[2][3][4] HTC officially unveiled its device, Vive, during its Mobile World Congress keynote on 1 March 2015.

[15][16] In 2019, HTC released the Vive Cosmos, which features inside-out motion tracking without external base stations, and also supports interchangeable faceplates with different functionality.

[17][18] HTC Vive implements "room-scale" virtual reality, whereby a user can walk freely around a play area rather than be constrained to a stationary position.

[5] The controllers and headset use a positional tracking system; multiple external base stations are installed in the play area, which each contain an array of LED lights, and two infrared lasers.

The headsets, controllers, and other compatible accessories contain photosensors which detect the LED lights from the base stations, and then compare them with the timing of the laser sweeps in order to determine their relative position in 3D space.

[24][25] The first-generation HTC Vive headset contains two OLED display panels with a resolution of 1080×1200 per-eye, with a refresh rate of 90 Hz and a 110 degree field of view.

[22] However, SteamVR support for macOS was discontinued by Valve in 2020, with the company stating that it planned to focus solely on Linux and Windows moving forward.

[27] Later models of the wand controllers implement SteamVR 2.0 tracking, and are coloured in blue to match the Vive Pro.

It features higher-resolution displays, now at 1440×1600 resolution per-eye (a 78% increase in resolution), along with a second outward-facing camera, a microphone for noise cancellation analysis, and a refreshed design with a more "balanced" form, lighter weight, and a strap with over-ear headphones and a sizing dial (similar to the "Deluxe Audio Strap" accessory for the first-generation model).

[49] In February 2019, HTC announced the Vive Focus Plus, a hardware refresh with updated motion controllers that support six degrees of freedom, and design tweaks for improved weight distribution.

[47] In September 2024, HTC unveiled the Vive Focus Vision, an updated version of the Focus 3 with an improved strap and cooling system, 12 GB of RAM, 16 megapixel color passthrough cameras, foveated rendering support, and DisplayPort over USB-C (with an update for wired PC tethering at up to 120 Hz scheduled to be released by the end of the year).

[17][51] In October 2021, HTC unveiled the Vive Flow, a lightweight standalone headset with a visor-like form factor worn like glasses.

[53] In January 2023 at CES, HTC announced the Vive XR Elite, a goggle-like, standalone mixed reality headset similar in design to the Meta Quest Pro.

The headset features depth sensors and color passthrough for augmented reality software, while its lenses also support dioptre adjustment.

[54] The headset can be used with a traditional headstrap, or with a glasses frame similar to the Vive Flow (used with an external power supply).

[72] On 30 April 2015, Epic Games announced support for Valve's SteamVR technology, allowing developers to create VR projects with Unreal Engine 4 for the HTC Vive.

[73][74] Epic said that SteamVR is completely integrated into Unreal Engine 4 across Blueprint visual scripting and native code, meaning projects can be built without being dependent on programmer support if needed.

[79][80] In November 2016, Vive announced that it would begin the first retail sales of its headsets at JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores in Australia later that month.