HTC Vive Cosmos, Vive Pro Eye Release Date: Everything To Know

GettyImages-813682098 — HTC plans to get ahead in the VR business. Pictured: A guest wearing an HTC Corp. Vive virtual reality (VR) headset tries the Mario Kart Arcade GP VR attraction at the VR Zone Shinjuku theme park, operated by Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., on July 13, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. The park is one of Japan's largest VR theme parks with 16 VR attractions opening to the public on July 14. Getty Images/Tomohiro Ohsumi

HTC recently unveiled at CES 2019 its new innovations in the field of Virtual Reality visors. The new HTC Vive Cosmos VR headset and the Vive Pro Eye headset have new features aimed to improve the Virtual Reality experience overall. Here’s what we know about the new HTC Vive releases..

According to the official Vive blog, the new HTC Vive Pro Eye headset will feature eye-tracking technology and gaze-oriented menu navigation. So far, many visors would force its users to move their head or body if they want to adjust their view in the Virtual Reality game or app.

Using the Pro Eye’s gaze menu navigation, HTC has removed the need for controllers when using VR. So far, part of the problem of using VR is getting tangled with the cords for the hand controllers and the visor itself. Potentially, HTC may have the solution for annoying cords if the feature works out well.

On the side, HTC has also revealed its Vive Cosmos headset for the first time in CES 2019. The new Cosmos headset boasts portability, ease of use and has the potential to be even stronger than the usual gaming PCs. As of now, most VR setups take a lot of time to put together and also take up a lot of space.

Aside from these new VR headset visors, HTC also announced that it has improved its Viveport Infinity subscription and introduced the Vive Reality System. The new Viveport Infinity subscription now grants access to its massive game library rather than just giving five at a time. Additionally, the Vive Reality System seems to be a VR desktop project for its headsets.

According to Gamespot, Vive Reality System works similarly to Sony’s PlayStation Home, which is a virtual 3D social gaming platform back in the PS3 era. We’ll have to wait for more announcements to further understand what Vive is trying to pull off with this project.

With its CES 2019 announcements, HTC seems to be going all in on getting ahead of the VR competition. So far, its competition, like Oculus, Sony and Google, has yet to show any big innovations in the VR industry as of 2019. For now, the Vive Pro Eye is expected to be released in Q2 2019, while the Vive Cosmos will be released in early 2019. We’ll have to keep an eye on HTC to know when these new VR headsets will be released.