The Final Destination

Given the speed with which HTC have leapfrogged their way to the top of the VR category following the HTC Vive’s global launch back in April, it’d be a mistake to underestimate the importance of their successful efforts at bringing VR to the masses. Rather than a flash in the pan, the arrival of the Vive would be better described as the bright pinnacle or climax of a technological journey that starts and ends on either side of the cold war. The earliest 3D head-mounted displays emerged back in 1956, with head-tracking and augmented reality technology arriving over the following decade. An entire generation have grown old in the time it’s taken for VR to come to market – but the HTC Vive shows that wait has been worth it. The Vive’s technical merits and incorporation of room-scale experiences have cemented its position at the top-end of the VR market and, with the device’s Australian launch now in the rear window, HTC are poised to lead that category into the future.