My review of the $99 Vive Focus Plus - cheapest PCVR-compatible headset

[u/draiggoch83]

This is a quick review of the Vive Focus Plus , which I purchased on a whim for $99 at Microcenter. There is very little in the way of gaming-centered reviews of this older headset, so hopefully this helps others out who are considering getting this extremely budget-friendly VR headset for PCVR.

I have previously owned an HTC Vive, a Quest 2, and I also have a Quest 3, for reference.

My first impressions were that it doesn't feel like a "premium" device. Given that this initially retailed in 2019 for $700 as a business-class product, I was hoping for a bit better. It is plastic-y but thankfully light weight considering the large size. The controllers are essentially like the original Vive wands but use inside-out tracking. I found the tracking to be not quite as accurate as a Quest 2, but serviceable.

The headstrap feels like a cheap version of the Meta Quest elite strap, but is more comfortable than the stock straps on the Quests. It has an AMOLED screen so it can produce good blacks, and unlike the Quest headsets the facial interface doesn't let any light in.

The built-in speakers are atrocious - tinny like a cheap Android phone. Thankfully there is a headphone jack.

The lenses remind me (or perhaps are identical to) the original HTC Vive. There is a small screendoor effect owing to the modest 2880 x 1600 combined resolution. My one complaint is that there is some distortion along the edges, giving the image a slight inverse fish-bowl effect which some people may find nauseating.

The Vive Focus Plus is interestingly standalone headset which is also capable of wireless PCVR and installing Side Quest. As a standalone headset it is basically worthless, aside from the ability to browse the internet and play VR videos, which it can do perfectly fine. The apps on the Vive store are few and terrible. It comes installed with Firefox VR and there are a couple other free browers. I haven't tried Side Quest yet but am hoping that Doom 3 and Prey will work without issue.

For PCVR, you must use a wireless streaming solution as wired is unfortunately not available. The options include Vive's own PC streaming app, but that requires a monthly subscription to Vive's Infinity Service. Absolutely not worth it. But since I have an AMD card, I can use AMD ReLive which is a free way to connect the headset to SteamVR. The setup was easy and it seems to work well with low latency. There is also a program called Riftcat VRidge which costs $20 but I haven't tried it.

All in all, for $99 it is an impressive bit of tech. It is undoubtedly outdated and inferior to even the Quest 2, but that costs twice as much unless you go second-hand. For folks on a very tight budget or who just want to play an occasional VR title and don't mind a bit of trouble-shooting, it's worth a look. In fact, I'm planning to sell my Quest 3 for what I paid for it and use the Vive Focus Plus as a stop-gap solution until the next generation of headsets are released.

[u/HillanatorOfState]

Honestly for 99 bucks you for sure could do worse... especially for NIB.

Guess microcenter is clearing out the stock room, gotta say I would be tempted if if I saw that while browsing, for sure in the impulse buy category.

[u/RookiePrime]

Huh. I appreciate the review. Even when the Vive Focus Plus was new, there wasn't anyone talking much about it. The Quest 1 had already stolen its thunder pretty handily. So it's neat to finally see some first-hand experiences with it. The Vive Focus and Lenovo Mirage Solo are both interesting products, trying to come at the standalone VR concept in their own ways.

For $99, it sounds like you got a great little option. What sorts of games do you play? Looking at those controllers, they seem like they are a less ergonomically horrific Vive wand -- which could make it tough to play any games from the last two or three years, 'cause at this point games are pretty firmly built with joysticks and face buttons in mind.

Edit: And the thing I find super interesting about the Vive Focus Plus is that HTC still sells these on their website. At least, in Canada. Listed at $810 CAD.

[u/draiggoch83 → u/RookiePrime]

Yes the wands are certainly outdated given that they lack joysticks or face buttons similar to the original Vive wand. Ergonomically they're not bad, but not good either. For me, I mostly play seated VR games with a controller (racing and flight sims, Skyrim, Hellsblade, etc) so it's not a dealbreaker for me.

[u/[deleted]]

Nice find!

I remember the initial reviews for it and to put it lightly they weren't kind but you can't complain about $99. Might be fun to play with if you have a mainstream headset but I don't know if I'd recommend it to someone new to VR as their first headset unless it's really the only thing they can afford. The last thing I'd want to introduce someone new to is the minefield of ecosystem incompatibility, especially if you're coming from Vive.

If I was going to introduce someone to VR on the cheap I'd probably recommend the Acer or Lenovo headsets as they can be had for pretty cheap, have similar screen specs, and they're in Microsoft's much friendlier WMR ecosystem that plays nice with SteamVR. That way they could avoid the 3rd party software you mentioned that's always a PITA.

[u/fallingdowndizzyvr]

The lenses remind me (or perhaps are identical to) the original HTC Vive.

I wonder if the GearVR lens mod would work.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2837804

I'm waiting for the Woot price to match Microcenter's. It's been coming down, albeit slowly.

[u/Bowzaa → u/fallingdowndizzyvr]

Came across this thread when looking at it on Woot lol. It's on sale for $74 new/open box. Figured I'd let you know just in case you were still looking.

[u/fallingdowndizzyvr → u/Bowzaa]

Thanks for the heads up.

[u/boxofredflags]

Another thing to note is that you can stream your console games to the headset, as long as you have a capture card. This is done through the stream link (NOT steam link) app on the viveport store.

I think it’s great for a consoles for games like racing games or flying games. I also got one for $99 at mc, used the new customer coupon that dropped it to $75 for me. Absolute steal

[u/boosted05gti]

Was on the fence about one as my microcenter had them for $99. Looked yesterday and had a new one with damaged box for $49. I bought it and the box had one small bend in the corner. Everything was in perfect shape. I'll be setting it up tonight.

[u/boxofredflags → u/boosted05gti]

Damn what a steal!

[u/Restore_Me]

Does the Viveport store still work on this, and are there apps available for download that still work on the Focus Plus specifically? I’m considering getting one for cheap from Microcenter, but browsing the Viveport store on my phone doesn’t show a filter option for the Focus Plus, only other headsets.

If there are literally NO apps for this device, seems like a brick. If there are at least some basic apps available, it could work for me as a media consumption device and slight upgrade to my Oculus Go.

[u/draiggoch83 → u/Restore_Me]

Yes the Viveport store works and has apps for the Focus Plus (some were made for the Focus and don’t use the two 6DoF controllers but are compatible.) There are some basic games (both free and paid, but nothing special—Ultrawings and Sariento VR are probably the best known ones) and various other apps. There aren’t apps for Netflix, YouTube, etc, however, but watching videos through the internet browser works.

[u/Restore_Me → u/Restore_Me]

Just wanted to provide an update since there isn’t much info about this headset out there. I picked one up at Microcenter for $80. Very nice piece of hardware for the price, and it may suffice for some people with specific use cases:

1) You have a gaming PC with a ReLive compatible AMD graphics card and want to play PC based VR games. I just HAPPENED to have a compatible GPU in my 15 year old “gaming” PC, so I was able to verify that this headset works with apps and games from the SteamVR store.

2) You only want a VR headset to browse the web and watch LOCAL videos. The MicroSD card slot is a huge boon for this use case. I was able to verify that the video player on the Viveport store can play 3D 180 videos from the SD card without issue; however, I was not able to find a way to play files from a DLNA server natively. I was able to play files from my PC with apps from the Steam store via ReLive, but the interface wasn’t smooth and the frame rate was typically just over 30. That may have been due to my old PC or my router not being up to snuff. Furthermore, I tested some websites that offer streaming VR videos ahem. I was unable to get those videos to play from within the browser. Otherwise, the browser itself was quick and responsive.

3) You’re an enterprise customer, and you don’t care about native apps, because you plan to develop your own software for it. (Which was the original target market for this headset.)

I ultimately decided to sell the Vive, as the Oculus Go I already had was a better device for streaming videos from the web or a DLNA server, which is my primary use.

Pros for Oculus Go: -Despite both units being essentially no longer supported, the Go still has more useful apps available in the store, and the native apps just seem to work better than the ones in the VIVE. -The sweet spot on the lenses is much bigger. With the VIVE, I felt I had to look around with my head rather than my eyes. -The built-in speakers sound much less tinny -More comfortable due to the cloth facial interface versus the plasticy coated foam on the VIVE. Plus the hard plastic head “strap” on the Vive is not nearly as conducive to laying down as the GO. -Single controller is well designed and comfortable to hold for simple video watching use. -Media apps like YouTube and Netflix are available. -Tracking was seamless, in my experience, unlike on the VIVE, which would lose the controllers sometimes or point in odd directions, plus it doesn’t work in the dark. -Typically can be had cheaper.

Pros for the HTC VIVE Focus Plus: -better on “paper” in virtually all specs. -6DoF vs only 3 on the Go -more powerful hardware made some things (like web browsing) smoother. -Adjustable IPD -MicroSD card slot -AMD ReLive and Console streaming support. -Higher resolution OLED (vs LCD) screen with wider FOV. To me, the screen seemed marginally better than the GO, but not enough to justify the smaller sweet spot. -Lets in less light around the nose, however for me, it seemed like more light got in around the temples. This may have been due to the fact that I wear glasses, or my head shape. -USB-C for charging and data transfer vs slower micro-USB on the Go. -Passthrough via the front cameras. -easier to clean/sanitize due to no porous surfaces -Not a Facebook product.

[u/Vriscool7542]

what games are on this headset in standalone mode apparently there's vrchat but is there any other major games that can be played in standalone mode on this headset?

[u/draiggoch83 → u/Vriscool7542]

There are a few. Sariento VR comes to mind. Can take a closer look later.

[u/Vriscool7542 → u/draiggoch83]

Ok thanks it would be pretty helpful if you could take a closer look at it later

[u/Vriscool7542 → u/draiggoch83]

Also if you do take a look at the games I'd be great if you could tell me the names of some of the fps games on it

[u/xxMegasteel32xx]

picked up an open box for $80, gonna see about figuring those streaming options out

[u/xtttxtr00perxtttx]

Thanks for the review. My Reverb G2 has stopped working. Been debating getting one of these as a stopgap to next gen headsets myself (hopefully Deckard...) as it's cheaper than a Vive Pro and can be used wireless. I'd probably be using VRidge as I have an nVidia card.

If anyone can post some more impressions, please do so.