HTC has announced a new virtual reality headset at CES 2019: HTC Vive Cosmos.

The Cosmos doesn’t require external sensors and uses fully tracked motion controllers. During its brief appearance at the show in Las Vegas, company executives touted how comfortable it is and how easy is it to set up, either at home or while on the go. It's expected to one day connect wirelessly to a computer somehow. Existing Vive headsets can already do that with a wireless adapter.

HTC also hinted Cosmos could hook up to a phone. In a statement to Pocket-lint, it confirmed that, on day one, "Cosmos will be powered by a tether to the PC similar to other Vives". It added, "We have ambitions to expand functionality to new use cases like mobile".

In a video from HTC, we can see the Cosmos with a phone. HTC also shows a depiction of the headset, including a screen you can flip up to see the real world without having to fully remove the headset. Tracking cameras seem to be on both the front and sides. We can also see controllers that look different from HTC's existing controllers. They actually remind us of the Oculus Quest's controllers.

Cosmos, which appears to be a middle-of-the range headset, will be HTC's third line of Vive-branded headsets, following the Vive (and Vive Pro and Vive Pro Eye) and Vive Focus. In a press release, HTC said Cosmos will have "the capability to be powered by more than a traditional gaming PC". On the Cosmos website, HTC also said Cosmos will have an “ever-increasing suite of modular customisations".  

Details about how much it costs, what it can do, or when it’s going to launch were not yet revealed, though HTC said on Twitter it is “coming soon". In a press release, it confirmed development kits would be available in “early 2019".

CES 2019 officially starts 8 January. For more announcements from the show, see Pocket-lint's round-up here.