Virtual reality is one of the most important developments in technology in recent years.
It provides users with a completely different way of interacting with the digital world.
Facebook invested $2 billion in Oculus, Steam and HTC brought us the very capable Vive VR headsets, and now Microsoft has also come up with their own version of VR, called Windows Mixed Reality.
Windows Mixed Reality: A Blend of AR and VR
So what is Windows Mixed Reality? Microsoft says it’s a mix of augmented reality and virtual reality technology that can be combined to make a unique experience.
That’s a lot of marketing speak, however, just to justify the Mixed Reality name. In reality Windows, Mixed Reality headsets gravitate more towards being just virtual reality headsets with AR thrown in just for the sake of it.
Microsoft has basically built a blueprint with what it expects out of a virtual reality experience and handed that to its hardware partners, which are mostly PC makers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung. These Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets are touted to be more affordable than popular options like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
But what sort of experience are they able to deliver?
The most basic demonstration of the capabilities of the WMR headsets comes through Microsoft’s Cliff House demonstration. The user can access their apps and games through this VR portal, or a virtual living room if you will. It sounds like a gimmick but is actually quite fun to use.
You can pin your favourite apps to the walls, or go to a special cinema room to watch your movies and TV shows.
Windows Mixed Reality also lets you run a virtual version of your Windows desktop. This virtual version is supposed to be the hub of all your apps and games and delivers a reasonable experience.
It could have better applications if fully realized, like replicating a multi-monitor desktop environment within the VR headset for times when you’re on the go and only have a laptop with you.
The WMR Motion Controllers and Movement Tracking
Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive come with their own set of motion controllers. And that’s because it’s absolutely necessary for users to interact with the VR world in a more natural way than traditional joysticks.
Windows Mixed Reality headsets also come with Microsoft-designed motion controllers. The Rift and Vive also use external sensors to sense the user’s position in a predefined area, but the WMR devices do away with that. Instead, the movement is sensed via the headsets’ mounted cameras that read the information through visual sensing.
This means there are fewer input requirements and so you only need an HDMI for the headset’s display input and a USB port for the motion controllers. This avoids a lot of the hassle that’s associated with the Vive and Rift.
Coming to the motion controllers themselves, each of the two controllers features a Windows and a menu button, a grip button, an analog stick and a small trackpad.
Microsoft has been making peripherals for computers and gaming consoles for years, so you’d expect that the motion controllers for WMR devices would be a home run. But they’re not. They’re a bit too big for comfort, a sentiment that has been echoed by many users.
That’s definitely a con as Microsoft is responsible for providing the blueprint for these controllers to the other makers of WMR devices as well, which means you can’t possibly avoid this glaring design flaw, no matter what manufacturer you go for.
We hope the next iteration of WMR controllers are better and feel more like the Oculus’ excellent motion Touch controllers.
Each of the two WMR headset controllers has white LEDs across the top. These LEDs are used by the headset cameras for tracking movements and the tracking performance is perfectly reasonable.
The one niggle with this technology is that it is designed to track movements done in front of the WMR headsets. If you move the controllers behind the headset, there will be no motion sensing and no tracking. That’s a minor flaw as we don’t foresee many VR interactions requiring such hand placements.
Hardware and Software Alliances
As mentioned earlier, multiple hardware companies are making these WMR headsets. Acer’s headset is said to be the cheapest, costing just $299. But while the headset is quite cheap, it feels the part as well, with questionable build quality.
Most WMR headsets cost $349, which is reasonable but not that far below the $399 currently being commanded by the Oculus Rift, an industry favourite.
Headsets from Dell and Lenovo feel much better in quality and more like the Rift, but we think the $349 price tag is still too close to the Rift’s to be justified.
On the games support front, WMR devices play well with SteamVR and of course apps and games on the Windows Store. There’s already a sizeable amount of VR content on both these platforms which we think will only get better with time.
Windows Mixed Reality System Requirements
High system requirements seem to be the norm in virtual reality. WMR addresses that to some extent by specifying a lowly Intel Core i5-7200U, 8GB of RAM and Intel HD 620 graphics as the minimum requirements for WMR devices.
It’s pretty obvious that Microsoft is looking to appeal to the laptop crowd as well with these headsets. But these system specs will only net you about 60 frames per second on the lowest settings possible. 90 frames per second seem to be the well-established benchmark for a smooth VR experience, so there’s definitely a compromise of quality at play here.
Take a look at our article on building a budget VR gaming PC.
The Bottom Line: WMR is Microsoft’s Virtual Reality
Make no mistake, Mixed Reality is essentially just virtual reality packaged in a different name. Microsoft has brought their own expertise into the tech and in the process eliminated the need for 2 USB ports (WMR devices need only one).
We like Microsoft’s approach to tracking hand movements as well. The augmented reality part of the headset is meant to be blend into the virtual reality environment but there are a limited number of apps to fully take advantage of that.
Because of that, we suspect WMR will be bought primarily for their VR capabilities.
Another thing to remember is that this is Microsoft’s first foray into the world of virtual reality, which is technologically very advanced. WMR devices aren’t perfect: the controllers aren’t the most intuitive and the displays aren’t quite as impressive as those found in Rift and Vive.
To be fair, both the Rift and Vive have had a lot of time to listen to user feedback and improve their design over the years, so Microsoft still deserves some credit for such a solid first entry into VR hardware.
Pricing
The only area where we feel WMR has missed the mark is the pricing of the WMR headsets. We expected WMR headsets to cost in the $200-$300 range but most of them sell for $349, with some headsets even costing upwards of $500.
Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive recently got drastic price cuts. The Oculus Rift costs only $50 more than most WMR devices. Because of this, adoption might be a little too slow for WMR devices.
Final Thoughts
The introduction of WMR marks a clear move by Microsoft to bring virtual reality to the masses through its Windows operating system. The hardware is solid, but Microsoft still has to get onboard with game developers for official support.
Most VR headset users are gamers and to truly grab their attention there needs to be games support. That’s an area where WMR clearly lacks right now but luckily, it’s just the beginning.
With the introduction of cheaper headsets and game developer support, we suspect WMR will become a major player in PC VR.
If you are interested in mixed reality, check out our post on the best mixed-reality headsets.
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