HTC Vive Focus Plus Quick ˝review˝
We got one for a few days, here is what we think about it!
This article won't be a real review, cause we aren't journalists, or testers. We just developers, whom love to play with weird or rare gadgets, and sometimes we have opportunities to do that. And now we would like to share our experiences with this device. First of all, if somebody didn't know yet, Focus Plus is a standalone VR headset from HTC, like the Quest from Oculus. They aren't real competitors, HTC targets the enterprise market with this device, not the home players, but the fundamentals are the same. It has 6 DoF inside out optical tracking, two 6 DoF controllers, with a trackpad, a trigger button, and two more buttons, one app button, and one home button. The headset runs on Android and has a 3K AMOLED display. If you are interested in the details, you can find the specs here.
What we really liked in the HTC Focus Plus:
The headset's tracking is extremely stabil while the space is bright enough. The specs says "World scale tracking", and it's pretty true. When we picked out from the box (our unit was a used one, I can't say anything from the initial setup), it wasn't any room or guardian setup, it just show the menu, and we were ready to go. And until we went too close to a wall it worked really precisely. We walked around in our three-storey office without a problem, even between the storeys. Sadly we forget to make a video about how can we go upstairs/downstairs with a VR headset on the head, because it was funny!
The "Connect to PC" function worked like a charm. With the Oculus Link, we always have some problems. But after installing the HTC Viveport app to a PC and log in to the same account as the device, it works. No matter if it is connected via wired or wireless, it makes the job. The SteamVR app recognizes the headset and the controllers, and you can use any app that supports SteamVR. We tested with different Unity Editors and with a few games, and all went fine, without a problem.
The headstrap is quite comfortable and easy to use. You can adjust the strap with a dial at the back of the head like on a Microsoft Hololens. It is handy if more than one person using it.
The Focus Plus, with the controllers and the box
What we think could be better:
The tracking quality of the controllers is far behind the headset tracking. No matter how much charge is in the batteries, sometimes (quite often), they start to float a little. It is really noticeable when you want to make something where your hands are close together, and you see the controllers are moving away from each other.
The app store on the device is a total mess. I don't know if it's different in other countries, but we hardly can find any useful app or game. We know, that it is hard to get into the Quest store as a developer, but after we see what is available for the Focus Plus, I think that way is not so terrible for the consumers. I think this is because if a bigger company buys this headset, they will develop their specific app, and use this with the headset, and this use case is the target for HTC.
The sound of the headset could be better. It not unusable, but the first Quest has a better audio experience.
The three (Quest 2, Focus Plus, Quest)
If you have any question about this device, feel free to contact us!
