HTC VIVE Pro 2

Overview

VIVE Pro 2 is HTC's high-end tethered PC VR headset. HTC announced it at VIVECON on May 11, 2021. The headset alone went on sale on June 3, 2021 for $799, and a full kit with two Base Station 2.0 units and two VIVE controllers followed in August for $1,399. It is now discontinued: HTC's product page says VIVE Pro 2 is no longer available and points buyers to the VIVE Focus Vision.

Display and optics

Two LCD panels show 2448 × 2448 pixels per eye, which HTC markets as 5K combined, with real RGB subpixels to reduce the screen-door effect. The refresh rate is 90 or 120 Hz, and 90 Hz when using the VIVE Wireless Adapter. A dual stacked-lens design, described by reviewers as dual-element Fresnel, gives up to 120 degrees of horizontal field of view. A dial adjusts IPD from 57 to 70 mm, and lens distance can also be changed for eye relief.

Comfort and design

The headset uses a rigid strap with a sizing dial and a weight balance designed for long sessions, and it fits many glasses. Removable on-ear headphones with Hi-Res Audio certification are built in, and third-party headphones work over USB-C. VIVE Pro 2 was the first VR headset to use Display Stream Compression. Full resolution needs DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC and an RTX 20 series or Radeon 5000 series GPU or newer. The minimum PC is a Core i5-4590 or Ryzen 1500 with a GTX 1060 or RX 480. HTC did not publish an official weight.

Tracking and controllers

VIVE Pro 2 uses SteamVR Tracking 2.0 and works with Base Station 1.0 and 2.0. It accepts VIVE controllers, VIVE Trackers, the VIVE Facial Tracker and Valve Index controllers. The headset-only version ships without base stations or controllers. Two front cameras provide a basic passthrough view, which Road to VR rated as low quality. There is no eye tracking.

Software and apps

Games come from SteamVR and HTC's Viveport, and new headsets included two months of Viveport Infinity. The optional VIVE Wireless Adapter removes the cable for wireless PC VR.

Who it is for

VIVE Pro 2 mainly suited owners of a SteamVR base-station setup who wanted a sharper, wider display. Now that HTC has stopped selling it, it is mostly a used-market option. The Valve Index uses the same tracking with a higher refresh rate, while the VIVE Focus Vision needs no base stations.