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HTC Vive's venture into standalone VR headsets, the Vive Focus, was unveiled late last year, but the launch was unfortunately confined to the Chinese market. Unlike existing VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift or the standard HTC Vive, the Focus doesn't require being tethered to a powerful computer to work, making it a truly standalone experience. On the other hand, existing standalone virtual reality goggles like the Gear VR, Daydream View, or upcoming Oculus Go don't have spatial tracking, meaning that users aren't able to move around in 3D space.
Google tried to create some buzz for its Daydream VR platform at its I/O developer conference back in May, even though public appetite for the tech seems to be waning. Standalone headsets were announced as the next evolution of the Daydream experience, but since then it's all gone rather quiet. We now know that HTC has canceled its plans to release a standalone Daydream headset, and is instead concentrating its efforts on China with a different standalone headset and development platform.
At Google I/O back in May, we saw the announcement of standalone Daydream virtual reality headsets from companies such as HTC and Lenovo. While they have yet to materialize, HTC has just announced that it's releasing the VIVE Standalone headset, and it will be exclusive to China.
VR has slowed in both improvements and public excitement recently. But that hasn't stopped Google from bettering its Daydream platform, its take on so-called "smartphone VR." Like Samsung's version, Daydream requires a phone to operate. As cool as this was, it led to some issues, notably battery life and heat. During this year's I/O keynote, Google announced the Standalone VR headsets that were rumored yesterday. As the name suggests, these devices won't require a phone to operate.