Microsoft

Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality headsets recently started shipping to developers, but they won’t really feel complete until people can get their hands on the accompanying motion controllers, which go on sale this holiday. Microsoft first revealed these controllers in May, and we finally got to check them out a little bit last week, in advance of a public appearance at the IFA electronics show. They’re not the most elegant hardware, but they’re an impressive technical achievement: a pair of full-featured motion controllers that work without any fixed external trackers, just cameras on the VR headset itself. … [Read more...] about Microsoft’s Mixed Reality controllers work like Oculus Touch — without the cameras

Microsoft’s listed partners are all already working in VR to some extent. Acer is working with Starbreeze to produce the high-end StarVR headsets, and Asus showed off a leather-strapped headset behind glass at Computex. Lenovo and Chinese startup AntVR partnered for a mobile VR setup. While HP and Dell don’t have headsets, both have produced backpack-mounted PCs. None of these companies, however, are major players in the consumer headset space, which is dominated by HTC, Sony, Samsung, and Facebook-owned Oculus. In fact, given that Microsoft has worked closely with Oculus in the past, it’s interesting to see the company absent here — at the announcement of what is essentially a new line of Windows VR products. … [Read more...] about Microsoft announces new VR headsets for Windows 10, starting at $299

Lenovo is also creating its own Mixed Reality headset that Microsoft describes as “incredibly affordable” without providing exact pricing. Lenovo’s headset includes built-in sensors for inside-out tracking, and a rather basic design. Lenovo’s headset will also debut later this year, alongside others from Acer, HP, and Dell. … [Read more...] about Microsoft reveals Dell and Asus Windows Mixed Reality headsets

While “mixed reality” often refers to augmented reality glasses like Microsoft’s HoloLens, both these products essentially seem like VR headsets. Like all Windows Mixed Reality (formerly Windows Holographic) headsets, though, the development kits use internal tracking sensors, which removes the need for external cameras or markers. Based on our previous tests, they’ll run on Windows 10 PCs with some fairly low specs — far more modest than the VR-ready standard for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. We still don’t know all the details about the actual development kits, although Acer’s headset has a very decent 1440 x 1440 resolution per eye. … [Read more...] about Microsoft’s first VR development kits are available for preorder, will ship this summer

Unless, of course, it is. We've seen this all before. Back when he was CEO, Steve Ballmer accidentally announced Windows 8's name and 2012 availability, only for PR to leap into action and dismiss Ballmer's claims as "misstatements." Misstatements that just happened to be completely accurate. … [Read more...] about Microsoft mistakenly affirms that Windows 9 will be revealed next week