When the fourth major feature update for Windows 10 is released, AKA as the Fall Creators Update, it will be the first time the Windows 10 community of users will have a chance to use the Windows Mixed Reality Portal.
The Mixed Reality Portal for Windows 10 was announced last October in New York City during the Surface Studio/Creators Update launch event. The portal was in the Creators Update for Windows 10 when it was released this past April however, the Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) from Microsoft's OEM partners were not available consumers.
Since then we have heard about these devices at CES 2017, Build 2017, COMPUTEX, and IFA 2017. At Microsoft Build 2017 in May the HP and Acer HMDs went on presale for developers and were shipped in early August so that work could begin to add content to the Windows Store in anticipation of the Fall Creators Update release in October.
Check out our Hands On with the Acer HMD
At IFA 2017 earlier this month Microsoft's Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President for the Windows and Devices Group, confirmed that the Fall Creators Update would be available globally on 17 October and that the HMDs from their OEM partners would go on sale that same day. In fact, many of Microsoft's OEM partners unveiled their HMDs during IFA 2017 for the world to see.
So we will finally have both the hardware and software in place with the Fall Creators Update but now the big question for many will be the ability of their current Windows 10 devices to run the portal since it requires elevated specs compared to the operating system itself.
You can see the specs for yourself and determine whether your device meets the requirements for a standard Windows Mixed Reality PC or a Windows Mixed Reality Ultra PC.
Microsoft has also released an app to help users check out their hardware automatically and check their compatibility or the need for any upgrades.
The Windows Mixed Reality PC Check app is available in the Windows Store and is a simple two step process to check your system specs against the official listing.
Once the app is installed you just select it, agree to the privacy statement and terms of service, and then it will compare your devices hardware to the official specs and provide you the results.
You will see one of three icons alongside each specification to understand what your system can and can't do with the Mixed Reality Portal:
Although my main desktop can run the portal, it needs a graphics upgrade so I am likely going to add a new graphics card in the near future to improve that area. I am also hoping that an upgraded graphics card will also help with the nausea I get when using the HMD.
In the gallery you will see the straight forward usage of the app but I have also included the results from five different Windows 10 systems to give you an idea of what you might see with similar hardware.
So, is your hardware ready for Windows Mixed Reality?
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