Samsung's HMD Odyssey headset looks a bit like most of the others, with handheld Vive-like controllers, but it won't come to Australia until sometime in 2018.
Samsung has gone all out with its new HMD Odyssey headset, claiming it as "the Ultimate Windows Mixed Reality Experience" delivering a "remarkable immersive experience with Dual AMOLED high-resolution displays, a 110-degree field of view, AKG headphones and built-in 6 DOF inside-out position tracking."
6 DOF isn't the name of a new doof-doof band, but stands for six degrees of freedom, with Samsung stating it "refers to the freedom of movement in a 3 dimensional space."
This is important, because "unlike many VR controllers that [only] recognise 3 axis, 6 DOF gives you the freedom to move forward and back, left and right, up and down, yaw, pitch, and roll," which you'd imagine would want to make you rock, depending on the VR experience you're having, of course.
{loadposition alex08}Now, this new headset has come "in partnership with Microsoft", with Samsung promising it is "quick and easy to set up" delivering "a premium virtual reality experience, with superior picture quality and the highest resolution display taking consumers to entirely new virtual limits."
The US price is claimed online as $499 - Samsung hasn't released this info itself yet, so Australian pricing will be higher.
In addition, Australia isn't on the initial launch list - Samsung says it will be available "later this year in the US, China, Korea, Brazil and Hong Kong, with pre-orders beginning in the US only on October 3rd" which is today in the US, although as I type it is still night-time there.
YG Choi, Senior VP of Samsung's PC Business Team said: "The Samsung HMD Odyssey is a high performing headset, which like all of our products, delivers meaningful innovation to our consumers’ lives.
“Designed in partnership with Microsoft, the Samsung HMD Odyssey transports consumers to the next frontier of Windows Mixed Reality, which introduces to them to a new, industry leading virtual reality experience.”
The promise of "Lifelike Experiences"
With dual 3.5-inch AMOLED displays, Samsung proudly boasts its HMD Odyssey headset "delivers more vibrant colours, and deeper blacks, providing crisper, more lifelike images," while "the 110-degree field of view allows users to discover paramount virtual experiences around them."
Those screens sound incredible, and hopefully this will deliver better visuals than you get from Samsung's Gear VR headsets powered by Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy smartphones.
When it comes to sound, Samsung headset "comes with 360° Spatial Sound, providing users with complete surround sound, through premium built-in AKG headphones."
On top of that, users can also talk with other gamers, "without having to remove the headset, using the fitted array mic."
There's also the promise of an "Incredibly Easy Start"
Samsung says its HMD Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality experience "has been designed to give users the very best experience right out of the box."
We're told that, unlike typical head-mounted displays, "you do not need to install any extra motion sensors – simply connect to your PC and get started. With inside-out position tracking, users are not restricted to a limited space during their virtual reality experience."
And, the aforementioned Six Degrees of Freedom or "6 DOF" sensor allows for intuitive and natural movements as explained above, which clearly would make a massive difference and would be something competitors will have to copy in future versions of their own headsets to stay relevant.
In addition, there's an expected "adjustable control wheel" that is "designed to provide a comfortable and snug fit."
Alex Kipman, Technical Fellow at Microsoft said, “We’re excited to welcome the Samsung HMD Odyssey to the Windows Mixed Reality family of devices. This is an incredible product and another important step for the mixed reality journey we are on at Microsoft.
"With the Samsung HMD Odyssey, the team at Samsung has developed a Windows Mixed Reality headset that will delight our fans looking to immersive themselves in the world of mixed reality this holiday.”
Samsung's headset also comes with "integrated AKG headphones and array mics for voice commands, as well as two motion controllers."
In a decade or so, we'll surely marvel at how clunky and primitive the headsets were that you had to stick on your head, rather than incredibly advanced contact lenses or non-invasive neural pads you stick on your head to enter the mixed-realty "Matrix", but until that still far-off sci-fi future, it looks like Samsung's new headset is the best you can get.
It seems Australians will have to wait until sometime in 2018, but if it takes too long to officially arrive, a future HMD Odyssey 2.0 might be what we end up buying instead.
In the meantime, if Australians - or anyone not in the US, China, Korea, Brazil or Hong Kong - want one of these headsets, then services like Price USA, Big Apple Buddy, Cuzin or others are sure to want to help out, or you can simply travel to one of the countries listed above yourself to get a headset of your own.
Microsoft's Mixed Reality video trailer is below the Samsung HMD Odyssey spec sheet:
Here's Microsoft's new Mixed Reality headset video trailer: