One of the opening frontiers for today's tech industry is virtual and augmented reality. Microsoft, one of the giants working to break open the new tech segment, may partner with another tech manufacturer to developer their augmented reality devices.
According to industry follower CNET, there are ongoing talks between the Redmond-based giant and Asus' chairman Jonney Shih. Although still unconfirmed, if these talks push through, the device is expected to bring something new to the augmented reality industry.
According to Mashable, having Asus provide its own take on the HoloLens might give a consumer-centric, less-pricey version of the augmented reality device. This translates to having more tech fans enjoy the power of augmented reality, and Microsoft and Asus cornering the market.
Right now, Microsoft has already confirmed that their HoloLens is in its final development stages and will ship out developer kits as early as Q1 of next year. However, the dev kits themselves pose a challenge – only developers who are serious enough to foray into augmented reality apps will take interest as the developer kit version of HoloLens are reportedly around $3,000 apiece. Although the consumer version of the device would inevitably be much lower the developer one, the benchmark price tag could still be well over $1,000.
Meanwhile, Taiwan-based Asus is known as the sixth-biggest PC maker worldwide, and is also a company that caters to a wide range of markets, including budget-friendly devices. Eventually, having Asus enter the augmented reality market may see users select from a wide range of AR headsets, both in terms of price and tech features.
However, although the companies were already reported to be talking, it will still be up to Asus if it will eventually enter the augmented reality market. Shih said to CNET that the company is still evaluating the potential and consumers will just have to "wait and see."
