Last night Microsoft officially announced six new Mixed Reality headsets from manufacturing partners Dell, Samsung, Acer, Asus, HP and Lenovo.
The specs are all pretty similar with the Samsung model looking like the highest spec (and most expensive) model. Here is how they stack up side by side.
| Acer | Asus | Dell | HP | Lenovo | Samsung | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display Res | 2880 x 1440 (1440 x 1440 per eye) | 2880 x 1440 (1440 x 1440 per eye) | 2880 x 1440 (1440 x 1440 per eye) | 2880 x 1440 (1440 x 1440 per eye) | 2880 x 1440 (1440 x 1440 per eye) | 2880 x 1600 (1440 x 1600 per eye) |
| Display Type | LCD | — | LCD | LCD | LCD | AMOLED |
| Refresh Rate | Up to 90 Hz | Up to 90 Hz | Up to 90 Hz | — | Up to 90 Hz | Up to 90 Hz |
| FoV | 95 degrees | 95 degrees | 110 degrees | 95 degrees | 105 degrees | 110 degrees |
| Audio | 3.5mm Combo Jack | 3.5mm Combo Jack | — | 3.5mm Combo Jack | 3.5mm Combo Jack | -Built-in spatial AKG headphones
-Built-in dual-array mics
|
| Tracking | 6DoF, Inside out | 6DoF, Inside out | 6DoF, Inside out | 6DoF, Inside out | 6DoF, Inside out | 6DoF, Inside out |
| Ports | -HDMI 2.0 -USB 2.0 |
-HDMI 2.0 -USB 2.0 -Cable is 4m |
— | 2-in-1 HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 cable | 2-in-1 HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 cable | 2-in-1 HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 cable |
| Sensors | -Accelerometer -Gyroscope -Magnetometer -Proximity Sensor |
-Accelerometer -Gyroscope -Magnetometer -Proximity Sensor |
-Accelerometer -Gyroscope -Magnetomer |
-Accelerometer -Gyroscope -Proximity Sensor |
— | –Accelerometer -“Gyrometer” -Compass(3 Axis) -Proximity Sensor -IPD Sensor |
| Dimensions | 195.8 x 94.8 x 106.59mm | — | 210 x 330mm (W x L) | 127.8 x 338.8 x 176mm | — | 202 x 131 x 111mm (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 350g | Under 400g | — | 834.6g | — | 645g |
| OS Support | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update |
| Misc. | Bundled with 2 motion controllers | -Bundled with 2 motion controllers -Face cushion has fast-drying, antibacterial coating |
Option to bundle with 2 motion controllers | Bundled with 2 motion controllers | –Option to bundle with 2 motion controllers -Cortana voice control -Keyboard and mouse input support |
Bundled with 2 motion controllers |
| Availability | Oct 17 | Unannounced | Oct 17 | Oct 17 | Oct 17 | Nov 6 |
| Price | $400 | Unannounced | $350 (base) $450 (bundle) |
$450 | $400 |
$500 |
(Table from http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-mixed-reality-hmds-comparison,35596.html)
In my opinion the Samsung or the Dell would be the ones to go for due to their wider field of view, something that aids deeper immersion and avoids a sense of tunnel vision.
The prices are slightly disappointing, being a little more than predicted, these are still not mainstream consumer prices but more competition in the market could drive prices down fairly quickly. The minimum PC requirements for these headsets is a lot lower that the Oculus Rift or Vive, which certainly opens up their appeal to a more mainstream PC audience. In contrast the Rift and the Vive require what would be considered a fairly good gaming PC.
Not much in the way of mixed reality applications was shown so despite the name these headsets look very much aimed at VR but the inside out tracking certainly makes them less fiddly than the Oculus Rift to set up, particularly important if like me, you don’t have it as a fixed installation and end up having to rerun the Oculus sensor setup every time you move it.