VIVE announces it is extending native support of wireless for PC VR to Vive Cosmos

In Virtual Reality News

October 2, 2019 – VIVE has announced today that it is extending its native support of wireless for PC VR to the recently announced Vive Cosmos.

The company has stated that it is fine-tuning the performance of the Vive Wireless Adapter with Cosmos and is very close to releasing official support, with delivery of adapter compatibility for Cosmos expected in late October.

For existing wireless owners, a new Cosmos Compatibility Pack will also ship in late October, according to the company. The pack will ship with a new 21W power bank, a connection cable for Cosmos, and a new pad to attach to the headstrap.

Due to the new inside-out tracking on Cosmos, and other features, the headset draws slightly more power than the current Vive Wireless Adapter battery can support, so the new battery is needed to power the headset wirelessly. In addition, Vive Cosmos processes all the camera tracking data solely in the headset and doesn’t sends visual tracking data to the PC. Vive stated that this means the company is securing user privacy in the play space, but as a result, this approach results in a higher headset power consumption.

The compatibility pack will retail for USD $49.99 (or regional equivalent). Vive added that over time, it will simplify the wireless adapter assortment so only the new battery is shipped to all Vive Wireless Adapter customers.

Vive will be announcing the exact details of the release date soon.

Image credit: VIVE

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.