As we reported it would last month, Microsoft held an event on Oct. 3 to announce its plans for the upcoming Windows Mixed Reality head-mounted displays (HMDs). Like it promised, the company revealed pre-order details for the headsets at its San Francisco showcase. Partner devices from Lenovo, Dell, Asus, and Acer will release soon, and all will use the Windows platform.
The Windows Mixed Reality hardware will be launched on October 17. That date coincides with the first official release of the Fall Creators Update (FCU). Microsoft’s platform for virtual and mixed reality will move into top gear with the release of the FCU.
Samsung has also joined the HMD party with its own Windows Mixed Reality headset. Called the Odyssey, the device is an OLED head-mounted display with 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye resolution. Adding up to 2880 x 1600, this is an improvement on the 1440 x 1440 resolution of existing Windows MR headsets.
It is also significantly better than the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which also cost more. Speaking of cost, Samsung says the Odyssey will be available for $499, which is a little more expensive than its Windows rivals, but cheaper than the two models named above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTT_3DhTMI8
Other specs of the Samsung Odyssey include 110 degrees field of view and a 90Hz refresh rate. It will also debut a built-in headphone system, something other Windows Mixed Reality headsets lack so far.
Pre-Orders
Samsung’s device will launch on November 6, which is slightly later than the other Windows headsets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AWhsBNU1jU
For example, the HP headset ($449) and Acer’s ($399) will both launch on Oct. 17. They will be joined by the Lenovo Explorer ($399) and the Dell Visor ($449). The latter has been available for pre-order since last month.
There was one notable absentee from the pre-order information, the ASUS headset. That device is not going to be launched until 2018, which could arguably mean the company misses the early adopters.
