The front of the HTC Vive Cosmos can also now flip up like a welder’s mask as another nice convenient design feature. If you ever need to get back to reality to make sure you’re not stepping on your cat or check GPU temps while playing, this little trick saves you from the hassle of having to fully pull off the headset.
The front of the Vive Cosmos can flip up mostly thanks to the new solid plastic halo ring built into the frame of the headset, which should be familiar to anyone who has used a Microsoft Mixed Reality headset before.
I prefer this design, as you only have to contend with one Velcro strap along the top and tighten the adjustment wheel on the back of the headband to secure the headset. I also feel like this halo ring design helps better balance the headset as there’s a bit of more weight at the back.
You get plenty of plushy (and removable) foam at the front and back of the Vive Cosmos and there’s also a pair of integrated headphones attached to the frame as well. If you prefer using your own gaming headset, taking this integrated headphones is easy enough by just unscrewing them.
By far the biggest thing the HTC Vive Cosmos improves upon is getting rid of the lighthouses. That’s right: you don’t need to set up infrared trackers to get to walk around in VR anymore. In place of the lighthouses, the Vive Cosmos has six inside-out cameras mounted all over the headset: two on the front removable plate, two permanently built into the front, and two on the sides.
HTC claims its new inside-out camera system provides 310-degrees of tracking, and I can pretty much confirm that’s true.
Despite not using any external lighthouses, the headset had no problem tracking me even as I was spinning around wildly in Swords of Gargantua trying to block attacks coming from multiple angles. Likewise, the Vive Cosmos easily kept track of where the accompanying Cosmos controllers while I had my hands completely stretched out to my sides in a VR rhythm game.
If you’re coming from the Vive to the Vive Cosmos like I am, HTC’s new headset delivers a dramatically sharper experience with a 1,440 × 1,700 per-eye resolution (2,880 × 1,700 total). That’s an 88% increase in pixel count over the original Vive’s 1,080 × 1,200 per-eye resolution. Those with the Vive Pro (1,440 x 1,600 pixels per eye) of course will be less impressed, but it soundly trounces the Oculus Rift S (1,280 × 1,440 pixels per eye) on paper.
As part of this resolution jump, HTC has gone with a new LCD screen that features three subpixels rather than the usual two found in other headsets. These subpixels smooth over the visuals and reduce visible lines between the pixels (otherwise known as the screen door effect).
Overall, the picture truly does look dramatically sharper and clearer than the original Vive. And from what I can tell it also looks like a step up visuals you get out of the Oculus Quest. Gameplay also looks smooth in the Vive Cosmos thanks to the 90Hz displays though it isn’t quite Velveeta-level silky like it is on the 144Hz Valve Index.
Lastly, the Cosmos controllers are a big improvement over the Vive’s original wand controllers. They’re unmistakably similar to the point of being identical to the Oculus Touch controllers.
That said, the Cosmos controllers are quite a bit larger, making them easier for users with big hands to use. They also have an additional bumper above the trigger on top of the usual arrangement of two face buttons, a Vive button and analog stick on each controller. Like the Touch controllers, the Cosmos controllers feature a large circular loop but this time it’s illuminated with a sort of techno, Mayan-inspired pattern that looks straight out of Tron.
The Cosmos controllers feel mostly comfortable in hand an should feel instantly familiar to Oculus users. Unfortunately, that extra-large ring makes them feel a bit front heavy that could annoying for playing shooters like Superhot VR or Arizona Sunshine for extended periods.
Another thing I’m worried about with these controllers is the fact that they’re powered by AA batteries rather than rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as found in the Vive wands. With a regular disposable battery, you can expect two hours of play, which really isn't a lot. So, you’ll definitely want to invest in some rechargeable high-capacity nickel-metal hydride battery if you’re thinking about getting this headset.
The Vive Cosmos is the VR headset I’ve been waiting for HTC to release for years now. It’s a fully modern device with some of the sharpest displays and much better controls—though I am worried about how many batteries I’ll churn through while playing.
Of course, these are just my initial impressions of the Vive Cosmos after wearing it for a few hours, stay tuned for the full review coming soon.