HTC Vive XR Elite Virtual Reality Headset + Controllers

I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this headset so far. It really is as small and light as you would expect, and I don’t get a headache wearing it like I do with other headsets. The hand tracking is fun, but I’ve found I like using the controllers more. Biggest thing for me though is the passthrough. I thought I didn’t care about AR, but it’s really neat being able to look around your room and make drawings, sculpt objects, whatever. Now I just gotta decide what other games to get for it.

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.

The quality of the headset is good. The full-color passthrough is really neat especially compared to my old Samsung Odyssey WMR. I also like that the controllers pair to the headset and not to my PC. My biggest complaint is that they have clearing been pushing the 5 free titles as part of the pre-order since it was listed back in January. However, only ONE of those five titles are actually available on the headset. The other 4 are apparently coming soon with no clear release date. The Viveport store is pathetic at best. SteamVR worked with a USB cable most of the time, but it would occasionally flake out. Using Wi-Fi 6 from my router in the same room was low resolution a laggy at best. Sometimes it work for a good couple minutes and other times not at all. Overall, this thing is not worth the $1100 asking price in my opinion.

The only thing enjoyable about this was the unboxing. I cant get it to stream anything for longer than a few seconds without drops outs. Wired or wireless with a wifi6e made no difference. The only smooth operation I had with this was the initial setup. Then it told me to update my streaming drivers, but wouldnt allow me to do so. I have built every computer I have owned from parts. I have soldered together devices with 100s of components. I have coded software. I have created websites. I have linked analog and digital audio and video together at a professional level, but I couldnt after 8hrs of troubleshooting get this to work for more than 5 seconds in a game without a drop out. The worst part was when it randomly stopped being connected to my PC and insisted I connect to my Google Pixel. WHY?! what are you doing?! I was in game on STEAMVR?! 3 full charges and 8 hrs later, I am done. I am throwing in the towel. I cant waste another minute of my life with something so incredible unreliable as this piece of garbage.

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.

This device is peak HTC. Pure form with no function. I sincerely don’t understand who these high-end standalone headsets are made for. To me, these are like prototype cars: they look cool and include cutting edge technology, but have no business being sold to consumers because they have no practical purpose. I experienced three major issues that will never be fixed, regardless of what HTC claims: 1. This was not designed as a PCVR device. You cannot readily stream PC content with or without a USB cable. Wireless is awful and it’s the hardware/software, not me. Other wifi 6E streaming devices I’ve used have flawless streaming on my network. USB tether is not the fix either. Everything about it is tedious or broken. When you get it to work, the images are compressed, frame rate is 75hz instead of 90hz, and it randomly freezes. Some people are saying HTC can fix this with an update, but that is impossible because there’s actually a major issue built into the device: you can’t stream via USB and charge at the same time. That’s why they make a big deal about hot-swappable batteries, it’s because otherwise you can only use this for 2 hours at a time unless you’re in standalone/wireless mode and plug it into the wall. Some owners and even HTC suggests daisy-chaining a battery into the PC connection, which barely helped in my experience, and is a ludicrous thing to accept as a solution. How hard would it have been to design a two-pronged cable that can provide data and power from the PC? Instead you have to buy a cable they made for a different headset they released years ago. Just admit that the HTC XR Elite wasn’t designed for PCVR. Stop lying HTC. 2. The sunglasses mode is a scam. I don’t see how it’s not a scam. You cannot actually use it in sunglasses mode because the headset’s internal battery is minuscule. This is not just a PCVR issue, this applies however you use the device. The internal battery’s job is maintain minimal power during disconnects so the device doesn’t have to do a complete reboot. Therefore sunglasses mode doesn’t work without being plugged in so it begs the question: plugged into what with what exactly?? The battery with the 8inch cable they provide? And the battery then goes where? Should I be wearing a battery backpack? I might as well just strap the stupid battery to my head at that point. The only way it works is with the aforementioned daisy-chained battery method, which means buying cables and splitters that you may not have, making this device even more expensive to do something poorly that it should be doing perfectly and natively out of the box. What is the benefit of sunglasses mode when it comes with literal strings attached? Absolutely brainless design. 3. My final issue won’t apply to everyone but is an absolute guaranteed deal breaker for anyone it applies to. You cannot use glasses with these, which isn’t a secret, as they advertise built-in diopter adjustment. Alone, not being able to wear glasses isn’t necessarily a negative. However, some people wear glasses for reasons that a simple diopter adjustment isn’t going to fix. Good luck if you have mild or worse astigmatism or wear lenses for anything other than basic myopia. The fundamental problem for me personally is that corrective lenses are fractional but the diopter adjustment is just rotating the lens between 0 and 6 until your vision is less blurry. It doesn’t display what you have it set to and even worse, it doesn’t seem to actually go all the way to 6.00. My vision is -5.50 and -5.75 and it is still blurry. Not VR blurry, but “this isn’t my prescription blurry.” This was the nail in the coffin for me, doubly so for fear that if my vision ever gets worse, the XR Elite becomes completely unusable. At the end of the day, this is a product with no audience. HTC built a really cool device for no one. They packed it full of next gen VR features, but they didn’t ensure that any of them actually work and the sum of its parts is less than the whole. I honestly had the same exact experience with their first major headset released in 2015, it is wild that they’ve learned nothing. HTC has a terrible habit of designing products that sound amazing in theory, but they don’t care how they function in practice. HTC advertises PCVR but wireless streaming is extremely buggy at best and USB streaming requires you purchase a $100 cable and jerry-rig in a battery somehow … and it still won’t work that well. Sunglasses mode sounds, looks, and feels awesome, but literally doesn’t work without connecting a battery somehow which defeats the purpose. You don’t have to wear your glasses (and can’t), but the included solution isn’t sufficient to give a clear picture for a large minority of people. All-in-all, I can’t recommend this to anyone.

It’s been a week with the headset and so far I have not seen any problems with it. I only bought it for pc vr specifically and I can certainly say it’s better than my index in many ways. First off, giving this 4 stars because the controllers are awful. Now, I’m coming from index controllers so I already had high expectations for them but they are just unusable even with steam vr binding settings. I ended up storing them away and using my index controllers. They don’t seem to track very well, they feel cheap and way too big compared to their quest lookalikes. These are not the controllers to expect on a $1100 headset. The headset itself tracks very well. Even in a low light environment I was surprised by how well it tracked even with half the cameras covered. The headset doesn’t heat up or anything while in PCVR and the quality of the display is there. Not to mention how comfortable it is compared to an index. The unit is very well made. Would I recommend this headset? Only and exclusively if you have a good pc with good internet. I’m talking 3070 or newer gpu and i7 12th gen or newer. The vive streaming software is not well optimized and requests a lot of resources from your pc. Plus if you don’t have any other controllers and are planning to use the ones that come with the headset, this is def not for you unless you plan to spend more money for those. All in all, I’ve had a great time with the headset. So I would recommend it for those of you with good internet and a good pc.

I have been in vr since 2016 and owned most headsets. This is the worst experience Ive ever had with VR. Streaming has issues via USB or wireless (I have a dedicated wifi6e router and zero issues with Quest 2 or Vive focus 3 at ultra quality streaming). IPD constantly adjusts on its own. Unusable as a standalone or with PCVR in its current state. HTCs own forums and Reddit are filled with the same problems. Dont buy.

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.

Im pretty mad - the USB streaming was buggy and unreliable - Ive tried 4 different USB cables - and Im on the official one now - and its not able to work with the exact same everything that worked 2 days ago. I wish I could return it, but alas, its been more than 30 days - but the product simply does not work - as the other reviews also cover. Dont buy it.