Update: HTC on Dec. 10 released a follow-up statement:
“HTC announced an updated timeline for the consumer availability of the HTC Vive, now planned for release in April 2016. Understandably this caused some concerns amongst people who were hoping to get their hands on the world’s most advanced VR system earlier. The reason that we have made the decision to shift consumer availability is because we are committed to delivering the best possible product, the most vivid VR experience, and the most immersive content on the best content distribution platform in the world. In less than a month at CES, we are going to be revealing the next version of our Developer Kit with technology advancements that deliver on the promise of the best VR experience. Furthermore, we would like to underscore the fact that we are 100% committed to beginning Vive pre-orders in February, with final products in consumers’ hands (and on their heads) in April. We’re confident that when you experience Vive for yourself in April, you will agree with the decision to deliver the product once it’s perfect.”
Original story follows.
HTC has announced that its Vive VR headset will see a commercial launch in April 2016. The launch will be preceded by another distribution of 7,000 developer kits at the start of 2016. From HTC:
We will be starting the new year by making an additional 7,000 units available to developers, followed by commercial availability in April 2016. We are incredibly excited about the future and look forward to sharing more information as we move forward towards launch.
This pushes things back slightly from HTC’s previous plans of shipping most units in Q1 2016, which was itself a slight delay from HTC’s original intention of shipping by the end of 2015. However, in announcing the release month for the consumer launch of the Vive, HTC has narrowed things down considerably. It will be interesting to see if HTC’s offering will find success, as it will have some stiff competition from both the Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus, which are due out in Q1 2016.
More: How Vive changed what we knew about the future of VR
Source: HTC