HTC Vive XR Elite Virtual Reality Headset + Controllers

Setup was ok, main usage was PC VR. The usb cable didn’t work despite working fine with quest 2. I had to use pc streaming. Not the best. The weight is light but there is noticeable pressure on the forehead. With the sunglass mode, it squeezes hard on the head. I found it to be an issue. It hard to recommend it at this price. AR is a feature no one, yet, asked for it and yet we are paying for it. The price is steep.

A few things I thought I was going to really enjoy about the XR elite were the tether-less streaming and adjustable diopters, as well as the potential to hack in steamVR tracking by rigging a base station tracker to the HMD somewhere. My suspicions were correct; even though I have never used an inside-out HMD, the tracking was abominable and would cut out often, regardless of lighting condition. This left me with the white/grey screen, and having to completely redo my playspace. Unfortunately, ALVR and similar projects were not ready day one. PCVR streaming also causes a noticeable performance impact, even on a 5800X and RTX4090. Pairing took hours of frustration and shoving my face as close as I could to the screen, because the pairing QR code would never scan! Sure this can be fixed with updates but my neck was sore and it was a 4 hour process before I even got into streaming. USB streaming is also temperamental. Also, hand tracking for this product does not exist. Its unusable, and the FOV of it is also ridiculous. It feels like 20 degrees of scope and you have to stretch your hand out in front of you as far as it will go. As for comfort, the face gasket, marketed to be this soft, plush fabric, has a hard and painful plastic inner frame, that is extremely UNcomfortable (painful actually) on your forehead depending on the shape of your face. It also continued to push my eyes out of the sweet spot. If I adjusted the headset to line up my eyes with the device correctly, the gasket would detach from the bottom and leave a 10-15MM gap - what?! The head strap was sorely needed to make it bearable for the 30 minutes I could stand to experience it. This needs to go back to the drawing board, and the newest media coverage of this device shows new experimental facial interfaces already. These are crutches that will not do much to fix the full scope of the broken UX of this product. What I would like to see out of this product, as with the flop of the cosmos, is a completely re-engineered facial and head strap interface. A clone of the orignal HTC vive facial interface and DAS was the best design I have experienced so far from HTC and was hands down the most comfortable VR experience. A copy-paste would be totally fine. Additionally, make it base station tracked. And make binocular overlap better than or equal to the original vive. FOV is also terrible but would get a pass as a first gen of a new form factor if everything else was fixed. Will any of this happen? No. Would I trust HTC and buy it if this came true? No. The XR Elite is what it is. What HTC is trying to do is just not going to work in its current state, trying to do too much and experiment too much. If it worked as advertised, and was actually wearable without discomfort, this would make huge waves. Congratulations on trying HTC, other projects will surely piggyback on the development of this device.

Previously gave it one star, after a couple of weeks upping to 3. Previously had a reverb G2 (1st gen), compared to the G2 its slightly heavier but less bulky. (The headset when disconnected and folded is a little larger than a soda can). Lenses are comparable resolution and are adjustable. (adjustability is great, can get even better resolution on somedays than g2). However, theres some fogging around the periphery and display when looking to the side can be a little blurry. The headset has a little fan built into the display and can be slightly noticeable if its quiet. Speakers are built into the frame, they dont hang or protrude like the reverb or occulus rift v1. Ambient sound isolation is comparable to the Rift Ss speakers. Volume adjustment buttons on the headset are a welcome addition, easier than fiddling with PC volume control though they could be a little louder, I have them on max all the time. Connectivity uses a link cable or wifi. I had to upgrade my router but performance is indistinguishable from when it is tethered. For best performance, the wifi router needs to connect to your computer via ethernet. If using tethered, using the battery pack is a must, they recommend a 30w power supply for headset usage, use of the headset itself I measured up to 18 watts without the battery but observed up to 27 watts when tethering to the headset through the battery. IIRC a lightning port on the motherboard can supply only up to 15 watts. Without the battery the headset randomly blacks out through tethered use, with the battery plugged into the pc you have about 2-3 hours of usage before needing to charge. Right now, Im using a wireless link with the headset+battery combo plugged into a dedicated power outlet. I want to note that the included link cables are comically small for tethered use. Apparently a longer version is sold separately but given the cost of this headset, a longer cable ought to have been included. The streaming software for the PC may need you to allow it in your antivirus/firewall settings. Streaming software is an improvement from WMR, allows you to drop in/drop out of VR compared to WMR which needed you to restart a program if SteamVR/WMR was closed for whatever reason, with HTC streaming you can resume from where you left off as if it never happened. The headset with the battery is comfortable enough provided the included headstrap is used. However, the non battery glasses config becomes very uncomfortable after prolonged use, the legs dig into the temple and are quite distracting. Controllers compared to the G2 V1 are an upgrade as well, hand gesture controls take a little getting used to but seem to have improved in the last update. You need to redefine the boundary and floor every time the headset is fully powered down (as in, no power source connected), this doesnt seem to happen if it has a power supply when shut down. Pros: Increased portability from G2, adjustable lenses are great! Software once running isnt as clunky as WMR and less hassle if the vr is interrupted. Wifi connection, when it works is as good as tethered. No base stations required! Cons: Expensive! Tethered play has a power limit and needs the battery to avoid blackouts, included cables are too short for tethered play. Slight improvements over the G2, mostly QOL improvements but hard to appreciate for the price, high end wifi router needed to fully utilise the new features.

I have been waiting for this headset for several months and it is a big disappointment. The Bad: 1. The right lens has two dark specs that are either dead pixels or dirt inside the lens. 2. Vive streaming app is very buggy and does not work very well with Steam VR. 3. Controller support on steam vr games is a big challenge. Many of the games are unusable with the controllers and you need to do a lot of tweaking and hopefully get them to work. 4. Before I got the controllers paired I tried to log into my account with hand gestures and the keyboard. This was totally unusable with missing keystrokes and erratic pointer movement. I had to pair the controllers to get this accomplished. 5. Headset draws more power than the usb 3.0 port on my computer can supply and I slowly saw my battery drain while connected to the computer via usb. Need to try other ports before making a final determination. 6. Face mask is not very comfortable but could be tolerated. Need to look at other solutions. The Good: 1. Very light headset especially without the battery pack. 2. Foldable and very portable. All you need is a power source. 3. Works very well with usb c dongle providing power delivery with a wired ethernet connection. It detects the ethernet connection as a tethered usb port. 4. Picture quality is excellent depending on which app you are using. Summary: In conclusion I think that this product was released prior to being ready. The software issues could be resolved if you are willing to wait for fixes, but there is no excuse for the quality issues with the lenses. I like the ergonomics and portability of the product enough to keep it because I believe that the software issues could be resolved in time however I will be replacing my defective unit. Hopefully Amazon will have one to replace it with. Update - March 29, 2023 ----------------------------- Spent several hours with the headset mainly without the battery pack in glasses mode working with steam vr. Following are the results. 1. The Headset pinches on the sides of the head making my head sore right above the ears. This was after several hours of use and now after 12 hours of resting, my head is still sore to the touch. The nose bridge pinches my nose making it difficult to breath but got used to it. 2. I installed the Vive Streaming App beta version and it works better than the released version. 3. Controllers started working with most apps after I disabled the compatibility setting in the streaming app. For some reason the default setting after installation was with compatibility on. This was a major accomplishment since it made the product usable. 4. Most steam vr games I tried worked fine once I got the controller issue resolved in 3 above however I could not get Flight Simulator 2020 to work even though it works fine with the Quest 2 and Pico 4 on the same system. Got a lot of stuttering and the streamer kept on losing connection. 5. Streaming both wireless and usb tethering mode worked fine. I barely noticed any difference between the two. I have mixed feelings about this headset. I think the comfort and software issues could be overcome. I really like the size and portability and modularity as well as picture quality once you get your sweet spot.

The goods: 1. I love the futuristic form factor, it’s not as awkward as VR devices were. 2. I was amazed by how small it is, XR Elite is pretty legit 3. Wifi 6E is enabled 4. Stable and low-latency wireless streaming (tethered streaming as good as always) 5. I am excited for the MR gasket, please make it affordable The concerns: 1. The Android interface need to be polished more … 2. The passthrough mode in a low-light environment can be improved

For that kind of money I was expecting so much from a gadget. This was a big disappointment and I fell for the exaggerated description and of course features which they failed to deliver. The controllers are big and the frame a little smaller to fit on my already small face. Id stick to my oculus2 which I can honestly say never failed me from the day I opened the box.

The valve index had set a very high bar, years before the quest 2 ever cam to market. Based on the quality valve is known for and numerous early reviews, I was expecting an exceptional headset when I preordered this one. I already own a quest 1, quest 2 and pico 4, so Im very familiar with vr. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The headset wasnt comfortable at all. I couldnt get a very good light seal around the face cushion. The cushion itself seemed very flimsy and had a tendency to fall off if I grabbed it the wrong way. The battery pack that attaches to the back, like the pico 4 , is a great way to balance everything. However, unlike the pico, the back doesnt pivot at all. This means you have to loosen the back every time, which is inconvenient. This might have been manageable, but the only way to keep the headset on when I moved around was to tighten it excessively so that my face bit into the face cushion and it stayed on the back of my head. (This gave me headaches after 15-20 minutes of using it.) Visually, its not very impressive either. While it does look better than my quest 2, it doesnt look better than the pico 4. Also, the field of view seemed smaller, sort of like I was looking through binoculars. I tried playing Pop One and found myself having to look around a lot more, because my peripheral vision was almost non existent. Lastly, the controllers seem like a step backward. The body of controllers are straight bulky sticks, without any effort made to help them conform to your hand and be comfortable. The controllers on the quest 2 and pico 4 both feel comfortable in my hands. The xr elites did not. Both the quest 2 and the pico 4 are better headsets than this at a lesser price.

Marketing so aggressively to such a niche market is only risky if you are unable to deliver, and this headset falls very short of expectations they themselves set. The hardware has promise, in so far as I could be OK with it IF the software experience wasnt so underwhelming. I certainly would like to veer away from Meta to support privacy centric efforts and willing to pay a premium for that. However the state of the UI / UX is so rough, that I do not have the patience to cheerlead for future updates will sort this out. Not for $1200 after tax. I was ready to scoop up accessories and lean into this headset, but I will happily continue on with PCVR via the Quest 2 headset for now. It really boggles the mind how they could even ship a product with software in such a state as if there were no market leaders present currently highlighting the short coming so plainly. Hopefully they can get sorted on future iterations. Im increasingly interested in Big Screens product despite the workarounds for feature parity as I am not skeptical about their marketing. Unfortunately my opinion of HTC is now negatively informed by their willingness to ship a product that over promises and under delivers.

Very poor experience. I waited more than 3 months after I pre-ordered this crap and I returned it right the way back to them. Very disappointed.

Preface to this review: I have an extreme negative bias towards Meta and refuse to use their products, so Im completely unable to compare this product to any of the Quest offerings. Ill primarily be comparing against the Valve Index. Furthermore, as other reviews have pointed out, the standalone experience is sorely lacking, and in my opinion HTC should have delayed the launch of this headset until they were able to get more apps into their storefront. Because of this, Ill only be focusing on the PCVR experience here. The HTC Vive XR Elite is not the best headset in any one category. Its not the best looking image (PCVR), it doesnt have the best controllers, it doesnt have the best tracking, and its not the smoothest experience out of the box. What it does have, is portability; both portability in travel and portability between users. We have a Valve Index already in our house, and sharing that experience is tedious to say the least, which means in the year weve had it in our house of 4, weve pretty much never shared a VR experience all together. That changed only a few days after the XR Elite arrived. The ability to quickly swap between different users of differing prescriptions, the ability to adjust the IPD to fit my (admitted hey-Arnold-esque) head, and the lack of a top strap to accommodate the widest range of hair styles make it an actually fun and immersive experience you can ***enjoy with your friends and family*** instead of alone. Ill admit the Quest lineup is probably pretty similar here, but as I mentioned above, I refuse to in any way support their parent company, and thus here I am. I believe that this product is perfect for those looking for a higher-end product as their first foray into VR, and many of the flaws the XR Elite has, I hope HTC is able to solve (primarily the lack of apps in the storefront). If youre listening HTC, one thing I would love to see is the ability to integrate with other controllers. The XR Elite can already track my hands, but it cant pair with Index Knuckle controllers and track those instead? Of course Id be giving up some precision the Knuckle controllers usually have by removing the base stations, but I cant see why it isnt possible. That, or release some higher-quality feeling controllers. All in all, I really wanted this to be a 4-star or 5-star review, and I think for the right person (such as myself) it definitely is, but as for the general public... Its a hard sell given that they probably dont share the same aversion to Meta as I do.