HTC announces Vive Pro with increased resolution and built-in headphones

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Today at CES in Las Vegas, HTC announced a new Vive VR headset, the Vive Pro, which will feature a major resolution increase over the current model, as well as built-in headphones like the Oculus Rift.

The Pro's total resolution will be 2880x1600, nearly a 78 percent increase in pixels over the current Vive's 2160×1200. Other improvements are "integrated, high-performance headphones with a built-in amplifier," dual microphones, and dual front facing cameras "designed to empower developer creativity," presumably with augmented reality applications.

HTC also announced the Vive Wireless Adapter, which uses Intel’s WiGig wireless docking tech—which Tuan tried a prototype of back in June—as well as Viveport VR (see the video below), an upgrade to its subscription service which will include previews of games and apps.

The Wireless Adapter is coming in the fourth quarter of this year, while more information on the Vive Pro's price and availability is coming "soon."

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In related news, Valve will be showing off SteamVR Tracking 2.0 at CES this week, which will allow the use of four base stations. The 2.0 base stations will also be "smaller, more reliable and offer improved performance," says Valve.

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.