HTC Vive XR Elite Review: Quest Pro Gets A High End VR Headset Rival – SlashGear

I might have been spoiled by the Quest Pro’s controllers, but the Vive XR Elite’s controllers really didn’t impress me. It isn’t all down to the infrared tracking either, the controllers tracked just fine and you don’t really put them out of sight of the headset that much anyway. It’s more of an issue with a few key points of usability. Sometimes connecting them was a bit of a pain when booting the headset up. You need to hold a button to turn each controller on startup, they don’t automatically come to life. Then you sometimes need to hold a very awkward button combination to sync them with the headset.

Then there’s the feel of them. They are very light, which HTC may have been going for, but coupled with the texture of the plastic, they feel very, very, cheap. They also feel pretty fragile. It felt prudent to be a bit more careful than usual with this headset to avoid catastrophic damage courtesy of a right cross into a wall or doorframe. Even the Quest 1’s controllers felt like they could (and did) shrug that kind of thing off.

On the plus side, the controllers are pretty long. This is useful in games like “Blade and Sorcery” where a trigger pull will make your hand slide down your weapon. HTC’s controller is long enough to adjust your grip further down and avoid this problem. Two-handed grips are more comfortable too, which is great for VR golf, baseball, and cricket games.