Open pre-purchase of Windows Mixed Reality development kits

Microsoft platform development kits are now available for pre-purchase starting at $ 299. Shipments will take place at the end of summer.

Microsoft it has announced, during the Build 2017 event, that the development kits of the products can already be pre-purchased in the United States and Canada acer and HP virtual reality viewers for the platform Windows Mixed Reality. Soon they will be on sale in other countries. The price is $ 299 for the Acer model and $ 329 for HP, and shipments are scheduled to take place later this summer. Apparently, the hardware of the devices will not change between the developer versions and the commercial ones that should arrive by the holidays this year, according to Microsoft. Date that as we mentioned earlier, could be at the end of this summer.

For developers to start creating content it will be necessary to have a development kit and a PC with Windows 10 updated to the Creators Update. In turn, it is recommended that the team meet the requirements that we will find below, and that the developers also join the Insider program to receive the latest experiences each week.

Below is the list of recommended equipment requirements for developers:

• CPU: Intel Desktop Core i7 (6+ Cores), or AMD Ryzen 7 1700 (6 Cores, 12 threads).
• GPU: NVIDIA GTX 980/1060, AMD Radeon RX 480 (2GB) equivalent or higher with DX12 and WDDM 2.2.
• GPU Drivers: Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.2.
• GPU Thermal Design Power: 15W or more.
• Ports: HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 for 60Hz, HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 for 90Hz. SVGA. 32-bit color depth.
• Memory: 16 GB RAM or more.
• HDD: > 10 GB free.
• Connectivity: One USB 3.0 Type-A port, with a minimum power of 900mA. And Bluetooth 4.0 for accessories.

Both development kits have similar features: light weight, 2880×1440 resolution, absolute inside-out positioning, headband fastening system and mount LCD screens that usually have a lower cost than the OLED, used in viewers such as Rift and Vive. According to UploadVR, when testing the Acer viewer they have experienced problems of the motion-blur type, that is, the image was blurred with the movement. Let’s hope that the commercial versions do not have that inconvenience that should be totally overcome by now.

Next the feature comparison between both kits:

Microsoft has also announced the acer motion controllers they include absolute positioning, without requiring external elements for it, but with the drawback that they depend on the front cameras. Acer will later release a pack next to the visor for $ 399. A more affordable price, if we compare it with the combo Rift and Touch that has a cost of 600 dollars or the one of Vive whose price is 799 dollars.

Developers who want to know when they will be available in other countries can sign up for Microsoft’s official list.