HTC releasing a mobile VR headset with motion controllers, powered by the HTCU11

This article originally appeared on our sister-site, VR Source. 

HTC has today revealed a new VR headset intended for use with its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC U11. Titled the HTCLink, the VR headset will include six degrees of freedom (6DOF) motion tracking — seemingly becoming the first smartphone-based device to do so.

The news arrives via UploadVR which notes that, disappointingly, the unit will only be available in Japan. The HTCLink will be sold with a pair of motion controllers similar to the PlayStation Move remotes, and appears to make use of an external camera to track them.

Though it will be powered by the HTCU11, the Link doesn’t make use of the device itself as the viewfinder. Instead, the headset features a pair of 3.6-inch 1080 x 1200 LCD displays that provide an 110-degree field of view and 90 Hz refresh rate. The HTCU11 will simply connect to the headset via USB to power it.

Meanwhile, HTC will release a new Vive VR headset this year which will run on Google’s Daydream platform.

The Link VR is expected to be released toward the end of July but pricing is yet to be revealed.