Microsoft has built many VR and holographic features in Windows 10, it’s not possible to truly experience them on a conventional display, users require headsets. At its event in New York City today, Microsoft announced that a handful of its partners are going to release new virtual reality headsets with prices starting at $299. These headsets will include inside-out tracking sensors which will eliminate the need for lasers or external cameras as required by existing headsets like the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
Microsoft didn’t go into the full technical details of these headsets, only saying that VR headsets for Windows 10 will be developed by partners like HP, Lenovo, Asus, Dell, and Acer.
No technical details have been revealed about these headsets yet but I’m sure that we’ll be hearing more about them from the respective manufacturers in the near future. These headsets are different from Microsoft’s HoloLens which is actually a mixed reality headset that projects virtual objects into real environments.
Almost all of the partners that Microsoft has announced today are working on VR in one form or the other, but they are not really dominating the consumer VR space like Samsung, Oculus, HTC, and even Sony is now. That will certainly change once these new headsets for Windows 10 start hitting the market next year.