【The Lust (2020) AMZN Hindi Short Film】

Microsoft beat Apple in the world of desktop operating systems because it allowed many manufacturers to make Windows PCs. Now the company thinks the same business model will help it dominate "mixed reality" -- its name for the HoloLens headset tech,The Lust (2020) AMZN Hindi Short Film which can in theory handle both augmented reality (think Apple's ARKit, where you get to see digital objects in the real world) and totally enclosed virtual reality (think Oculus Rift).

A boost for the world-conquering-with-allies strategy was announced Tuesday: Samsung is officially joining forces with Microsoft on a mixed reality Windows headset on sale next month. A slew of other major manufacturers have begun pre-orders for their own HoloLens headsets, which arrive on Oct. 17 alongside the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

SEE ALSO: Here's one way to propose to the love of your life—in VR

At an event in San Francisco intended as a mixed-reality kickoff, Microsoft also went all-in on gaming -- unveiling a Halo VR demo called Halo Recruit, and announcing that Valve's Virtual Reality offerings would be coming to the Windows mixed reality platform.

When the world's largest handset manufacturer joins forces with the world's most widespread operating system, it's game-changing

The Samsung headset, called the HMD Odyssey, leaked earlier in the day when its product page accidentally appeared on the Microsoft store. It costs $499 -- a little more than other mixed-reality headsets coming from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Acer later this month -- but also with higher-quality visuals (a vivid OLED screen rather than boring old LED).

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

The goal was to "create a high-performing headset that’s easy to set up and can transport people to the incredible world of virtual reality," said Alanna Cotton, Vice President and General Manager, Samsung Electronics America, who appeared via VR. "We're excited to partner with Microsoft to shape the future of virtual reality."

That last sentence was more than marketing pablum. When the world's largest handset manufacturer joins forces with the makers of what is still the world's most widespread operating system, it's a game-changing event for a young and still unformed industry. Google and Facebook (which owns Oculus) are all in on VR, Apple is all in on AR, but increasingly it looks like MR -- Microsoft and its motorbike gang of manufacturers -- will eat all of their lunches.

The key to all these headsets, and to Microsoft's probable dominance in this sphere: ease of use. If you've played with a VR rig from Oculus or the HTC Vive, you know about the time-consuming setup, which includes identifying the boundaries of the room. With HoloLens tech running a headset, all you need to do is connect it via USB and HDMI cables to a machine running the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update released on Oct. 17: Setup is automatic.

To steal an old Apple slogan, as Windows' VR visionary Alex Kipman did repeatedly at the event: It just works.

That's the idea, at least. We'll go hands-on with Samsung's mixed-reality headset, so check back for our first-look impressions from Microsoft's unveiling.

Opens in a new window Credit: Mashable Staff Pre-order the Samsung Windows Mixed Reality headset here

---

Featured Video For You

---

The $1,000,000 text message that remotely hacks your iPhone

---

Topics Microsoft Samsung Virtual Reality

• Digital Culture
• Games
• Entertainment
• Deals
• Shopping
• Science
• Life
• Social Good

• Then and Now: 6 Generations of GeForce Graphics Compared
• Redux: Chance Progression by The Paris Review
• The Shuffle and the Breath: On Charlie Watts by Christian Lorentzen
• Remembering Jan Morris
• Elon Musk says Mars ship could make first flights in 2019
• My Father’s Mariannes by Aisha Sabatini Sloan
• Eavesdropping in the Archives: Six Artist Portraits by Aisha Sabatini Sloan and Lester Sloan
• Redux: Not an After
• Pairing CPUs and GPUs: PC Upgrades and Bottlenecking
• Ensnaring Sebald by Carole Angier

• Everything Apple announced at WWDC 2018
• For Microsoft, Eric Lundgren prison sentence becomes PR nightmare
• The best comedy podcasts for when you want to laugh
• 3Doodler Create+ review: A 3D
• Sheryl Sandberg at MIT: 'It's hard knowing that you let people down'
• Facebook gave companies special access to data on users' friends
• Something funky is going on with Canada in 'The Handmaid's Tale'
• 'Game of Thrones' prequel ordered
• White House says its federal agencies can’t keep track of their own data
• Google removes egg from salad emoji to make it inclusive to vegans, the internet reacts

• Best Fire Stick deal: Save $20 on Amazon Fire Stick 4K
• Reading Upside Down: A Conversation with Rose Wylie by Emily Stokes
• The Chorus by Barbara Bloom and Ben Lerner
• The Fourth Rhyme: On Stephen Sondheim by Adrienne Raphel
• Best Fire Stick deal: Save $20 on Amazon Fire Stick 4K
• This Year’s Prizewinners
• No Balls, No Nets by Kyle Beachy
• Redux: The Runner Trying to Disappear by The Paris Review
• Switch 2 Nintendo Direct: Everything announced
• Harvest Moon by Nina MacLaughlin

• Trump tells '60 Minutes' that climate change will 'change back again'
• Roadrunning: Joshua Clover in Conversation with Alex Abramovich by Alex Abramovich and Joshua Clover
• Three Letters for beyond the Walls by Caio Fernando Abreu
• The Fourth Rhyme: On Stephen Sondheim by Adrienne Raphel
• Is 'Sing Sing' streaming? How to watch the A24 drama at home.
• Tree Time by Sumana Roy
• Ensnaring Sebald by Carole Angier
• This Year’s Prizewinners
• Trump tariff news: See the latest impacts on consumer tech
• Eavesdropping in the Archives: Six Artist Portraits by Aisha Sabatini Sloan and Lester Sloan