HTC Vive Cosmos initial review: A future-proof alternative to the Rift S?
It seems like every five minutes there's a new VR headset on the market. We're certainly enjoying seeing these new devices and the growth of interest in them, but are aware that the changes have to be significant enough to warrant you considering an upgrade or splashing out the cash in the first place.
On paper, the HTC Vive Cosmos looks like a real winner. It comes with some interesting design changes, tracking and usability enhancements and an awesome looking design too.
We've had our hands on the Vive Cosmos with just enough time to bring you our thoughts on this new VR headset and discuss whether it's worth the money.
Snazzy new headset design with upgrades
- Flip-up visor similar to WMR headsets
- 1440 x 1700 pixels per eye (2880 x 1700 pixels overall resolution), 110-degree field of view, 90Hz refresh rate
- Dual 3.4-inch LCD diagonal screen
- Built-in stereo headphones with 3D spatial sound capabilities and integrated microphones
- Manually adjustable IPD wheel
The Vive Cosmos is undeniably striking at first glance. It's a bold, blue headset with an interesting mesh frontage and a multi-camera setup that really makes it stand out. It's very much a Vive headset and we can see inspiration in the design of this one from the company's previous head-mounted displays.
It also appears to take heed from other devices we've tested too. There's a new adjustable head strap and flip-up visor style similar to the Windows Mixed Reality headsets we've seen. The all-in-one head strap design reminds us of the Deluxe Audio Strap upgrade for the original Vive but with some enhancements. Though it's not as fancy as the much sturdier-looking one on the Vive Pro and Vive Pro Eye. That is perhaps the point though as the Vive Cosmos is cheaper than what might otherwise be seen as the HTC Vive flagship, quite a bit cheaper actually when you consider the Vive Pro will set you back over a grand.
What the Vive Cosmos is delivering instead is a more affordable VR experience that's also more accessible too. It's hard not to draw immediate comparisons with the Oculus Rift S as there are design similarities between the those two VR headsets that are hard to miss. The first of which is the bold tracking cameras dotted around the front and edge of the headset that eliminates the need for external tracking sensors and makes setup a lot easier.
Like the Rift S, the Vive Cosmos has also been upgraded in other areas, the most important of which is obviously visuals. The Vive Cosmos headset now houses dual 3.4-inch LCD diagonal screens capable of displaying 1440 x 1700 pixels per eye (2880 x 1700 pixels combined). According to HTC, that's an 88 per cent increase in pixel resolution over the original Vive headset. It's also a higher pixel count than the Rift S (which has a 2560 x 1440 pixel display) and even higher than the Vive Pro as well (which sports a 2800 x 1600 pixel display). Does that make the Vive Cosmos the company's new flagship VR headset? Quite probably.
It's not just the pixel count that the Vive Cosmos impresses on though, it also sticks to that 90Hz refresh rate and 110-degree field of view. This beats the Rift S which has been dropped to 80Hz for the new model. But it's not just specs that matter of course.
One other thing that the Vive Cosmos might have over the Rift S is the IPD adjustment. Many people complained about how the Rift S used digital IPD adjustment, the Vive Cosmos retains the same manual adjustment wheel that appeared on previous headsets. So it's easy to ensure the lenses match up with your pupil distance without much fuss.
PC spec requirements
The recommended specs for the new HTC Vive Cosmos headset are:
- PC/laptop running Windows 10 or greater
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
- CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 or greater
- Memory: 8GB of RAM
- Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
- USB Port: 1x USB 3.0 Port
If you're not too sure about whether your machine can handle these requirements, you can run a test here.
Improved tracking
- Six camera sensors for inside out tracking
- G-Sensor, gyroscope, IPD sensor, Hall sensor, Touch sensors
- Vive Cosmos External Tracking Mod also available
Aside from better visuals, the main draw of the Vive Cosmos might well be the inside-out tracking system. We really liked this on the Oculus Rift S and it's great to see HTC taking things in the same direction. On the original Vive and other HTC Vive headsets, you needed at least two external tracking base stations hooked up somewhere in the room in order to track and monitor the headset and the controllers as well as your movement in the play area. That system was always a bit of a faff unless you had a dedicated play space and had room to mount those base stations permanently.
The inside-out tracking system means that the headset does all the work instead. Six cameras are built into the front, top, sides and bottom of the headset to monitor the external space. The controllers too have had a design change that's more than just for aesthetic reasons. Like the Oculus Touch controllers, the Vive Cosmos controllers now have loops on top. These ones also feature a bold bright light that makes it easier for the headset to track. This also doubles nicely as a way to tell whether they're turned on and paired or not.
The result of all this is a much easier setup up process which should make the Vive Cosmos much less frustrating to use. It also means you can theoretically plug it in and use it in more places too. All you need is a free DisplayPort output and a single USB 3.0 port on your gaming machine and you can get going with ease.
Like the other HTC headsets before it, the Vive Cosmos connects first to a Link Box and then to your gaming machine. But otherwise, it's a simple setup process, plug and play - though you'll obviously need to run through the VR room setup as normal first.
The one downside we can see is the box does not include an adapter to help you out if you don't have a DisplayPort output on your machine. This could make gaming on a laptop tricky as not all of them will have the right connections. Nothing the additional purchase of an adapter won't solve, but not a problem you'd have with the Oculus Rift S out of the box (that one does come with the necessary adapter).
Modular faceplate points at future potential
- Modular/removable faceplate design
- Wireless upgrade available
Another design highlight to the Vive Cosmos that might be appealing, now and into the future, is the modular faceplate setup. The front of the headset can be removed and replaced with other mods that are "coming in future". The first of these mods is set to be an External Tracking Mod which will allow you to combine the Vive Cosmos with HTC's Lighthouses for even better tracking. Though we're more interested to see what comes after that. Does this modular design indicate the possibility of a hand-tracking mod sometime soon?
We did notice one potential problem with this setup though - build quality. The faceplate comes off easily enough, but it also feels very flimsy in the hand. It seems like it would be all too easy to accidentally break it or snap a part off if you were too heavy-handed. This is likely down to a focus on keeping things light-weight and streamlined. The front of the Vive Cosmos sports a mesh design, not just for a funky appearance but also to keep things cool. If you remove the faceplate you'll see a warning underneath about the front of the headset potentially getting very hot during gaming sessions.
Comfort and balance is also clearly an important part of the Vive Cosmos setup. The headset is lightweight and well balanced. This potentially comes across in other parts of the headset feeling flimsy as well though.
The internal faceplate that sits on your face is made of a thin plastic that wobbles and wibbles when you touch it. That too comes off and perhaps can be replaced in future, but it doesn't feel terribly robust. That said, the soft cushioning on that faceplate is really well designed and soft around the front of your face when you're wearing it. It's also removable as it's only held on with a Velcro-like material, meaning you can clean it easily if things get a bit sweaty.
The top and rear of the headband is also padded and coated in a wipe clean material that should make it more practical to keep clean.
Another upgrade option is the addition of the same wireless adapter that worked with the HTC Vive. As you'd expect, that's an additional purchase, but another way you can mod the Vive Cosmos to make it even more interesting.
Updated controllers
The HTC Vive Cosmos certainly comes with some interesting looking controllers. As we said already, these new controllers are designed to be more visible to the inside-out tracking cameras on the headset proper. They're also interesting in other ways though. They're chunky for a start. Quite a bit chunkier than the Oculus Touch controllers and fairly hefty in the hand. This might be a problem if you have smaller hands but for us, we felt like they were a good size and a nice fit.
They're also textured, meaning you're fairly unlikely to lose your grip in the middle of a good gaming session. The standard control sticks, A, B, Y, X buttons and side triggers are present, there's also now two trigger buttons for your index fingers too, so a nice bit of easy access contols.
One thing we really like about these controllers on this device is the firmware on the controllers can be updated over the air. One of the problems we had with other Vive headsets was each device needed to be plugged in separately to your gaming PC to update the firmware - the headset, controllers, tracking base stations. That fuss is now gone with over the air updates. Easy.
Potential problems
We've already noted some of the potential issues with the headset. The lack of Mini DisplayPort adapter, the filmsy faceplate and mask design being a couple, but there is potentially another that is worth knowing about before you purchase.
The setup guide for the Vive Cosmos notes the following:
"Cosmos' proprietary inside-out tracking works best in a room with patterns or colours. Tracking will work better against a pattern instead of a plain white wall."
We can confirm this is an issue. The area we usually play in is a large room with white walls, a white ceiling and a lot of natural light from the outside world. Trying to get the Vive Cosmos setup in that room resulted in the software rejecting our efforts explaining that it could not detect the room or track the controllers. Oddly this is not a problem we had with the Rift S in the same area. Of course this might not be a problem for everyone. Pull the curtains or move with a laptop to a darker room and the issue is averted, but not ideal.
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