Vive Cosmos VR headset has an inexcusable flaw — horrid tracking

Virtual reality isn’t the massive business that many of us thought it would turn into back in 2015 and 2016. But it’s still chugging along with new software and hardware like HTC’s Vive Cosmos. The $699 headset is available now and represents a series of upgrades over first-generation Vive systems. But in my testing, a core function of the Cosmos has failed so consistently that none of its other improvements matter.

The Vive Cosmos has a combined resolution of 2880-by-1700, which is 88 percent more pixels than the original Vive. The head-mounted display is also much more comfortable and easier to wear. And unlike the original Vive, Cosmos doesn’t require external tracking beacons. Instead, it uses an array of cameras.