This year is set to be an important one for HTC Vive. The company will be expanding its ecosystem via a number of different avenues, directly to customers via headsets like Vive Cosmos and Vive Focus Plus, whilst also ensuring more third-party devices have access to Vive Wave and Viveport. When it comes to the latter, today, HTC Vive has announced a collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to pre-integrate and optimize Vive Wave for Qualcomm’s XR Standalone and 5G Smartphone reference designs.
Thanks to Qualcomm and HTC Vive working together, OEMs that decide to use Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platforms can then integrate Vive Wave into their standalone VR devices. Additionally, HTC Vive can create a turnkey XR solution for Smartphone OEMs to access the Viveport app store, offering consumers a growing library of content through XR Viewers tethered via USB Type-C.
“Through this collaboration, we’re working together to build and expand the ecosystem for the global XR industry by making it quick and easy to build mobile-based VR headsets,” said Raymond Pao, VP Product & Strategy, HTC Vive. “Benefiting both device manufacturers and developers, this joint effort with Qualcomm Technologies serves to rapidly accelerate new VR headsets across the world and distribution points for developers through Viveport.”
This will also benefit Smartphone OEMs looking to take advantage of 5G networks, with HTC Vive and Qualcomm Technologies providing optimized solutions to grow the XR ecosystem using Vive Wave and Viveport.
“At Qualcomm Technologies, we are commited to transforming the XR industry and our collaboration with HTC Vive aims to help accelerate XR adoption for consumers,” said Hugo Swart, Head of XR for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to work with HTC Vive to bring Viveport to Smartphone OEMs and global operators to unleash the low latency and high speed potential of 5G and deliver unparalleled XR experiences.”
Based on Android, Vive Wave was built specifically for standalone, mobile head-mounted displays (HMD). The platform has been used on six headsets from partners such as Pico, iQiYi, Shadow Creator, and DPVR. When more headsets arrive supporting the Vive Wave platform, VRFocus will let you know.
“Our HMD Accelerator Program has been a critical catalyst for ecosystem partners ranging from component suppliers and ODMs, to bring quality standalone XR headsets to consumers,” said Hugo Swart, senior director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Building upon the momentum of this program, we will extend it to XR viewers and compatible smartphones, starting with smartphones enabled by the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform. In collaboration with ecosystem stakeholders, we are working towards the common goal of transforming how the world connects and communicates by offering premium, immersive experiences over 5G.”
