‘Vive Focus’ is said to be the name of HTC’s upcoming standalone VR headset that will run on Google’s Daydream platform, and HTC is still apparently planning to launch it sometime this year for those that have been interested in getting started with Daydream but don’t have a compatible phone. The name Vive Focus has popped up on a trademark application that HTC filed for with the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office, and while there aren’t any images of the headset itself associated with the trademark, this new standalone headset is the only new VR headset that HTC currently has plans for aside from the one that it recently announced for China, which is essentially this headset, but without Daydream.
In addition to filing with the USPTO, HTC also filed for the same trademark with the EUIPO, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, which means that HTC likely has plans to release the standalone headset in Europe as well as the U.S. Unfortunately, the trademark filings don’t have any information about release dates, though consumers shouldn’t expect as much as these things never hold that type of information anyway. That means HTC could launch the Vive Focus anytime within the next three and half months, as all the way up to December is still before the end of the year. That said, HTC may want to get it to market before the holidays so it will be available just in time for shoppers.
HTC’s Vive Focus is set to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, come with WorldSense 3D mapping technology for out of the box positional tracking, and come with its own controller which should be similar to the Daydream controller. As there’s no confirmed launch date yet, there’s also no confirmed price point, but since this is a standalone unit consumers should expect it to be significantly more than the Daydream View, seeing as how you won’t need a smartphone to power the content. That said, it’s possible and likely that this will cost in the realm of a few hundred dollars. Perhaps with the trademark now having been filed and granted (the trademark was filed back on September 8th), HTC will be getting close to releasing this to market, or at the very least perhaps sharing more information about it officially.