Dell Enters the Mixed Reality Market with Visor

September 04, 2017
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Dell unveiled the Visor, a Windows Mixed Reality headset that costs $350.
Dell's joins Acer, Lenovo and HP, which have already announced headsets for considerably less than the original prices of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The Dell Visor will cost $350 for the headset alone or $450 for the headset and motion controller. The controller can be bought separately for $100. 
Unlike the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the Dell Visor and other Windows Mixed Reality headsets work without wall-mounted sensors thanks to inside out tracking sensors in the headset. The Visor features a 360-degree view via two 1440x1440-pixel resolution displays for each eye, and 90Hz refresh rates. The Visor should be easy to fit for different sized heads via the thumbwheel on the back of the headband. A hinge on the front allows the viewer to be flipped up when pausing, and a clip on the left keeps the cords in place. Like other Windows Mixed Reality headsets, the Visor needs to be connected to a PC via a HDMI cord.
 
Figure 1: Dell’s Mixed Reality Visor

Source: Company

Although Microsoft is touting the affordability of its Mixed Reality headsets, HTC recently cut the price of the Vive headset by $200, which brought its cost down to $599, while Oculus Rift's price has fallen to $499. HP's mixed-reality developer edition headset launched for $329 while Acer's headset and motion controller costs $399. The appeal for consumers depends on motion controllers, which Microsoft says will be available along with headsets from HP, Lenovo, Dell, and Acer this holiday starting at $399. Microsoft says PC partners will also launch two lines of PCs for different quality mixed-reality experiences. The Windows Mixed Reality PCs include laptops and desktops with integrated graphics that allow connected headsets to run at 60 frames per second, while the Windows Mixed Reality Ultra PCs feature discrete graphics and allow headsets to run at 90 frames per second. 
Microsoft also announced that Steam content will run on Windows Mixed Reality headsets, but didn't share specifics. It also announced a host of new content partners and plans to bring more Halo experiences to mixed reality soon.
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