YouTube channel MRTV today reported an expected price of $900 for the upcoming Vive Cosmos headset, citing a “trusted industry insider.” Responding to the rumor, HTC tells Road to VR that the price is “incorrect (and high).”

HTC is slowly revealing more details about its Vive Cosmos headset which is due to launch in Q3; today the company revealed an updated headset design which features six cameras for inside-out tracking and showed that it can be equipped with headphones (in addition to its non-headphone audio solution). However, the company is still closely guarding other information like resolution, field of view, and price.

Following the info that HTC revealed today, YouTube channel MRTV reported a rumored price for the headset at $900, citing a “trusted industry insider.” MRTV’s Sebastian Ang qualified the rumor saying, “take this with a grain of salt. However, I believe the probability of the information being true is high.”

HTC was quick to strike down the rumor, and in doing so confirmed that the headset will cost less than $900.

“We appreciate the speculation on Cosmos’ price and functionality. What was reported today is incorrect (and high). We’re just getting started on what we’ve built with Cosmos and believe we’re delivering a product with great value, functionality, and the ability to grow with you over time,” a spokesperson told Road to VR.

The MRTV video also reported a rumored August shipping date for the headset, though HTC didn’t address that speculation. We reached out to MRTV for comment on their report.

Update (June 22nd, 2019): Sebastian Ang from MRTV shared the following with Road to VR after HTC’s response to the price rumor: “The information I received was the alleged price in Euros and I wrongly assumed it might just translate to the same price in USD. But taking into consideration that we normally pay a premium in Europe (Vive Pro headset only was €879), you actually may expect a US price of around $800, if the information I received about the price in the Euro zone is indeed correct. I have updated that in my video description and thanks for allowing me to clarify this here as well. Hopefully we will learn about all the details from HTC themselves soon!”

– – — – –

The original Vive headset debuted at $800 when it launched in 2016 and has since come down to $500. However, price-shock was apparent among VR enthusiasts when the company revealed in 2018 that it’s next headset, the Vive Pro, would cost $1,400 for full kit, pushing it well out of consumer territory.

Cosmos meanwhile is seen as the company’s first real consumer followup to the original Vive headset (though HTC says it isn’t intended as the Vive’s successor); it’s clear from its comment on the price rumor that HTC is sensitive to the pricing concerns of potential customers, especially considering the $400 price point of Oculus’ new Rift S and Quest headsets.

With a launch set for sometime in Q3, it hopefully won’t be too long before we get an official price and release date for Vive Cosmos.