Dell Launches Visor MR Headset and Upgrades Inspiron and XPS 13 Laptops

Meet Visor, one of the new mixed reality (MR) headsets from computer hardware company Dell.

Built for the Windows Mixed Reality software platform, the Dell Visor uses the same hardware technology as Microsoft HoloLens. It has inside-out tracking cameras, and scans its environment instead of using satellite emitters or other environment sensing hardware like the HTC Vive, PlayStation VR or Oculus Rift. (Image courtesy of Dell.)

The Visor, which also has controllers with haptic feedback and will be available in the next few months, is priced at$449.99 for the bundle of both the headset and controllers, or at $349.99 and $99.99 as separate items.

The product design is smooth and gives the Visor a space-age vibe without going too over the top. It has a flip-up visor, which makes it easier to switch between using and not using the device.

The Visor is easier to set up than the HTC Vive. You use the headset itself to draw a rectangular 5-x-7-square-foot boundary, and you connect it to your PC or laptop through a single USB-C cable. The Visor also has 1440 x 1440 LCD panels for each eye, and fits over glasses easily.

New Inspiron Laptops and 2-in-1s

The new Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 line of laptops is available in 13- or 15-inch screens, has SmartByte streaming technology that optimizes streaming and videoconferencing as top network priorities, and will be outfitted with Intel’s new 8th-generation Intel Core Quad processors. The laptops will have DDR4 memory, USB-C cords with support for DisplayPort, and come with either standard SSDs or the choice of an optional PCIe NVMe SSD on the 13-inch version. The Inspiron 2-in-1 laptops will be available in the U.S. on October 3 at a price point of $879.99 for the 13-inch version and $849.99 for the 15-inch version.

The Inspiron 7000 laptops, Inspiron 13 and 15 5000 2-in-1s, and the Inspiron 17 7000 2-in-1s will also receive a similar performance boost from having the 8th-generation Intel Core Quad processors when they are released on October 3 as well.

CPU-Enhanced XPS 13

Boosted by the 8thGeneration Intel Core i7 processors, the XPS 13 will make multi-tasking with multiple applications a bit easier. The XPS 13 can also be outfitted with a Quad HD+ InfinityEdge Touch display screen and is now available with 7th Generation Intel Core i3 processors for$799, and the XPS 13 with 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processors will be available September 12 for $1,399.99.

Whether Windows Mixed Reality and the lower price point of the Visor headset will open people up to experiencing immersive mixed reality technology is anyone’s guess at this point, but most people will likely appreciate the faster computing experience that Intel’s 8th-generation Core Quad processors provide.