Vive Cosmos, HTC’s upcoming PC VR headset (which is also likely to support tethering to smartphones), has popped up in FCC listings, suggesting that the company is moving rapidly to bring it to market.
The Vive Cosmos headset was only just revealed last month and details are still quite thin on the ground, but new filings at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suggest it’s moving quickly toward market-readiness, likely with the intention of heading off Oculus’ upcoming Quest launch which is expected in Q2.
The FCC is tasked with certifying products with electromagnetic emissions to be safe and compatible with regulations. Products utilizing radio, WiFi, infrared, etc. need certification before they can be distributed for sale. Certification by the FCC marks one step closer to the launch of consumer electronics product.
This week documents for the Vive Cosmos appeared. The filings give the model number 2Q2R100, and a model specifying the location of the device’s label shows the shell of the Vive Focus with its unmistakable side-mounted cameras.
The documents don’t reveal much else except what kind of wireless radios might be on board. One filing specifies a 2.4GHz radio but no 5GHz radio. If that band was being used for WiFi, it would be very odd to not to also include more modern 5GHz WiFi capabilities as well; as 5GHz isn’t present, it seems likely that the 2.4GHz band is not being used for WiFi but instead for wireless communication to the headset’s controllers, just like the original Vive.
Key specs for Cosmos have yet to be revealed, like display resolution, refresh rate, weight, price, and more. HTC, like many companies, has submitted a Confidentiality Request to temporarily keep the following FCC documents out of the public eye:
- Internal photos
- User manual
- Test set-up photos
- External photos
However, we’ve likely seen some very strong hints about what to expect from Cosmos (and its smartphone connectivity) from a Qualcomm reference headset spotted at CES.
As for the timing of the filings, the documents indicate that regulatory testing of the device began at least as far back as the end of September, 2018. HTC has said that Cosmos will launch in 2019, with dev kits coming “early” in the year; it seems likely that HTC wants to at least get Cosmos dev kits out the door before Facebook launches Oculus Quest (expected in Q2).
From the company’s curious semi-reveal of Cosmos at CES, we expect that HTC has plans to launch a new flagship phone which will be able to tether to the headset, and that Cosmos’ deeper details will remain under wraps until the phone is revealed. As for when that might happen? Our eyes are on the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of February.