HTC Vive cancels partnership with Google Daydream
HTC had a highly-anticipated product in the name of Vive. It is a standalone virtual reality (VR) headset that held high-hopes for VR users, especially since there were plans to integrate Daydream. However, according to recent reports, HTC's supposed collaboration with Google was cancelled.
The partnership was announced as early as May of this year, with HTC, Lenovo, and Google working together to deliver next-generation VR experience to consumers. However, an article from TechCrunch recently confirmed that the proposed HTC VR headset will not feature Daydream, not in the U.S. market. This also meant that the VR partnership with Google is cancelled, as far as Daydream is concerned.
Supposedly, the VR platform would have been installed with HTC's Vive Focus. However, the HTC spokesperson who spoke with TechCrunch stated that they "will not be bringing a standalone device to the western markets on Daydream."
HTC has also announced its plans to launch the Vive Focus in China. However, this is the only released information as of now — the price of the headset and even the release date has not been disclosed yet.
HTC did reveal some of the features and the appearance of the Vive Focus. According to The Verge, it is a standalone, all-in-one VR headset. Sporting an electric blue as its main color, the device also takes design cues from the PlayStation VR headset and HTC's very own Vive Deluxe Audio strap.
It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, assisted by "inside-out positional tracking." Depending on when it will be released, it will also be the first standalone VR headset that will offer six degrees of freedom.
Meanwhile, as HTC dashed hopes of having a Daydream-powered Vive, Google declares that they are still working with Lenovo's standalone VR headsets. Google VR VP Clay Bavor also recently tweeted that he had been enjoying the pre-release version of a Lenovo headset that runs Daydream.
