HTC Vive Air VR headset revealed in new leaks, with a focus on fitness

(Prototype credit: Shutterstock)

Leaked images of a sport-focused virtual reality headset from HTC have surfaced online. And the wireless headset aims to bring the fight to Facebook's Oculus Quest 2.

Details of the headset were beginning leaked by the Earth Blueprint Guide Awards, which was later picked upwards by Engadget. The new headset, chosen Vive Air, will aim to bring fitness into the VR space while ensuring the headset doesn't become gummed up with sweat.

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The World Pattern Guide offers a glimpse into what we could expect from the Vive Air. First, it needs to handle the sweaty grind of a heavy workout. For this, the Vive Air will use "breathable and quick-drying fabrics," hoping to provide that much-needed ventilation during the sweltering depths of VR cardio.

Co-ordinate to the website, the headset volition feature a "quick-release design," allowing the soft materials to unfasten and be bundled into the wash. This is exceedingly useful considering the woeful state post-workout gear often finds itself in.

The Vive Air takes cues from sports shoes besides. Leaked images show several knitted headset components, each sporting a mesh-similar fabric more commonly associated with endurance footwear.

And in that location doesn't appear to exist any demand to worry about the headset's weight during a long conditioning, equally the "innovative lightweight construction" promises to go along it a feathery presence on your head.

The weight of a VR headset is an important function of users' overall comfort in wearing the devices for prolonged periods of fourth dimension. It's something the Apple VR headset looks set to merit, with its upcoming entry into the VR arena rumored to weigh merely 150g.

At that place's no official word on the Vive Air's exact launch date, but there could be an unveiling of the headset at HTC's upcoming ViveCon 2021 on May 11 and 12, according to The Verge.

Merely fourth dimension will tell of HTC delivers something special. The HTC Vive has already demonstrated the visitor's talent for virtual reality — at the fourth dimension delivering an unrivaled VR experience, and still sitting among our best VR headset picks.

A fitness-focused headset is a unlike sort of VR experience, tapping into a range of fitness-minded consumers who want quick-hit workouts from wherever they may be located. Mastering this marketplace would be a huge win for HTC if it'south able to pull information technology off.

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Luke is a Trainee News Writer at T3 and contributor to Tom's Guide, having graduated from the DMU/Aqueduct iv Journalism Schoolhouse with an MA in Investigative Journalism. Earlier switching careers, he worked for Mindshare WW. When not indoors messing effectually with gadgets, he'south a disc golf enthusiast, keen jogger, and fond of all things outdoors.