HTC announces a PC-powered VR headset called the Vive Cosmos

HTC has announced a new virtual reality headset called the Vive Cosmos. Based on a very brief appearance during the company’s CES presentation, the Cosmos is HTC’s bid at a relatively mainstream VR headset. It doesn’t require external sensors and uses fully tracked motion controllers, and it’s being pitched as a convenient device with “absolute comfort” and “easy setup,” intended for either home or mobile use. But we don’t know how much it costs, what its exact capabilities are, or when it’s going to launch — although HTC posted on Twitter that it’s “coming soon,” and a press release says it will offer development kits in “early 2019.”The Cosmos is supposed to connect to a computer at first, but could potentially expand to other platforms. HTC suggested that you might be able to link the Cosmos with a smartphone in the future, and a teaser video shows it alongside a phone. In a press release, HTC said that it will have “the capability to be powered by more than a traditional gaming PC,” though that’s a nebulous description.