Windows Mixed Reality Dev Kits available for pre-order

Anyone following the excitement around virtual reality and augmented reality over the past year is aware of the anticipation surrounding Microsoft’s new Windows Mixed Reality headsets. You understand that a rapidly expanding mixed reality market is just waiting for developers like you to get involved. During Alex Kipman’s Build keynote, we announced that Windows Mixed Reality dev kits from Acer and HP are now available for pre-order through the Microsoft Store for developers in the US (Acer, HP) and Canada (Acer, HP) —please sign up here so we can notify you once dev kits are available in additional countries.

The Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset Developer Edition is priced at $299 USD and the HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset Developer Edition is priced at $329 USD. The headsets use state-of-the-art, inside-out tracking so you don’t need to set up external cameras or IR emitters to have a truly immersive experience as you move with six degrees of freedom (6DoF) in mixed reality. You’ll be ready to code new mixed reality experiences out of box with a headset and a Windows 10 Creator’s Update PC that meets our recommended hardware specifications for developers. We invite developers to join the Windows Insider program to receive the latest mixed reality experiences from Microsoft each week.

Acer and HP built new mixed reality headsets with different industrial designs to capture the spirit of more personal computing and creativity in Windows. Developers can choose the bright and lightweight headset from Acer or the modern and industrial look of the HP headset with a common set of display and audio features across both headsets:

As a developer, you can start preparing your machine to build immersive experiences today. Visit the Windows Dev Center to view documentation, download tools and join the emerging community of Windows Mixed Reality developers. Download Unity 3D, the most widely-used developer platform for creating immersive applications. Also download the free Visual Studio 2017 Community edition to package and deploy your immersive apps to the Windows Store. Additionally, you should check to make sure your workstation meets the recommended specifications for developers:

 System Recommendations for App Developers

Processor

• Desktop: Intel Desktop Core i7 (6+ Core) OR AMD Ryzen 7 1700 (8 Core, 16 threads)

GPU

• Desktop: NVIDIA GTX 980/1060, AMD Radeon RX 480 (8GB) equivalent or greater DX12 and WDDM 2.2 capable GPU
• Drivers: Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.2
• Thermal Design Power: 15W or greater

Display

• Headset connectors: 1x available graphics display port for headset (HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 for 60Hz headsets, HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 for 90Hz headsets)
• Resolution: SVGA (800×600) or greater
• Bit depth: 32 bits of color per pixel

Memory: 16 GB of RAM or greater

Storage: >10 GB additional free space

Connectivity

• 1x available USB port for headset (USB 3.0 Type-A). USB must supply a minimum of 900mA.
• Bluetooth 4.0 (for accessory connectivity)

The Windows Mixed Reality headsets are priced to lower the barriers to create immersive experiences. Mixed reality is now open to you as a developer—and if your Windows PC already meets the minimum specs, you don’t really need anything more to start building games and enterprise apps for the rapidly expanding mixed reality market. We can’t wait to see what you build!

Get all the updates for Windows Developers from Build 2017 here.