HP Launches New Windows Mixed Reality Headset As Part of Latest Commercial VR Push

HP is unveiling a new commercial VR push at Solidworks World today. The company is expanding its Device as a Service (DaaS) to include VR products as part of the new push.

The key part of the new VR push by HP includes its Windows Mixed Reality headset. The company is launching a new, professional edition of its existing Windows Mixed Reality headset. The professional edition of the headset isn’t anything different from the regular variant in terms of the specs, though it includes replaceable face cushions, allowing for easier cleaning. The professional edition is meant to be used in companies by multiple different users, so this type of things are important. It’ll go on sale next month for $449.

The new professional edition Mixed Reality headset, combined with HP’s new $1,499 Z4 workstation powered by Intel’s Xeon W and Core X processors are supposed to offer businesses with an end-to-end solution for VR. “HP DaaS is a modern service model that simplifies how commercial organizations equip users with the right hardware, support and lifecycle services to get the job done –improving end-user productivity, IT efficiency and cost predictability,” the company said in a press release.

HP is one of the few companies investing in commercial VR solutions. Although Microsoft has been pushing its HoloLens reality in the commercial world for a while now, the price of the hardware has been holding it down. But cheaper solutions like the Windows Mixed Reality headsets that are available through HP DaaS make it incredibly easy and cost-effective for companies to deploy VR in the workplace.