HTC VIve Pro bundle price isn't any better than its standalone

HTC VIve Pro bundle price isn't any better than its standalone

The HTC Vive Pro is an expensive headset and with (somewhat) good reason. It's the highest resolution virtual reality headset you can buy right now and it comes with built in headphones, improved ergonomics over the original HTC Vive, and a new headstrap system inspired by the Deluxe Audio Strap. All of that is why the Vive Pro headset itself costs $800. That's the same price as the original HTC Vive launched at with two motion controllers and base station trackers.

The new HTC Vive Pro bundles however, aren't much better. If you want the HTC Vive Pro headset with first-generation HTC Vive trackers and controllers, it'll cost you $1,100. If you want the second-generation trackers (just two of them) and a pair of SteamVR 2.0 supporting controllers, that will set you back a full $1,400.

Is it worth paying extra? Yes and no. Second-generation Lighthouse trackers are smaller, lighter, more capable and can track an area up to 10m x 10m, which is enormous. But for that, you'll need four trackers and you only get two in the box. You also can't get them separately just yet, so you're stuck if you want to run a full-size Vive Pro arena in a 100m squared space.

The second-gen controllers only work with the second-gen trackers, but beyond some slightly improved ergonomics and a new paint job, they don't do anything differently. They aren't the Valve knuckle controllers we've been seeing for some time. Those are only now being trialled by developers.

All in all, it appears more and more that the Vive Pro is being targeted at developers and a second-generation mainstream Vive headset may be released next year.