HTC teases a higher resolution Vive VR headset to be unveiled next week

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Could this be a 4K per eye VR headset? We'll find out at CES.

HTC has a VR surprise in store for CES next week, though it's not going to be too surprising after this teaser of a tweet (embedded below), posted Friday afternoon.

It doesn't say much, but HTC's comment on new year's "resolution" is obviously a play on screen resolution. That hopefully means that HTC will be introducing a new upgraded Vive headset next week at CES, specifically on January 8.

The current Vive headset uses a 2160x1200 resolution screen, or 1080x1200 per eye. Could HTC be bumping that up to a full 4K per eye? That would be quite a leap, though other headsets are already working with prototype technology at that resolution.

The significance of a 4K per eye headset from HTC would be two-fold. First, high resolution displays are now the biggest drivers for increased performance in GPUs. Both AMD and Nvidia know this, and having a big player like HTC push spec requirements forward will only mean good things for gamers. As monitor manufacturers start pushing 4K and 8K displays, you get a recipe for speedy GPUs.

4K per eye will also essentially solve the screen-door effect on headsets, an issue which has a big impact on clarity. The caveat, of course, is that the GPU power required to drive 4K per eye at 90Hz or higher is enormous.

The safer bet is a more conservative resolution bump—maybe 1440p per eye, instead. We're also curious if HTC is making any adjustments to the form of the headset itself, or if only the display (and possibly optics) are getting an upgrade, here. We'll have to wait a few more days to find out.

Tuan Nguyen
Tuan Nguyen
Tuan is the Editor-in-Chief of Maximum PC, and loves all things tech. He's been building PCs and ruffling feathers in the industry for 20 years, and isn't afraid to call out bad products and services. In fact, it's very common to hear the words "this is shit" escape his lips. If you want to know if something is "Kick-Ass" or not, email or tweet him.