Audi and its VR spinoff Holoride have launched their in-car VR entertainment system for select Audi models.
Running on the HTC Vive Flow, which is a lightweight headset without the heavy-duty tech found in the HTC Vive Pro 2, Holoride’s product tries to turn being a car passenger into an experience. Is it a breakthrough in how cars and VR technology coexist? No, not really, it’s more of a time-waster on long drives.
That being said, it looks kind of cool. What’s not so cool is it’s launching with the announcement of an NFT collection, a teaser of which you can find below. Ugh.
“Despite amazing advances in automotive technology over the last few decades, passenger experience and in-car entertainment has remained largely the same,” said Nils Wollny, the CEO and co-founder of Holoride.
“With the introduction of Holoride, we are not only elevating that stale experience; we are redefining how you spend your time on the go. I couldn’t be more excited for riders to finally enjoy the thrills of the motorverse for themselves.”
Did he say motorverse? Ugh, he did. Let’s move away from the trainwreck of Web3-adjacent terms and come back to what this product is: in-car VR.
“Coming to select Audi vehicles in mid-November, the add-on package combines a high-end VR space with a moving car to create an experience that is like nothing before,” the press release reads.
“Passengers will be whisked off into a variety of games and apps that all use live ride info to bring content to life in a completely new media paradigm, dubbed ‘elastic content.’”
Anyway, as we said, the tech involves the HTC Vive Flow, but the “pioneers’ pack” also includes an 8BitDo Pro 2 Gamepad, a safety strap (an extra strap that connects to the seatbelt) and a one-year subscription to the Holoride platform.
Connecting to the Audi model (Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7, Q7, Q8, Audi e-tron, Audi e-tron Sportback and the Audi e-tron GT are compatible), driving data is translated through to the headset experience. You can look around at the virtual world with the headset on and interact with it using the gamepad.
The pack costs 699 euros, which converts to about $1,080 in Australia. In that pack, you’ll get a free year of access to the Holoride platform, but after that, customers will need to pay either 20 euros per month (about $30 in Australia) or 168 euros per year ($260 in Australia).
The subscriptions offer access to games in a growing catalogue, along with edutainment experiences, a phone mirroring feature and a browser. The first game will be Cloudbreakers: Leaving Haven, featured in the earlier video.
It’s launching exclusively in Germany this month, but the U.S. will follow in 2023, followed by other European and Asian markets.
And, no, the driver can’t use the headset. If the driver were to use it, not only would their seat not be supported, but it’d also be impossible to see the physical road in front of you and the other cars on the road.
Anyway, good luck to the Audi owners who end up buying a Holoride kit. Personally, I need to take motion sickness pills whenever I’m playing with my Meta Quest 2, so I can imagine the fresh hell that is using a VR headset in a moving car.