HTC Vive XR Elite with Deluxe Pack — Mixed Reality and PC VR Headset + Controllers

I’ve always been intrigued by virtual reality but never took the plunge—until now. I entered the HTC Vive XR Elite, my first VR device. Unboxing and Initial Impressions Upon unboxing the Vive XR Elite, I was immediately struck by its sleek design and well-organized packaging. The headset felt lightweight and high-quality, which comes with overhead strap. The battery cradle can be easily connected with the glass. Comfort and Fit As a VR novice, I worried about the comfort and fit of the headset. Thankfully, the Vive XR Elite is designed with comfort in mind. The battery cradle acts as a counterbalance, while the overhead strap alleviates pressure from both the front and back of the head. I experimented with the glasses mode by removing the battery but quickly realized it's best for stationary use. Visual Clarity and Performance Putting on the headset was like stepping into a new dimension. The dual 1920 x 1920 displays running at 90Hz offered stunning visual clarity. The glasses comes with diopter dial that allows to get a clear, sharp view in VR. The fact that it doesn’t allow to adjust for astigmatism doesn’t bother me much. The high refresh rate provided a smooth, immersive experience. Immersed and Engage: Productivity Boosters The first app I tried was Immersed, which allows you to work on multiple virtual monitors. Syncing my MacBook Pro with the headset required some effort, involving a pairing code and a companion app, but the result was worth it. With multiple virtual windows open, I could arrange my workspace just the way I liked it. The hand tracking feature was particularly impressive, allowing me to navigate the VR environment with simple gestures. This seamless interaction between typing and controlling the virtual monitors greatly enhanced my productivity. Using Engage took my productivity to the next level. Engage enables virtual meetings, presentations, and collaborative sessions in immersive 3D environments. It made remote teamwork feel more connected and interactive, significantly improving my workflow. Exploring Gravity Sketch Next, I explored Gravity Sketch, an app that showcases VR’s potential in visual creativity. Manipulating objects in a 3D space was intuitive and enjoyable. The precise tracking of the Vive XR Elite made the experience smooth and engaging. I spent hours immersed in experimenting and sketching my ideas. Battery Life and Portability The battery life is about two hours of use per charge as HTC claims, which is sufficient for most of my applications. For extended sessions, tethering the headset with a USB-C cable worked perfectly. Portability is crucial for me. The Vive XR Elite excels in this area. It can be packed into a small carrying case, making it easy to carry around. Compared to Meta's Quest Pro, the Vive XR Elite is noticeably lighter and more compact, making it the perfect companion for frequent travelers.

I originally got this item for the face tracking (Sold separately!). I couldn’t bare the quality, shape of the controllers, or the headset itself really. Keep in mind while buying this headset that most glasses will not fit, contacts or special lenses are needed. I have tried a total of 7 VR headsets now. The best advice I can give you is that the Quest 2 is the best starter headset, for PC or standalone. The Valve Index is the best hesdset overall with great quality, compatibility with full body/face tracking (but not eye tracking), fitting of glasses, custom lenses options, the after market mods, and the type of controllers. I’m now looking to buy a Pimax Crystal Super. I’ll leave an honest review on that as well (Not sold on Amazon). This headset was a total let down. Especially for the price.

This new bundle with the "Deluxe Pack" seems to have fixed all of the comfort problems that previous reviews complained about - the new soft cushion/gasket has zero light bleed, and was comfortable to wear, even after an hour. The new wide "deluxe" head-strap also provides comfort and balance for extended use. I tried several apps/demos from the Vive Store, probably the Mona Lisa virtual tour was the most impressive. There was 1 app that required hand-tracking only (instead of controllers), and while it was good at tracking my hands & fingers location, it was almost impossible to "click" so I gave up on it. The Browser lets you watch YouTube 3D videos (and I assume other websites). I tried PC tethering (Half-Life:Alyx) both with Wifi 6E and USB3 - the USB was way smoother/consistent. I tried to use Windows 11 "mobile hotspot" but that didn't work with 6GHz band (even though the Wifi adapter supports it) - not HTC's fault, just pointing out to anyone reading this that USB is better and less frustrating - just have to get a long cable that has a 90-degree USB-C connector on 1 end (the wide headstrap has a hole in it for the USB port on top of the battery pack, but I can almost guarantee you'll break the connector and/or port if you try running USB cable through there while playing). The lenses are good - I like that it lets you use without glasses - though my prescription is 4/4.5 and I had to rotate to 5.5/6 (the max), so if your glasses Rx is worse than ~5, it might not provide enough correction. IPD adjustment is great. The resolution is also high enough to read text in-game and via passthrough video (I could reply to message on phone without taking headset off). I couldn't test phone mirroring as that's an Android-only feature (I have iPhone). LCD color quality is not as good as OLED, but weren't any "god rays" with these lenses. FOV is similar to other headsets (way less than the claimed 110, at least for my head/eyes). The setup/calibration process was easy enough, but I have experience with a few other VR headsets. The controllers (inside-out tracking) were quite accurate, never had a problem with losing them or "jumping". Fan noise is definitely a thing - the built-in speakers are decent, but I wish it had a 3.5mm headphone jack to plug in my own headphones (most bluetooth headphones are too laggy for gaming). Should you get it? at the $899 sale price, it's $100 cheaper (and does more) than the Valve Index bundle, but still costs more than Meta Quest 3 (with battery+strap).

I’m not sure if this is me or anybody else, this headset has so many problems now compared to when i first got it. I don’t know where to start with the all the issues I’ve been having. . cant even turn off controller haptics, there’s no way to reset your trackers, “ when you scale and scan your room, you can only scan it once and not again, when your headset drifts off or you have it covered that causes it to drift from the orginal spot. it will not recover, you have to make a whole new room scan place space The trackers to have the same issues there’s no way to fix it no matter what I do they always stripped off from the actual tracker Playing VR chat on standalone has so many issues as well. It was never really that bad until the heads and got older. Switching worlds causes your headset to crash or lag out. Your pain will randomly go high for absolutely zero reason the same issues persist everyday, it’s just really annoying.. factory resetting the headset did nothing either. My experience with his headset has been terrible. I don’t even wanna use this headset on standalone but its goods :)

I recently got my hands on this HTC VR headset. While there are some impressive aspects, there are also a few drawbacks worth mentioning. As a first-time VR user, I found the setup and usability to be straightforward, and the performance of this headset is indeed top-notch. The visuals are smooth, which enhances the immersive experience. One of the standout features is the Mixed Reality experience. It seamlessly blends the real world with the virtual, creating a captivating environment. Whether gaming or exploring virtual worlds, the transition feels natural and fluid. Comfort is another major plus. I was concerned about feeling weighed down or uncomfortable during extended use, but the ergonomic and well-balanced design allows for hours of wear without discomfort, which is great for long gaming sessions. However, the price is a bit higher than other AIO VR headsets available on the market. While the comfort and performance are excellent, this headset is a costly investment. My recommendation is for those who are willing to pay more for added comfort and an impressive Mixed Reality experience. Overall, this HTC VR headset offers solid performance and comfort, but the high price tag might not be justifiable for everyone.

First I just want to address to the valve index users, it's not really an upgrade unless you need something for productivity, but I'd go with meta either way. This is still better than the index in almost every way except the controllers, I have no idea where some reviews are coming from saying the index is better. I have owned the oculus rift, rift s, og vive, index, quest 2, quest 3, viture pro, and xreal one and this was by no means a bad headset, but the controllers are pretty low quality although they track very well. The headset itself is the most comfortable I have used out of the box Screen and passthrough are on par with the quest 3, and noticeably better than the index. The hand tracking is abysmal even in a well lit room. Valve is probably releasing a new headset at some point soonish so that's honestly what I am going to wait for before upgrading. I currently use my quest 3 the most for both gaming and productivity. I hinestly found it the best for both, but you have buy some mods to make it as comfy as the other options. I think even at the cut price of 1000, the quest pro might not be worth it but it's one of the only headsets I haven't used so I can't say for sure.

Purchased after coming from the meta quest and honestly I wish we would have made the switch earlier. Everything is easier to setup, and the quality difference is noticeable.

I bought this with the intended propose of content creation as well as an upgrade from my old clunky HTC Vive Cosmos. While the fit is much more comfortable and lightweight I would still rather use my old headset. Assembly and setup was very straightforward but my number one biggest issue with this thing is the horrible battery life when using the full face tracking (sold separately!) which is super disappointing as the face tracking was the main reason for buying this. I initially thought the issue was with the battery so I bought another one off of the HTC website and it wasn't much better. The battery life lasts about 30 minutes and the one it came with stopped working completely! I used the recommended voltage to charge it so that is not the issue. The standalone performance is also quite sub-par, and was honestly better on my og quest. For full body tracking features you need to purchase a dongle (which I did, also sold separately!) which is only compatible with the ultra expensive Vive Ultimate Trackers that I don't own! Unless there is a way to jump through some hoops to use the 3.0 Vive trackers, this also defeats the propose of me buying this thing in the first place. Overall I wish I had spent all this money on something else

Bad standalone variety with only a few unheard of VR titles, tethering performance is bad and has comparability issues with some VR games, putting it together is alright, and it looks nice... but for what this is?.. it's a huge disappointment

I’m so sad it’s damaged

What can I say. Overpriced crappy quality. It’s the HTC way it seams. Retuned it.

First week of owning it and setting up was super easy I had no issues. Second week I go to use it and it will not connect to pc wirelessly all of a sudden. The pc won’t show up in the connections on headset yet I have changed nothing- I then uninstalled everything required for vive and reinstalled. It didn’t change anything. I reset the headset. Still won’t show connection. You can’t use a splitter on it. So I can either be plugged into the pc to use pcvr and get like an hour or less of gameplay because the battery is SO BAD. Or I don’t get to use pcvr but I can add a power bank. All of this defeats the purpose of what I bought it for which is specifically content creation.. thinking about returning it due to the no pc connection as I can not find a fix for it.