It’s no secret that Microsoft is hot-to-trot for augmented reality (AR), and starting today the company’s offering up two new Windows-based AR developer kits for pre-order to everyone – Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset Developer Edition for $649 (opens in new tab) and HP’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset Developer Edition for $599 (opens in new tab).
But while those pre-orders are open from today, customers will still to wait until October 17 this year before they can expect their wearables to be shipped, however.
Prospective buyer’s shouldn’t be thrown off by the “Mixed Reality” or “Developer” tags either – you don’t technically need to be a developer to be able to use the wearables, and ‘mixed reality’ is essentially just Microsoft-speak for augmented reality. Both the Acer and the HP headsets are similar in form and function to Microsoft’s own HoloLens, just without the four-figure price tag.
Both new headsets headset feature 1440 x 1440 LCD displays with a 95-degree horizontal field of vision and 90Hz refresh rates.
The Acer Mixed Reality Headset was first revealed at CES 2017, and was shown off again at an event in New York in April, where we got to go hands on and give it a try. Our reviewer found it to be pleasantly light, with pleasingly-sharp resolution.
- Want to know what’s like using an AR headset? Read our hands-on review of the Microsoft HoloLens.
