but they also offer a heavily compressed view of desktop VR. The HTC Vive aims to offer something close to what we’ve seen with the Vive Pro 2 and other dedicated PC headsets by connecting directly to your video card’s DisplayPort connection.
After playing Half-Life: Alyx for 30 minutes, I can confirm that Focus Vision provides a solid desktop VR experience, especially for standalone headsets. But I’m not sure who will find this appealing considering it’s already priced at $999 and requires an additional $149 in accessories to get there. True VR enthusiasts may have already invested in a full-fledged desktop setup like the Valve Index or the recent Bigscreen Beyond (which uses an unusually transparent microLED screen like the Vision Pro).
The beauty of connecting a standalone headset to your PC has always been about value. Getting decent desktop VR on the $300 Quest 2 was a huge bonus. But that’s not the case with Focus Vision. If you’re a developer who needs one device to test both standalone VR and complex desktop experiences, or if you work for a company that needs a versatile VR headset, Focus Vision is a I think it has the potential to meet your needs. But this seems like a pretty niche use case anyway.
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
Focus Vision’s automatic IPD adjustment feature (which scans your eyes and physically moves the lens to get it into the ideal position) was also hit or miss for me. In some cases, it worked fine and reached around the stated IPD of 66. However, the automatic process could sometimes reach around IPD 72, making everything look a little blurry. Also, in some cases, this feature may not work at all. Auto-adjustment is useful if you’re sharing your headset with someone else, but if you’re not, it’s much more convenient to manually select your preferred IPD.
In my typical standalone use, the Focus Vision lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes, closer to the HTC Vive’s estimated 2 hours. That’s less than what you’d normally find on a Quest 3 or 3S, but at least you can buy an extra battery and replace it easily. The built-in hot-swappable battery lasts about 20 minutes, which is usually not something to stress about.
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
Should I buy Vive Focus Vision?
Despite my issues, Focus Vision still has an interesting place in the world of VR. Especially since Meta abandoned the Quest Pro, which was supposed to be a close competitor. Despite using an older CPU and lenses, it still offers decent standalone VR. And if you don’t want to clutter up your office with SteamVR sensors, a more powerful PC is a smart move for a more immersive VR experience (as long as you buy the $149 DisplayPort kit). But for a $999 headset, it’s a shame that HTC Vive didn’t do more to make Focus Vision stand out.
