Hands on with Microsoft 'Mixed Reality'

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I recently tried Microsoft's new 'Mixed Reality' experience which was demoed with Acer's new headset and hand controller which was connected to a gaming notebook. 

Windows Mixed Reality capabilities are coming to Windows 10 Fall Creators update, but you need to be running a 7th generation Intel Core processor at the very minimum, which means most Windows users will likely need to upgrade to be able to take advantage of this feature.

Microsoft, who created their expensive Hololens platform, has been trying to get mixed reality going. The Hololens was a cool demo because it didn't suck your senses into a VR world but brought digital experiences into real life (i.e. Minecraft on your living room table, shooting aliens attacking your kitchen at home, fixing plumbing while someone sees what you see and guides you.)

The big problem with Hololens was it cost $3,000 and was really just for developers to create experiences even as Microsoft pitched it to industries.

Now with the buy-in of its PC maker OEM friends, Microsoft is hoping to be able to port some of the functionality of Hololens technology to be more affordable and accessible.

Set-up and initial experience

I was led into a room where various PCs were running demos. I put on the Acer headset, which was not heavy and has an efficient mechanism where the front part flips down to cover your eyes.

Wearing eyeglasses, the fit was tight and by the time my 30 minute demo was done, quite sweaty and uncomfortable. Aside from the headset, you put on headphones and two hand controllers that have myriad buttons.

Microsoft sets up their Mixed Reality starting point as a postmodern bungalow with each room representing a set of experiences. The controller allows you to cast a line (just like fishing, but virtually) and you can move to any room.

This is a good starting point as you learn to associate rooms to specific demos or functions.

Throughout the demo I rode a baloon over mountains, tried a glitchy Halo demo where my virtual self appeared below the ground (not a pleasant sensation, even n VR), tried various shooting games, a clever immersive puzzle with trees and stars, accessed Edge Browser, YouTube and other web-based services rendered in the Mixed Reality container.

Video and audio was very impressive and didn't seem to lag or stutter, which aided the suspension of disbelief. I did all the demos standing up and was actually quite tense and grew tired after about 20 minutes, I can't seen anyone immersing themselves in this VR for long periods of time, no matter how cool the experiences are.

Microsoft has clearly tried to address many of the limitations plaguing VR mass adoption. Oculus and HTC Vive solutions are expensive, cumbersome and also need a full-sized PC in order to work well.

With Mixed Reality, you already have an OS that works with Windows 10, you just need to spend on the $600 headsets made by Acer, Lenovo, Samsung, and others and there are already 20,000 Windows applications that can work with the system.

It all sound sounds promising and if anyone can put their money and muscle behind it, it is Microsoft. Mixed Reality actually feels a step up from PlayStation VR and it is also leaps and bounds better than any smartphone-based VR experience like Google's Daydream VR. 

Still, let's not fool ourselves. This isn't Hololens lite. Mixed Reality is virtual reality and it does not feature the ability to integrate augmented reality and VR like Hololens originally did.

Microsoft is going for the democratization of VR as applications and experiences. It has, at least, built the groundwork and made the deals to make it happen.

Personally, I was amazed at most of what Microsoft had to show me. Mixed Reality, however, isn't something that will make me upgrade my four-year old Thinkpad and spring for a $600 headset.

Seeing apps like the Edge browser and YouTube (presented in VR as being inside a theatre) is cool and clever but has limited appeal. I was not looking forward to scanning Excel spreadsheets or Powerpoint decks in VR, either. I'm doubtful that corporate VR applications can provide a compelling example but I would love to be proved wrong.

So, is Microsoft serious about VR and Mixed Reality? Or is this another ambitious me-too play (cough, Zune. Double-cough, Windows Phone) that will eventually be End of Lifed in a few years?

Since Microsoft is using OEMs to create the hardware and is focusing on the OS and the application ecosytem, there's a good chance that it will continue to push Mixed Reality as the price of hardware goes down and adoption goes up.