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Windows Mixed Reality

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Windows Mixed Reality
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeMixed reality
Websitewww.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-mixed-reality Edit this on Wikidata
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Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) is a discontinued platform by Microsoft which provides augmented reality and virtual reality experiences with compatible head-mounted displays.

WMR supports a number of virtual and augmented reality headsets, including Microsoft HoloLens. In December 2023, Microsoft announced deprecation of WMR with complete removal in a future release of Windows Windows 11 version 24H2 expected to arrive in late-2024.[1]

History

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Its flagship device, Microsoft HoloLens, was announced at the "Windows 10: The Next Chapter" press event on January 21, 2015.[2] The HoloLens provides an augmented reality experience where a live presentation of physical real-world elements is incorporated with that of virtual elements (referred to as "holograms"[a] by Microsoft)[3][4][5] such that they are perceived to exist together in a shared environment. A variant of Windows for augmented reality computers[6] (which augment a real-world physical environment with virtual elements) Windows Mixed Reality features an augmented-reality operating environment in which any Universal Windows Platform app can run.[7]

The platform is also used for virtual reality headsets designed for use on the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which are built to specifications implemented as part of Windows Mixed Reality, but lack support for augmented-reality experiences. In January 2023, Microsoft laid off entire teams which were developing HoloLens, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality products.[8] On December 21, 2023, Microsoft announced that WMR has been deprecated and will be removed in Windows 11 version 24H2[9] expected in late-2024.[10][11] On February 8, 2024, Microsoft announced Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052, which removes WMR components.[12]

In April 2024, Meta Platforms announced Microsoft as a third-party hardware partner for its Android-based "Horizon OS" platform (as used on Meta Quest headsets), with plans for a "limited edition" Quest model under the Xbox brand.[13][14]

Products

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Microsoft HoloLens

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Main article: Microsoft HoloLens

The premier device for Windows Mixed Reality,[6] Microsoft HoloLens is a smart-glasses headset that is a cordless, self-contained Windows 10 computer running Windows 10 Holographic. It uses various sensors, a high-definition stereoscopic 3D optical head-mounted display, and spatial sound to allow for augmented reality applications, with a natural user interface that the user interacts with through gaze, voice, and hand gestures.[15][16][17] Codenamed "Project Baraboo", HoloLens had been in development for five years before its announcement in 2015, but was conceived earlier as the original pitch made in late 2007 for what would become the Kinect technology platform.[17][18]

Microsoft has targeted HoloLens for release "in the Windows 10 timeframe", with the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition to begin shipping March 30, 2016, available by application to developers in the United States and Canada for a list price of US$3000.[2][19] Although the Development Edition is considered to be consumer-ready hardware, as of February 2016 Microsoft has not set a time frame for consumer availability of HoloLens, with HoloLens chief inventor Alex Kipman stating that HoloLens will have a consumer release only when the market is ready for it.[20] Companies such as Samsung Electronics and Asus had expressed interest in working with Microsoft to produce their own mixed-reality products based on HoloLens.[21][22] Intel made a direct competitor called Project Alloy with its system called "Merged Reality"; however, it has been cancelled as of September 22, 2017.[23][24][25]

Immersive headsets

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In October 2016 during a hardware event, Microsoft announced that multiple OEMs would release virtual reality headsets for the Windows Holographic platform, based on Microsoft reference designs enabling room-scale virtual reality without external sensors or components.[26] In January 2017, prototypes were presented at Consumer Electronics Show for release later in the year,[27] and Microsoft later announced that it planned to release development kits for such headsets during the Game Developers Conference. These devices would be supported by the Windows 10 "Creators Update".[28] At the Game Developers Conference in 2017, Microsoft stated that it intended to support Windows Mixed Reality headsets on Xbox One in 2018, specifically noting the capabilities of the then-upcoming Xbox One X hardware revision, but the company later stated that it was initially focusing on PC platforms first, and that it wanted to focus on wireless VR solutions for consoles.[29][30]

In October 2017, Microsoft officially launched Windows Mixed Reality and a lineup of third-party headsets for use with the Windows 10 "Fall Creators Update" (including a launch lineup of headsets from Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, and future products from Asus and Samsung), officially referred to as Windows Mixed Reality immersive headsets.[31] Unlike HoloLens, these devices are only compatible with virtual reality software, but the underlying ecosystem is referred to as Windows Mixed Reality regardless of experience. All Immersive headsets feature integrated motion tracking (eschewing standalone sensors), and contain cameras that can be used to track handheld motion controller accessories, which may be bundled with the headset, or distributed as optional accessories.[32][33]

Immersive headsets are currently compatible with mixed reality software obtained from Microsoft Store, universal apps, and Steam VR-compatible software.[34][35] The ability to run desktop software was added on the Windows 10 "May 2019 Update".[36][37]

Microsoft classifies its minimum and recommended system requirements for Windows Mixed Reality as "Windows Mixed Reality PCs" (60 fps) and "Windows Mixed Reality Ultra PCs" (90 fps). The minimum requirements specify an Intel Core i5-7200U or better for laptops, 8 GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics 620 or better with DirectX 12 support, USB 3.0, HDMI or DisplayPort connections, and Bluetooth 4.0 support for controllers; The Verge noted that users "won't need a high-end gaming PC" to meet these recommendations.[33]

List of Windows Mixed Reality headsets

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Name Headset Type Release Date Display Type Resolution (per eye) Field of View Audio Connectivity Initial Retail Price (USD) Platform Compatibility Input
Microsoft HoloLens Augmented Reality March 30, 2016 (Development Edition)

(Development Edition 2) announced May 2, 2019

Proprietary 1268x720[38] 34° Integrated Speakers Bluetooth 4.1 LE, IEEE 802.11ac
  • $3,000
  • $5,000 (Commercial Suite)
 Windows Mixed Reality Hand Gestures and Clicker[39]
Microsoft HoloLens 2 Augmented Reality Announced February 24, 2019 Proprietary 2560x1440[40] 52°[41] Integrated Speakers Bluetooth LE 5.0, 802.11 2x2 WiFi
  • US$3,500
  • US$125 per month Enterprise
  • US$99 per month Developer
Eye tracking, Spatial Tracking, Hand Tracking
Lenovo Explorer** Virtual Reality October 17, 2017 LCD 1440x1440 110° 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1x HDMI 2.0
  • 1x Bluetooth 4.0
 $349 ($449 with controllers)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
Acer AH101 Virtual Reality October 17, 2017 LCD 1440x1440 100°[43] 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1x HDMI 2.0
  • 1x Bluetooth 4.0
 $399.99 (controllers included)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
Dell Visor Virtual Reality October 17, 2017 LCD 1440x1440 110° 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1x HDMI 2.0
  • 1x Bluetooth 4.0
 $350 ($450 with controllers)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
HP WMR headset Virtual Reality October 17, 2017 LCD 1440x1440 100° 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1x HDMI 2.0
  • 1x Bluetooth 4.0
 $449 (controllers included)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
Samsung Odyssey Virtual Reality November 6, 2017 AMOLED 1440x1600 110° integrated AKG headphones, built-in microphone
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1X HDMI 2.0
  • 1x Bluetooth 4.0
 $500
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD (has a slightly different controller design to other WMR headsets)*
Asus HC102 Virtual Reality February 20, 2018 LCD 1440x1440 95° 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1x HDMI 2.0
  • 1x Bluetooth 4.0
 $399 (controllers included)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
Samsung Odyssey+ Virtual Reality October 22, 2018 Anti-SDE AMOLED Display 1440x1600 110° integrated AKG headphones, built-in microphone
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1X HDMI 2.0
  • Integrated Bluetooth 5.0 radio to communicate with controllers[44]
 $500
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD (same controllers as the Samsung Odyssey)*
HP Reverb Virtual Reality May 6, 2019 LCD 2160x2160 114° removable headphones, two integrated microphones, 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1X USB 3.0
  • 1x DisplayPort 1.3
  • Integrated Bluetooth Radio to communicate with controllers[45]
 $599 Consumer Edition

$649 Professional Edition[46]

6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
Acer OJO 500 Virtual Reality October 17, 2019 LCD 1440x1440 100° removable headphones, two integrated microphones, 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 1x HDMI 2.0
 $399.99 (controllers included)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD*
HP Reverb G2 Virtual Reality October 31, 2020 LCD 2160x2160 114° Valve 'off-ear' headphones,[47] two integrated microphones
  • 1x DisplayPort 1.3
  • 1x USB 3.0 Type-C
 $600 (controllers included)
6DoF dual controllers tracked by HMD (new controller design.*)

* Note: Windows Mixed Reality headsets are also compatible with Xbox One Controllers.[48]

** The Lenovo Explorer is also sold in some regions as the Medion Erazer X1000 MR Glasses.

Mixed Reality Portal

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Mixed Reality Portal is a Universal Windows Platform app that serves as a front-end for Windows Mixed Reality. It features a 3D environment which users can explore, and customize with application shortcuts and virtual desktops. The feature originally launched with one environment, the Cliff House. A second, Skyloft, was added in the April 2018 Update.[49][50][51]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ See also: Holography § False holograms

References

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  1. ^ "Samsung HMD Odyssey Introduces the Ultimate Windows Mixed Reality Experience - Samsung Newsroom Global Media Library". news.samsung.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  2. ^ a b Shaban, Hamza (2014-09-02). "Microsoft announces Windows Holographic with HoloLens headset". The Verge. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
  3. ^ Microsoft HoloLens: What is a hologram?. Microsoft. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  4. ^ Fenlon, Wes (21 January 2015). "Microsoft HoloLens hands on: the promise and disappointment of AR". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2 May 2015. The Microsoft HoloLens is not what I think of when I hear the word "hologram." What Microsoft calls holograms, most of us have been calling augmented reality for years—overlaying digital images over our view of the real world.
  5. ^ Kreylos, Oliver (22 January 2015). "What is holographic, and what isn't?". Doc-Ok.org. Retrieved 20 September 2015. While these things are quite different from a technical point of view, from a user's point of view, they have a large number of things in common. Wouldn't it be nice to have a short, handy term that covers them all, has a well-matching connotation in the minds of the "person on the street," and distinguishes these things from other things that might be similar technically, but have a very different user experience?
  6. ^ a b Alex Kipman, Seth Juarez (30 April 2015). Developing for HoloLens. Microsoft. Event occurs at 00:07:15. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. ^ Terry Myerson, Alex Kipman, Jeff Norris, Satya Nadella (21 January 2015). Windows 10: The Next Chapter. Microsoft. Event occurs at 01:36:53. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
    "Satya Nadella, Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore and Phil Spencer: Windows 10 Briefing". News Center. Microsoft. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  8. ^ Corden, Jez (2023-01-21). "Microsoft has laid off entire teams behind Virtual, Mixed Reality, and HoloLens". Windows Central. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  9. ^ Stewart, Meghan (2024-02-09). "Deprecated features in the Windows client - What's new in Windows". learn.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  10. ^ "What Will Happen To Your Windows Mixed Reality Headset?". UploadVR. 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  11. ^ Roth, Emma (2023-12-21). "Microsoft is discontinuing Windows Mixed Reality". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  12. ^ Langowski, Amanda; LeBlanc, Brandon (2024-02-08). "Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052 (Canary and Dev Channels)". Windows Insider Blog. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  13. ^ "Meta Working On Framework To Port 2D Apps To Horizon OS". UploadVR. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  14. ^ Heath, Alex (2024-04-22). "Meta wants to be the Microsoft of headsets". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  15. ^ "HoloLens Interaction Model". Building Apps for Windows. Microsoft. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016. The easiest way to think about it [gaze-based targeting for HoloLens] is as having a raycast from the device and which you can determine what object (real world as represented in the spatial mapping mesh or holographic) that ray intercepts with.
  16. ^ Colaner, Seth (30 April 2015). "Microsoft HoloLens, Hands On: Promising Productivity, Little Panache". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 1 May 2015. The pair of Microsoft reps in the IPD room also explained to us the three ways we were going to interact with HoloLens: "gaze," wherein you move a cursor by looking around; "gesture," where you air tap to select an item; and "voice," which is...obvious. "We call it 'GGV'," said one of the reps.
  17. ^ a b Hempel, Jessi (21 January 2015). "Restart: Microsoft in the age of Satya Nadella". Wired. Retrieved 22 January 2015. Each lens has three layers of glass—in blue, green, and red—full of microthin corrugated grooves that diffract light. [...] A "light engine" above the lenses projects light into the glasses, where it hits the grating and then volleys between the layers of glass millions of times.
  18. ^ Hempel, Jessi (21 January 2015). "Project HoloLens: Our Exclusive Hands-On With Microsoft's Holographic Goggles". Wired. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  19. ^ "Introducing the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition". Microsoft. Retrieved 7 October 2015. We will work to get devices out as quickly as possible. As soon as additional devices are available, more accepted applicants will be invited to purchase.
  20. ^ Fried, Ina (18 February 2016). "Burned by Kinect's Fizzle, Microsoft Is Taking Its Time With HoloLens". Re/code. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  21. ^ Kim Yoo-chul (13 May 2015). "Samsung seeks partnership with Microsoft for hololens". The Korea Times. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  22. ^ Tibken, Shara (19 October 2015). "Asus mulls HoloLens augmented-reality glasses of its own". Wearable Tech. CNET. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  23. ^ Lang, Ben (2017-09-22). "Intel Scraps Plans to Launch Project Alloy Reference Headset, Pursuing Other VR R&D". Road to VR. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  24. ^ "CES 2017: Intel's Project Alloy Is the VR System I Want in My Living Room". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. 18 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Intel Unveils Project Alloy". Intel Newsroom.
  26. ^ "Upcoming third-party Windows VR headsets will use HoloLens tech". CNET. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  27. ^ "Lenovo's super-affordable flip-up Windows VR headset shows how work might get done in VR". CNET. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  28. ^ "Microsoft's first tethered Windows 10 VR headsets to ship in March". PCWorld. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  29. ^ Paul, Ian (2 March 2017). "Windows 'Mixed Reality' VR headsets will hit the Xbox One and Project Scorpio next year". PCWorld. IDG.
  30. ^ "Don't expect Xbox VR to be at E3 this year, or in stores this holiday". Polygon. Vox Media. 6 June 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  31. ^ "Immersive headset setup". developer.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  32. ^ "Watch Microsoft demo and explain Windows Mixed Reality". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  33. ^ a b "Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality: everything you need to know". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  34. ^ Shilov, Anton. "Windows Mixed Reality Headsets Gain SteamVR Support, a Library of VR Games". Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  35. ^ "SteamVR games available in Windows Mixed Reality on November 15th". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  36. ^ "Windows 10 May 2019 Update review: Sandbox and a better Windows Update improve your PC". PCWorld. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  37. ^ Warren, Tom (2019-05-22). "Windows 10 May 2019 Update: the 10 best new features". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  38. ^ "We found 7 critical HoloLens details that Microsoft hid inside its developer docs". PCWorld. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  39. ^ "Working with accessories". 2016-03-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  40. ^ "Microsoft HoloLens 2 boosts resolution and field of view". HEXUS. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  41. ^ "The HoloLens 2 Puts a Full-Fledged Computer on Your Face". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  42. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Conformant Products: OpenXR". The Khronos Group. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
  43. ^ Acer AH101 specifications
  44. ^ "Launch Studio – Listing Details". launchstudio.bluetooth.com. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  45. ^ "HP Reverb Professional Edition Set Up Guide" (PDF).
  46. ^ Carbotte 2019-05-15T23:57:00Z, Kevin (15 May 2019). "HP Reverb VR Headset Review: Windows Mixed Reality Never Looked So Good". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2019-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ Lang, Ben (2020-05-28). "HP Announces Reverb G2 – Price, Pre-orders, and Release Date". Road to VR. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  48. ^ "Motion controllers in Windows Mixed Realit". support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  49. ^ "Windows Mixed Reality set to get a range of improvements". TechRadar. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  50. ^ "Try VR for cheap: Windows Mixed Reality headsets are on sale for nearly half off today". PCWorld. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  51. ^ "What is Windows Mixed Reality?". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
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