HP Windows headset dev kit hands-on: the appeal of first-party VR

This week we got our hands-on the first development kit edition of the HP “Windows Mixed Reality” VR headset. Right off the bat let’s clarify that verbiage. Microsoft is using the term “Mixed Reality” as an umbrella to encapsulate VR, AR, and all other related devices. The HoloLens, for example, is Microsoft’s AR platform while the HP and Acer headsets are their VR platform (although they refer to them as “Immersive” headsets in documentation, but whatever, they’re clearly VR headsets.) So it’s a little confusing, but just know that these are VR headsets, not mixed or merged reality devices.

Both HP ($329.99) and Acer ($299.99) are working on their own dev kits (as well as ASUS and Dell) that share essentially the exact same technical specifications. According to the product listings they each feature: