Nearly a year ago, Microsoft teased the development of more affordable VR headsets made by its partners including Dell, which today announced the Visor.
Priced at $349, Dell’s Visor uses cameras for inside-out tracking, so there’s no need to set up desk- or wall-mounted sensors for tracking like those required for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or PlayStation VR. Add on Dell’s $99 controllers and you’re ready to game. You can also get a bundle with both for $449.
Dell designed the headset so that it’s comfortable and easy to adjust for different users. A thumbwheel on back lets you quickly adjust the well-cushioned headband, and the balance and extra padding on the face take pressure off your nose and cheeks. Dell also used an anti-stain coating to help keep the headset from getting gross after letting your friends and family use it.
The viewer has dual 1,440×1,440-resolution LCDs to deliver the 360-degree immersive picture and it fits over glasses. And if you need to take break from the action, you can just flip up the viewer. To keep you from getting tangled up in cables, there’s a clip that keeps them together and routed out of your way.
The Visor arrives in October, which is pretty perfect timing, not only for capitalizing on holiday season sales, but for use with new Windows PCs running on Intel’s 8th-gen Core i-series CPUs that will support some VR content even with only the standard built-in integrated Intel graphics.