With companies such as ASUS, Dell, Acer, HP and Microsoft itself hitting the Windows Mixed Reality platform hard with upcoming devices, it was only a matter of time before Samsung threw its hat into the ring. According to new photos, that might just be a reality closer than we realised.
ASUS isn't set to launch its headset until 2018, while Dell begun taking pre-orders for its Visor two weeks ago, set to release October 17th. While it might seem a good idea to get into the market sooner rather than later, functionality is expected to be limited until SteamVR support arrives, which could take until 2018 itself.
Little is known about Samsung's foray into the mix, aside from that the potential headset is pegged to match competition by including six degree-of-freedom tracking. The images show built-in headphones made by AKG, similar to that seen on the Oculus Rift VR headset and that the supposed Samsung device will ship with Microsoft's motion controllers.
Samsung Windows Mixed Reality headset pic.twitter.com/pOelleMpew
— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) September 26, 2017
Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update launches on October 17th, the same as the Dell Visor which sits at a price of $349. Acer also launches its headset next month priced at the lowest end of $299, whereas HP take the higher-end market with its own bundle including motion controllers sitting at $450.
Samsung might choose to unveil its headset during a special Mixed Reality event held by Microsoft next week, or the company might opt to match ASUS and wait until next year.
KitGuru Says: Until I see product reviews, I am curious as to see what the price difference between all of the devices entails. Will the $150+ difference between Acer and HP make a huge difference? What do you think about Samsung potentially joining in the Mixed Reality market?
This causes so much issue for us all. We want a select amount of these headsets at retail, not hundreds of different brands, especially once some of the 2nd gen headsets come around to clutter the market more. I would love to get into VR, but am afraid to out of thinking that its a roulette on what headset I buy and how long it will be compatible. We need a few companies to take the reigns and make something so good the rest of the market just goes away.
I think it’s good that more companies are jumping on the VR and MR train, we don’t need just two systems but more than that which could bring down prices and challenge the companies too. Look at the GPU market, only two companies and one is behind which means they’ll cost more and the evolution is slow.
Healthy competition can be had with 2/3 companies such as what we already have within the console market. When a new game comes out, who is going to fine tune it to work with 25 different headsets. And how do you get the best experience? I understand the big influx of interest and products until it settles (same as when the console market started) but it does need to calm down to a few eventually.
You forgot that these headsets are made for the Windows Mixed Reality platform so every device is designed with that in mind and isn’t just another standalone device. So software stays the same and all that changes is the hardware and features for the HMDs like resolution, headphones, wireless connectivity, camera.