HTC VIVE Focus — specification and verdict
The VIVE Focus pairs two AMOLED panels at 1440x1600 per eye and 75 Hz with a Snapdragon 835, 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of fixed storage. Text on a virtual panel is readable at that resolution, but the 75 Hz refresh and the 2017-era chipset put a hard ceiling on scene complexity. The headset itself tracks in 6DoF from two cameras, yet the single VIVE Focus Controller in the box is 3DoF, so a trainee can point and click but cannot reach, grab or place an object with their hands. Battery life is about 3 hours, and the IPD wheel covers 60.5 to 74 mm.
HTC put the original Focus through its enterprise channel at $599 with the controller, and pulled it from the line-up in March 2020 in favour of the Focus Plus, selling through remaining stock. There is no current VIVE device-management or kiosk path for it: the fleet tooling HTC sells today targets the Focus 3 generation. Storage is fixed at 32 GB with no variant to buy up to, so a large course library has to be rotated on and off the device. Buying one in Poland or Germany in 2026 means the used market, with no warranty and no guarantee of a working battery.
Do not deploy the original VIVE Focus for training. Our courses need two 6DoF controllers and a supported platform, and this headset offers one 3DoF controller on hardware HTC stopped selling in 2020. If you are committed to the VIVE ecosystem, look at a current Focus-generation headset instead.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — standalone devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 103°, from 25 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 180 min, from 26 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $624, from 36 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
VIVE Focus Controller
3DoF
The first Focus shipped a single 3DoF wand: it aims and clicks, but cannot reach. The Focus Plus added position over ultrasound, and the Focus 3 after it moved to the headset’s cameras.
In the boxHow it is tracked
Rotation only (IMU)
The controller knows which way it points but not where it is: it aims like a laser pointer and cannot reach into the scene.
Other controllers
This headset’s own controllers only
Bare hands
No hand tracking — a controller is the only way in.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- HTC VIVE
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — standalone
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- Standalone VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2017-11-14
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2019
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued in 2020
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- Support ends: not published by the manufacturer
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- OLED
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Optics: not published by the manufacturer
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 1440x1600
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 75 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 110°
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: not published by the manufacturer
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- Weight: not published by the manufacturer
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- Visible field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- Rendered field of view: not published by the manufacturer
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: not published by the manufacturer
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- PenTile · 2 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- Passthrough: not published by the manufacturer
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Manual
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 60.5–74 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- Dimensions: not published by the manufacturer
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- 702 g
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Rigid strap with a dial
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · synthetic leather facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- White · Blue
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- 2
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- Yes
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- VIVE Focus Controller
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 3DoF
- Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say.
- Rotation only (IMU)
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- This headset’s own controllers only
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- Controller inputs: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Controller haptics: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- Controller power: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- Controller weight: not published by the manufacturer
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- PerformanceHow much the headset can run — sharper scenes, more objects, smoother mixed reality. Higher is better.
- Dated — we no longer recommend it
- ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- CPUCores and clocks, where the manufacturer publishes them.
- Octa-core Kryo 280 (4 x 2.45 GHz, 4 x 1.9 GHz)
- GPUThe graphics part of the chip.
- Adreno 540
- MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be.
- 4 GB
- PlatformThe platform an application is built against — and what an MDM has to speak.
- Android
- StorageOn-board space for downloaded courses. More matters for an offline library in several languages.
- 32 GB
- SD card slotWhether storage can be added with a card.
- SD card slot: not published by the manufacturer
- BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.
- 180 min
- Battery capacity (Wh)Energy in the cell. Bigger is longer, given the same power draw.
- Battery capacity (Wh): not published by the manufacturer
- Battery capacity (mAh)The same fact in the other unit vendors use. We never convert between the two.
- 4000 mAh
- Charge timeFrom empty to full. Rarely stated by the manufacturer, so it usually comes from whoever timed it.
- Charge time: not published by the manufacturer
- ChargerPower of the supplied charger — it decides the charge time above.
- Charger: not published by the manufacturer
- External batteryBattery on a cable or a puck instead of on the head.
- External battery: not published by the manufacturer
- Charging caseExtra runtime carried in the case the glasses ship with.
- Charging case: not published by the manufacturer
- Hot-swap batteryWhether a charged battery can replace the empty one without ending the session. This is what decides if a headset can hold an all-day training station.
- Hot-swap battery: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Swappable facial interface: not published by the manufacturer
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- USB Type-C
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- 5
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: not published by the manufacturer
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers · Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: not published by the manufacturer
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Enterprise
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $599
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: not published by the manufacturer
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
Of interest only to organisations that already own a Focus fleet from 2018 to 2020 and want to know what it can still do: seated 360 video, guided walkthroughs and pointer-driven presentations. Anyone specifying hardware for a new hands-on training programme should skip it.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
HTC's consumer support pages for the Focus are gone (every www.vive.com/us/support/focus URL now 404s), so dimensions, optics type and the panel's brightness are unverified here and left empty rather than guessed - HTC's surviving spec sheet lists tracking, display, refresh rate, FOV, IPD, processor, storage, ports, audio, wireless and battery, but no weight, lens or nits row at all. The only weight anywhere is the full strapped 702 g, so the headset-only figure stays empty. HTC never published an end-of-support date, only the 2020 end-of-life notice, and the passthrough that the tracking cameras provide is not described in colour or resolution anywhere we could source.
HTC VIVE Focus in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- CNET2018
The clearest contemporary statement of what this headset was: HTC's move from consumer VR into enterprise, sold to companies rather than to people. The title is the finding, and it still explains why so little was written about it.
Watch on YouTube - josalt2024
Somebody who bought the entire VIVE line and covers each one in turn, with the Focus in its own chapter. For a headset this thinly documented, a survey by an owner is more use than another launch article.
Watch on YouTube - Tyriel Wood - VR Tech2019
Covers the Focus Plus, the successor, and is here to mark the difference: the Plus added 6DoF controllers and PC streaming that this model does not have. If you are buying used, that distinction is the one to get right.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
HTC VIVE Focus — frequently asked questions
- Is the original HTC VIVE Focus still sold or supported in 2026?
- No. HTC announced in March 2020 that the first-generation Focus was end of life and would only be sold through remaining stock, replaced by the Focus Plus. Six years on there is no retail channel, no warranty and no current VIVE fleet-management support for it, so anything you find is second-hand hardware on a 4000 mAh battery that has aged.
- Does the VIVE Focus have 6DoF controllers?
- No. The headset tracks in 6DoF from its two on-board cameras, but the single VIVE Focus Controller supplied with it is 3DoF: it reports rotation only, so it works as a laser pointer and not as a hand. Any course that asks a trainee to pick up a fire extinguisher or place a tool needs a headset with two 6DoF controllers.
- What is the difference between the VIVE Focus and the VIVE Focus Plus?
- The Focus Plus was the 2019 refresh that replaced this model in HTC's line-up in March 2020, and its headline change was two 6DoF controllers instead of the single 3DoF one shipped here. The displays and the Snapdragon 835 platform stayed in the same generation, so the upgrade was about input rather than image quality or performance.
Compare this device
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Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. Manufacturer's specification
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