HP looks to be making a new VR headset with higher resolution screens and increased comfort

Virtual reality is an ever-growing demographic. Just about everyone is making a virtual reality headset of some sort, allowing you to be transported to a new dimension just by putting on a headset. It looks like HP is making a next-generation virtual reality (VR) headset, codename “copper,” with increased resolution and comfort. This headset will likely be based on Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform, though this time it’ll be designed more by HP than the previous models were.

HP’s “copper” virtual reality headset sports high-resolution displays

The new headset is supposed to have much higher resolution displays compared to other Windows Mixed Reality headsets on the market.

Up until now, the Samsung Odyssey+ was the highest-resolution Windows Mixed Reality headset with a 1,440×1,600 per-eye pixel count. HP’s copper headset steps that up a notch, upping the game to 2,160×2,160 per eye. That’s more than twice the number of pixels included in each eye of the Odyssey+ headset and gives much sharper imagery when you enter a virtual reality.

Road to VR went exclusively hands-on with copper at HP’s VR design lab. When using the headset, Road to VR said that it looked quite similar to the Rift, but with some twists. “Looking through Copper’s lenses, sharpness is a drastic step forward over Odyssey+,” said Ben Lang from Road to VR.

HP also completely redesigned the comfort and ergonomics of this headset for prolonged wearing. There’s no more halo-style headband that other Windows Mixed Reality headsets have, which sets it apart from the rest. “Copper has a fit and feel that’s much like the Rift, with a Velcro side-strap on either side of the head, as well as the top strap, and rigid spring-loaded struts which make it easier to put on and remove the headset without re-adjusting the fit every time,” said Lang.

Though HP told Lang that this will be a more professionally-focused product, they’ll be making it available to the masses for anyone to purchase. HP foresees this product being used in professional environments where engineers, assembly managers, and more need to see detail up close, which is where the high-resolution displays come into play. This headset will be great for more than that, however, as with its high-resolution displays, it’ll be perfect for gaming and movie watching once you enter virtual reality.

Sadly, there is no pricing information available nor release date as of yet, though HP seemed confident that a 2019 launch should be quite possible.

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