HTC Vive XR Elite Virtual Reality Headset + Controllers

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

I bought this headset mainly for the form factor. I wanted something that was portable. I was already using base stations with my Vive Pro. I dont like Meta so a Quest 2 or Pro wasnt for me. The display is ok. There is some white glare on black backgrounds, I dont like that much (the reason for 3 stars). But I like the idea I can be in VR in any room in my house. The other day I was in my bedroom watching a movie in glasses mode barely noticing the headset. To those who find the headset uncomfortable. I did too until I wore the battery cradle a little higher than I was used to with my Vive Pro. It seems to fix the problem of the face cover pressing too hard on my forehead. Im pleased with my purchase.

Where do I start.... I really wanted to like this headset and I defended many of HTCs poor choices in designing this thing... But after using it, or trying to, I cant defend this POS. 1) They marketed this as the most comfortable headset on the market and it is NOT. Its actually pretty UNCOMFORTABLE. The eye guard is made out of a stiff material with ZERO padding and a rough fabric over it. It quickly irritates your face and digs into your skin and leaves marks and hurts to wear or move around in for any length of time. 2) The headset doesnt have access to the normal typical app library, instead it has a very unique and limited app library of about 20 apps. The web browser didnt even work at launch and they didnt even notice or bother to fix it until I put them on blast on Facebook. And its still buggy as hell. 3) You dont even have access to basic apps like YouTube, Netflix, Chrome, etc. 4) the only way to play any decent apps is by linking to a powerful pc, and the HTC link software is very buggy. 90% of the games/apps wont load properly or register the controllers. And keep in mind these are all apps that work perfectly fine with my HTC Vive, Rift S, and Quest 2 Headsets. 5) The battery drains stupid fast. You have maybe an hour of use in game, 90 minutes maybe if you are using light apps. 6) They bragged about how good their eye adjustments were, but no matter what I try I cant get a good clear visual, always some blur. By contracts my HTC Vive and Quest 2 both give me a crystal clear non-blurry image. 7) The hand tracking is hot garbage, it STRUGGLES to track hands and gets their position wrong just enough to make trying to use your hands uncomfortable and cumbersome. 8) The controller tracking is also pretty bad, it frequently loses track of them even in a brightly lit room and it tracks them too low...the pointer line feels like its coming out of 10 inches below where the tip is. Makes clicking on things awkward and clunky. This thing is a steaming pile of disappointment and feels like they rushed out an unfinished product, I am going to send it back and get a Meta Quest Pro, at least I know that one will work.

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.

Just received my vive xr elite after much anticipation. Very disappointed. No streaming or video plays. Just black screen.

Im not sure this device deserves all this hate. A good buddy of mine is a quest fan, so Ive played with both the quest 2 and pro a bunch. My experience with the xr elite is without a doubt superior. For such a compact headset, the hardware specs are quite impressive: the displays are sharp, its light and comfortable, resolution in passthrough mode is so much better than quest pros, etc. Im confident that upcoming software updates will solve some of the little things people are bitching about (even iphones were glitchy when launched initially and required updates). Its a superior piece of hardware, and HTC is already rolling out software fixes.

Ive used Meta and PICO products in the past and I want to say this product is the best in the market. Despite the cost, if only people realize how much costs go into production then one would understand the price point is reasonable. Meta is only selling at their low price point because they want your data so they can make profit out of it. HTC VIVE has no intention whatsoever of collecting your data. If you want high performance and portablity, this product is it, there isnt any other product out there. There are products that give you great performance but is no where near portable and lightweight, nor comfortable. There are products that give you portability but delivers lackluster performance and really has no solid features to use it for. Last but not least, content. Even if you dont use their own vr content platform VIVEPORT which already has all the various types of games and content that one would need, you can still obtain content from Steam which the best games and content are there. As long as you can play Beat Saber and Half Life Alyx which are really the two best games out there, I dont see why everyone is complaining about volume of content since most content are about the same. Aside from games, there are fitness such as Les Mills Body Combat, art such as Gesture VR and productivity content that can be used to enhance your day to day lives. I think majority of people just dont realize there are other non gaming content that deserves more attention to why VR or XR (extended reality) needs to be part of our lives sooner than later.