256 GB model: $1,059 USD

1TB model: $1,299 USD

Preorder list randomized, goes out Sept 17th

Power supply not included, costs $29 (same as Steam Deck power supply)

3rd party addon available for color passthrough, Arcturus Vision Camera, $149

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[+] -15 points 1 month ago (55 children)

$1050 is not terrible for you? Ok...

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  • [–] 28 points 1 month ago (30 children)

    I think a lot of people were worried that it would be ~2k from the way they were talking.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (29 children)

    So still terrible but slightly less so? Specially considering the accessories (except the charger) are required according to reviewers. So the "real" minimum price is like $1400. And on top of it all it has monochrome passthrough? I really don't see why people would buy this thing. I really wanted to get one but can't justify the price.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago (25 children)

    Why is everyone so concerned with passthrough these days? MR apps are the worst XR apps of them all

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    For now. Software is constantly changing. Plus, even my very old gearvr had color pasthrough.

    And, when you consider that valve is partially putting out this device to stoke vr/ar/mr enthusiasm, I would have liked to try a headset with great pasthrough. I tried the apple headset right as it came out in a store, and the headset was awesome, but lived in a closed wall garden. The passthrough on it was awesome. That xr keeps taking steps backwards is tragic every single time.

    I guess now I know what it must've been like in the 80s when vr was this cool tehcno fantasy that went nowhere until basically palmer lucky spits on floor.

    Edit: i forgot to really answer. Because passthrough is part of vr. Also because it's cool. Also because it's still novel to me and I want to play with it. Also because maybe I would have made something with it. Also because backwards progress is sad and annoying and feels bad.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (23 children)

    IYKYK...

    All jokes aside, one reason is MR to watch a movie while being able to see outside. Another is when you kneed to step out of the room for just a moment or talk to someone that just came in or maybe even just grab the controllers while seeing what you're doing.

    Do you really think cameras with color are that much of an ask in 2026 on a device that costs over $1k?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (15 children)

    The addon costs $150, if they increased the price by $150 and had color passthrough included in the box, you would be happy, but everyone who would be forced to buy cameras for a use case they are not interested in wouldn't be.

    Imo all of your use cases for color passthrough are weak. You want distractions from a movie? You need to step outside, take the headset off lol.

    If they launched at $1200 way more people would be complaining about the price

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

    They're already using a literal phone soc that HAS CAMERAS. Having two color cameras on board probably would have cost much much less than an external, $150, third party module, like maybe a tenth of that at scale so like maybe $15 more. OoooOOOOOooooo scary

    They likely made compromises like this all over the device to keep the price as low as possible, this (and the ergo pack) is just one that they errored on and probably should have just included.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

    Why would internal cameras be significantly cheaper than the external cameras to produce? Isn't it the same hardware with the same pcie interface?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (9 children)

    If you think they were targeting an "expensive device" when they were designing this, you're completely misunderstanding the product and the current market conditions.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (8 children)

    You read the marketing material, nice.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (7 children)

    An expensive vr device would be the apple vision pro. This is not that, you seem to think valve knew that ram and storage would triple in price over the last 2 years and designed the frame with that in mind.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    That's a dumb device, not just a stupidly expensive one. There's a reason why it was discontinued.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Are you just making shit up? It's not discontinued at all, you can buy one today? https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    There are lots of articles about it since January. Example.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (3 children)

    So words have meanings, discontinued means discontinued, not "there's a rumor that they are no longer working on it"

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    If they still have it for sale ir means that they have stock, not that they're necessarily still manufacturing it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (6 children)

    I just assumed they were more performant for their actual task of tracking. Everything else is secondary.

    This is just an assumption, but, if true, give me the improved tracking over color passthrough any day.

    Not that color passthrough wouldn't be nice. But I don't think it's a cost saving technique

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (5 children)

    Well, I happen tl have dabbled a bit in image processing and applying a mask to make the image grayscale has a negligible (if not inexistent) impact in performance. I do admit that I'm unaware if there's another characteristic this cameras have that make them better for tracking. If they do, it's pretty weird that Valve hasn't mentioned it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (4 children)

    Applying a mask? I'm pretty sure the cameras themselves are black and white only, no color, specifically to increase tracking performance.

    Something about b and w cameras being more sensitive to light?

    You wouldn't get the same benefit from applying a mask I don't think.

    But again, IDK for sure.

    If I really need color, I'll get the aftermarket adapter, probably do a better job than any built in cameras anyway 🤷‍♂️

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (3 children)

    I'm saying that if a grayscale image was required, you can use a color camera to show that to the user and apply a mask to use a grayscale image for tracking processes.

    You wouldn't get the same benefit from applying a mask I don't think.

    Maybe, not sure. But then again, why wouldn't valve say so if that was the case?

    If I really need color, I'll get the aftermarket adapter, probably do a better job than any built in cameras anyway 🤷‍♂️

    This one's kinda dumb, sorry. Valve makes the device and they make the camera accessory as well. If the cameras were built-in and used a ribbon cable instead of usb-c, the quality would quite literally be exactly the same.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

    I think the grayscale camera literally, physically, is better at collecting light. Like, the hardware is more capable when it comes to tracking.

    Maybe negligibly so, but an amount.

    I'm not saying that it was the right call to use them, I just didn't think it's as bad as everyone seems to want it to be.

    Maybe valve will defend their decision more in the future? Maybe the black and white cams, in addition to being better for low light tracking, were also cheaper in bulk?

    Cost adds up. I'm also in the boat of not wanting the charger to be included, because I and many others, will never use it.

    As for the addon cameras being better, it's not dumb. They literally connect with a special high bandwidth connector, and they are something like twice the resolution.

    Just like I wouldn't want the charger included that I wouldn't use, many others wouldn't appreciate the extra $150 to have the high res cameras be default either.

    It's mostly a difference of opinion and preference.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    I think the grayscale camera literally, physically, is better at collecting light. Like, the hardware is more capable when it comes to tracking.

    There are several headsets with color cameras and no tracking issues. Even if they are "better", if they don't provide a real world benefit it doesn't make sense to use them.

    Cost adds up.

    We're talking about a $1k+ device here. I don't think people would've drawn the line at $20 more.

    As for the addon cameras being better, it's not dumb. They literally connect with a special high bandwidth connector, and they are something like twice the resolution.

    And what makes you think that they couldn't have used the exact same cameras inside the Frame? Why do you assume that this external "high bandwidth" connector is the only way to use them? I'm sorry but yes, it is dumb.

    Just like I wouldn't want the charger included that I wouldn't use, many others wouldn't appreciate the extra $150 to have the high res cameras be default either.

    First, a decent 45w charger is like $15 nowadays so that wouldn't make that much of a difference. Second, why do you keep insisting that including the cameras would've increased the price $150? That makes 0 sense. First, if you don't use the monochrome cameras, you "recover" that money and second, if you include them in the device you don't have any extra packaging and you don't need the enclosure or anything else. The price increase would've been far far lower.

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  • [–] 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (8 children)

    Go look up the price of what the last ram kit, ssd, or SD card you bought costs right now, I guarantee you're going to be surprised. No one likes the price, but I was ready for it to be way worse.

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  • [–] -1 points 1 month ago (7 children)

    That doesn't make this price not terrible. It just alligns with the terribleness we exepect nowadays.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (6 children)
  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Price is objective. Cost is relative. The price is high and the cost is poor when compared to other offerings.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    The cost is high, the price is relatively cheap because materials cost too much due to the slop bubble

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

    Do you have the BOM to substantiate your claims or are you just winging it? This device does not seem to be that much better than a pico 4 ultra to justify the price difference.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 month ago (14 children)

    It can do more than some $3500 headsets (run desktop class applications natively)

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago (12 children)

    Basically games that were only written to run on Windows. If someone likes the idea of playing, say, Ori and the Blind Forest, on a virtual movie theater screen, this is a way to do that, no porting from the original authors needed.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    it still seems like a good experience for flights

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (4 children)

    Okay, but what are your other options?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (3 children)
  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

    Ah. I tried.

    How about this: use the Index.

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