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Vive Flow Roadmap


Dak

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Does HTC have any sort of roadmap or released any statements about the future of this device?  I bought one, but it's seriously hamstrung by some of the design and lack of optimization of any software for it.  Really wondering if there is any collateral put out by HTC to allay consumers worries or if this is a device I should be attempting to return.

 

My primary concerns are:

- the brutal frame lag when moving your head faster than 1cm per second

- terrible implementation of HDCP 2.2 Miracast (which I mean, is fine, I guess I can just obtain the media I want to consume from less reputable sources than Disney, Netflix etc.)

- phone as a 3dof controller is just bad. This thing NEEDS hand tracking to be viable or at least a cheap controller provided to all purchasers for free.

- poor software (enabling passthrough literally crashes my device when I attempt to load back into the software, also - why on earth is passthrough something that requires load time?  That defeats the purpose of passthrough!)

- memory leaks (apps regularly crash back to the home screen stating memory issues

 

The worst part is that I actually like the device itself, it feels nice, the form factor is cool, the diopter pancake lenses are great.  It lacks SOC horsepower which means it needs VERY good optimization to achieve good results.  

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I am also curious about future update plans. I see a lot of promise in the Vive Flow, and I'm so glad that someone is making a VR device that is aimed towards casual uses more than being a gaming system or accessory, but the thing is that as of right now there's not much "there" there in terms of practical utility.

In terms of something that is easy to just pull out, put on, and wear without doing anything about your hair or glasses or anything like that, it's miles ahead of any VR device I've seen, and in terms of readability and clarity of the screen it's miles and miles better than any non-VR HDMI viewscreen glasses I've seen, and I've tried a lot of those. I was hoping that the Flow would be my new go-to for wearable screen tech, and it would be... if I could sync keyboards and other Bluetooth devices to it.

I know, the target audience you envisioned wasn't someone who would sit down somewhere, pull out a keyboard, put on the Flow and then want to start writing, but the main reason I've tried so many wearable view devices is to try to perfect a "virtual office" that I can set up anywhere I can sit or stand with a surface in front of me.

And the Flow is so close!

If I use it in phone mode with a keyboard and mouse synced to my phone, I can sort of do it, albeit with a single phone-shaped screen, and I have to disable the phone controller for it to not intercept mouse clicks. (Don't know if it's feasible to work out with Samsung phones how to use it as a screen for wireless DeX but that would be amazing.)

But if I could sync a keyboard/trackpad combo with the Flow and then use them in Firefox Reality... that would be basically my perfect setup. Giant virtual screens hanging in the air, able to do almost everything that's cloud-accessible.

That one thing -- being able to use Bluetooth keyboards and pointer devices with the Flow itself -- would turn it from "Novelty I use to watch ASMR videos before going to bed." to "Device I use on a daily basis and carry with me to use sitting down in public if I'm traveling or looking to write in a coffee shop or bar or something."

On that note: while we're limited to phones, I also wish it were easier to switch between multiple phones to use as a controller. My previous phone is lighter than my current one and is much easier to use as a controller if I'm just trying to watch videos or something, whereas my current, heavier phone is better for actually doing things on. Ideally I would like to have both paired and change which one is active.

Anyway. While my specific use case of wanting to be able to carry an office in a bag so my setup is the same everywhere is probably not super common, I'm sure other people would find other uses for this remarkably convenient-to-wear device... if it were convenient to use.

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Can't agree with these two any more. I love the flow, the form factor alone requires it to be as good as it can when it comes to software though. The device has incredible potential and along with the gripes others share I'd like to add that factory resetting this device takes over 5 minutes when it could easily take less than one. This is because of unskippable tutorial videos. Not in itself a huge issue, but considering the other issues myself and others have occasionally, factory resetting has been my only recourse twice now, and I've owned it for 2 days. It's incredibly tedious, as is when you choose left handed for the controller, it does so until you launch any app, where the layout is set back to right handed. Small problems that keep it from being a big device.

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45 minutes ago, Awesmazing said:

Can't agree with these two any more. I love the flow, the form factor alone requires it to be as good as it can when it comes to software though. The device has incredible potential and along with the gripes others share I'd like to add that factory resetting this device takes over 5 minutes when it could easily take less than one. This is because of unskippable tutorial videos. Not in itself a huge issue, but considering the other issues myself and others have occasionally, factory resetting has been my only recourse twice now, and I've owned it for 2 days. It's incredibly tedious, as is when you choose left handed for the controller, it does so until you launch any app, where the layout is set back to right handed. Small problems that keep it from being a big device.

I'm not sure which part of my post you are disagreeing with as it sounds like we generally agree.  The device is cool but has some issues?

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48 minutes ago, Alexandra Erin said:

I would guess that "Can't agree any more" probably means "I agree the maximum amount". As I read it, the gentleman is cosigning your points and my additions and adding his own.

In retrospect, this now seems obvious.  Thanks Alexandra.

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The device is unusable while lying in bed, as the main menu can't be moved. Same with Viveport.

Also, currently no virtual desktops in sight.

Second dud in a year, after buying an Nreal light last year - both have great hardware but are unusable due to extremely lacking software.

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1 hour ago, J35ter said:

The device is unusable while lying in bed, as the main menu can't be moved. Same with Viveport.

Also, currently no virtual desktops in sight.

Second dud in a year, after buying an Nreal light last year - both have great hardware but are unusable due to extremely lacking software.

Yeah I dont get this.  I feel like using this as a lie down, personal theatre is basically a prime use case - but they make it completely awful to use in that capacity.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/24/2021 at 6:31 PM, J35ter said:

The device is unusable while lying in bed, as the main menu can't be moved. Same with Viveport.

Also, currently no virtual desktops in sight.

Second dud in a year, after buying an Nreal light last year - both have great hardware but are unusable due to extremely lacking software.

I am glad you mentioned that. I was torn between this and the Nreal. It's too bad because bother are so close to what I am looking for. But businesses bail on anything that isn't getting the hype train right away and this just has the core to get there but its missing the software and flexibility to pull that off. Hell, if I could figure out how to put this into dev mode and run a few apks until a decent update comes out I'd be happy. Maybe Steam link, and a more practical remote desktop access tool then I would be down. But this wont even let me sync bluetooth keyboards/controllers with them and I've tried several. I emailed support asking for a refund and I'll do some research on the focus. It's too bad because this is what I prefer. 

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