Vive Focus is a product that lags significantly behind its competitors. On Tuesday, November 14th, HTC held the Vive Developer Summit and introduced the Vive Focus, a VR headset based on the Qualcomm VRDK solution. Thanks to their three-year investment in the VR industry chain, HTC has received considerable support from its partners.
However, there have been mixed reactions from various sources, especially from non-participants in the ecosystem. These opinions are worth considering. From my perspective, the Vive Focus is still a disappointing product. The main issues include:
HTC partnered with Google and Qualcomm in May and July of this year, announcing the Daydream all-in-one and the Chinese version of the Vive all-in-one, with a release expected by the end of the year. In the end, the HTC Daydream all-in-one was canceled, and instead, the Vive Focus was released — a Qualcomm-based all-in-one. Originally, it was expected to be a consumer version, but HTC only launched a limited developer edition, leaving the consumer version out of reach. If you managed to get priority access, congratulations. Otherwise, you might not get it at all. This approach feels more like a PR move than a genuine product launch.
The Vive Focus uses a 3DoF controller. Although Vive Wave supports 6DoF controllers, they haven't been released yet. There's no standout hardware feature from HTC either.
Given these factors and the current market landscape, I believe the Vive Focus is a backward product, exposing the confusion and weaknesses within the HTC Vive team. Below, I'll discuss the technical, timing, content, and developer disadvantages in detail, but this article focuses solely on the Vive Focus.
The Vive Focus is built on Qualcomm’s VRDK solution, using inner-outer tracking for 6DoF head movement and a 3DoF controller. At the International Virtual Reality Innovation Conference in November, I categorized VR headsets into high-end, mid-range, and low-end. Mid-range devices were previously considered those with integrated computing components and internal/external tracking, like the Oculus Santa Cruz. However, I now think that mid-range VR headsets should also support 6DoF motion controllers with inward and outward tracking.
### Technical Disadvantage
In the early days, the introduction of 3DoF controllers was a breakthrough. However, 3DoF technology has since become a disadvantage. Mid-range VR headsets today should support 6DoF motion controllers with position tracking.
Google’s Daydream controller was one of the first 3DoF controllers. At CES this year, I experienced both Google’s and Huawei’s Daydream controllers, and found them lacking. At the November conference, I tried Google’s 3DoF controller again, and it still felt unresponsive. Users often experience lag or offset, which makes the experience feel less immersive.
In contrast, 6DoF controllers are more accurate and sensitive, as they track the user’s position. It's important to note that the Vive Focus’s 3DoF controllers don’t use the inner-outer tracking system. Anyone who has used the HTC Vive 6DoF controllers or the Oculus Touch will understand the difference.
So what can a 3DoF controller do with inner-outer tracking? In the current VR development stage, such a combination is misleading and overpriced. Compared to the Oculus Go, which is designed for passive viewing, the Vive Focus offers more freedom but lacks the precision needed for interactive experiences. This means users may pay more for a feature they don’t really need.
HTC mentioned at the conference that Daydream and Gear VR content could be ported to Vive Focus via Vive Wave. This suggests that the Vive Focus is targeting the Oculus Go. While it may be compatible with lower-end content, it doesn’t match the capabilities of mid-range devices like the Santa Cruz.
### Time Disadvantage
For low-end VR products, 3DoF controllers are acceptable. But 6DoF is now the standard for mid-range devices. In 2018, we’ll see more 6DoF controllers in the all-in-one market. Yet, the consumer version of Vive Focus with 3DoF is still unclear. After the November 14th release, some developers speculated that the developer version might be similar to the HTC Vive, with a consumer version possibly arriving in a year. According to reports, the controllers might be available in mid-2018, but no other details have been announced.
At Oculus Connect 4 in October, Oculus released the Oculus Go (low-end) and showcased the Santa Cruz (mid-range), which features the latest 6DoF Oculus Touch controllers. Both the Santa Cruz Developer Edition and the Oculus Go Consumer Edition are planned for spring 2018.
Compared to the Santa Cruz, the Vive Focus Developer Edition is only slightly earlier, but it's technically far behind. Meanwhile, the Vive Focus consumer version has no clear release date, while the Oculus Go is set to launch in Q1 2018.
### Content Disadvantage
Thanks to partners like Valve, HTC Vive currently has over 2,000 VR apps on Steam, and Viveport has expanded to over 1,000 titles. However, in mobile VR, HTC is starting from scratch, which is a major weakness compared to Oculus.
According to my analysis, the Oculus Store already has over 1,000 Gear VR-compatible apps that work with the Oculus Go. Vive Focus, on the other hand, is just beginning. The development of VR content follows a linear pattern, and it will take time for Vive Focus to catch up.
### Developer Disadvantage
Mobile VR developers naturally prioritize platforms with larger user bases. In addition to Vive Focus, Google Daydream, Oculus Santa Cruz, and Oculus Go (Gear VR) are key platforms. For developers, the question is: which platform can grow its user base faster?
Oculus Go is priced at $200, and the Santa Cruz is around $300. The Vive Focus is expected to cost around $400, given HTC’s need to cover costs after nine consecutive quarters of losses.
While Oculus can adapt Rift content for Santa Cruz, HTC would need to rework Vive content for the Vive Focus. Since Santa Cruz uses 6DoF controllers and Vive Focus uses 3DoF, this requires significant changes, reducing the number of available apps.
Oculus already has 5 million Gear VR users, and according to IDC and SuperData, there are at least 6 million Gear VR users. HTC aims to partner with manufacturers to expand its content, but the total volume may not exceed 100,000.
In addition to hardware, Oculus has over 1,000 Gear VR apps, which HTC cannot match. HTC hopes to use Vive Wave to port Daydream or Gear VR content to Vive Focus, but Daydream itself has only 100 apps, showing its slow growth. Why haven’t developers moved to Daydream? It remains to be seen how HTC will convince them to adopt Vive Focus.
### Conclusion
As early as 2016, HTC stated it was exploring mobile VR. However, late product launches and delayed consumer releases have caused HTC to lose its PC VR edge and fall behind in the mobile VR space. Without a user base or content foundation, launching a product that’s technologically outdated is risky.
Moreover, many startup teams have already launched mobile VR hardware with independent R&D, rather than relying on Qualcomm’s VRDK reference design. These startups can develop more advanced products without being restricted by Qualcomm’s designs.
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