Dell’s CES 2018, Las Vegas, press conference revealed two important new initiatives for the virtual reality (VR) industry: a brand new VR-ready PC for $799 USD, and a partnership for reselling HTC Vive head-mounted displays (HMDs). However, little was mentioned about AR; that is until the confirmation that the PC reseller was also partnering with Meta.
The press conference, held yesterday, sparsely detailed the Vive partnership for the retailing of the HTC Vive. The subsequent press release however, also noted a second partnership with Meta to address AR audiences also.
“Adding to the ease of one stop shopping, Dell is the first PC provider to sell the consumer version of HTC Vive VR headsets. In addition to offering the HTC Vive Business Edition, Dell is also confirming a deal with Meta to offer its immersive augmented reality (AR) headset. This move will satisfy those developing new solutions with latest VR and AR technologies.”
Further details on exactly what this partnership will entail have not yet been made available. Even the official Dell blog remains vague, as can be seen in the statement below:
“On the augmented reality (AR) front, we will soon be the first PC manufacturer offering an augmented reality headset from a leader in the space, META. We will have more news and details on that in the coming week and it’s a great partnership that adds to the very tangible benefits of Dell’s partner program.
“From analyst studies then, AR is going to be a huge driving force in industry – imagine seasoned workers passing on skills of the trade to trainees from the comfort of a warm office whilst seeing what the apprentice is seeing and then pointing out areas that need attention and talking them through it. Imagine looking at IoT sensors and information being displayed dynamically to show where issues could lie for troubleshooting and replacement.”
While the blog update obviously exudes enthusiasm, it offers little in the way of genuine information. Meta recently revealed a new partnership with Ultrahaptics and ZeroLight for AR object interaction, though the Meta 2 HMD currently remains a developer-only device.
More information on the Dell partnership will surely become available once Meta announces its plans for a consumer edition of its AR HMD. VRFocus will of course keep you updated with all the latest details from Meta.