Microsoft Technical Fellow and chief inventor of HoloLens, Alex Kipman, took the stage today at Microsoft Build 2017 to show off a number of upcoming mixed reality hardware and software streaming out of the company and its partners. Among the announcements—including pre-orders of Windows Holographic Headsets from Acer and HP and a new VR hand controller—was a teaser for more to come at E3 in June.

“Holiday 2017 is going to be phenomenal,” said Kipman. “We have a product lineup that customers really want. I hope you tune in to E3 to learn more about Windows Mixed Reality content story for this holiday.”

Many of the headsets taking part in the Windows Holographic program including Asus, Dell, 3Glasses and Lenovo have yet to receive a street date. There’s also no telling what bundle deals Microsoft will push to entice newcomers to their Universal Windows Platform-flavor of virtual interactions.

image captured by Road to VR

As it is, HP and Acer’s headsets are set to arrive to developers in August, which according to Kipman will be the exact same models shipping to consumers later in 2017.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • vrdeluxe

    Give us a higher resolution headset with less god rays. Sega mega drive graphics are old already

    • Xilence

      Believe it or not, these HMDs are a higher resolution than the Vive or Oculus, however the screens aren’t as high quality is all. I’m thinking the 2nd gen of the Rift and Vive are going to be massive in terms of quality. Windows will catch up soon after with the budget HMDs.

      BUT. The best part about Windows is that there is no release schedule, we will always have new stuff. It’s like Logitech releasing a keyboard whenever they please, same goes for Razer and Corsair. They are devices to hook up to your computer, can be upgraded at anytime, and any company can release at any time.

      • ZenInsight

        I’m onboard for a Vive 2 with those new hand controller types or a Leap hand reading device coupled with it. I already have a hard time with all the rainbow shimmering edges on everything in Vive. It’s a bit better on Oculus but the screen door is still there.

  • Shawn Stroud

    Mobility is good, I’d like to get this just to try AR really but I don’t see it replacing current gen VR’s full room tracking… Are the resolution specs available?

    • Zerofool

      Don’t be fooled by the name, there’s nothing AR or “mixed” in these headsets. They are regular tethered VR HMDs.
      Yes, the specs are out – 1440×1440 per eye, using LCD panels (that’s right, they’re not using OLED panels), 90Hz, 95 deg FOV. That’s for the cheaper Acer and HP units, nothing is confirmed for the rest.

      • Sebastien Mathieu

        95 is not that much… My VIVE 110 or so is somewhat not enough…

        • Shawn MacDonell

          95 deg. is the horizontal FOV of the Acer/HP headsets, the 110 deg. you cited is the diagonal FOV of the Vive if I recall.

          • Lucidfeuer

            Nope, same thing, and you clearly see the difference when using 95 vs 110 Fov heasdsets

        • Zerofool

          Indeed. In the end, you get what you pay for – $400 (bundle with controllers) vs $800.

          • Smokey_the_Bear

            yes and no, these HMD’s are all coming out roughly 1 1/2 years after Rift & Vive. Plus they can have slightly smaller profit margins, since they will sell more units. In some area’s the Rift
            & Vive are better, in some areas they are not (IE: weight, resolution, flip-up displays).

      • Xilence

        So the others are liable to be better then, yeah?

        • Zerofool

          One can only hope :)