Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mixed Reality efforts are on a bit of a roll lately, thanks in no small part to its various partners showing off new headsets and some even opening up pre-orders.
Now the Xbox maker is ready to fill us in on “where Microsoft is headed next” at a Windows Mixed Reality media event on October 3 in San Francisco.
At the event, our invite says, Microsoft’s Alex Kipman “will elaborate on our vision and showcase our final Windows Mixed Reality experience coming this holiday to Windows 10 PCs.”
Kipman is the voice of mixed reality at Microsoft, taking the stage at various events to wow the crowd with realistic, computer-generated demonstrations. He’s also the inventor of Kinect and HoloLens, so he certainly knows a thing or two about MR.
Mixed reality is a term that encompasses both virtual and augmented reality; it spans a spectrum between the two rather on focusing on just one, like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in the VR space.
Microsoft has its high-end HoloLens mixed reality viewer, while partners like Dell, Acer, HP, Asus and Lenovo have unveiled less expensive Windows 10 headsets, with many shipping soon.
Dell is currently taking pre-orders for its $349.99 Visor headset ($449.99 / £429.99 for the headset plus two controllers), and it will start to ship on October 17. This is the same day the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will be available to download, by the way. The Lenovo Explorer is also due in October, and it costs $349 / £399 (about AU$650).
Chances are we’ll get an update on these headsets, and possibly some new ones, during the October 3 event. Microsoft may announce new content partners following the news SteamVR and Halo are coming to Windows Mixed Reality. Having good content is crucial to customers buying into the ecosystem.
What we won’t see at the gathering is HoloLens 2, according to The Verge. It may be two more years before we see an update to the impressive, though expensive visor.
Sоurсе: techradar.com