Halo hardware

A new head-mounted display has been announced in Shanghai at the 2016 CCG Expo for cartoons, comics and games. Called Halo, the new HMD comes from Chinese company Shadow Creator, who claim that the headset can render both augmented reality and virtual reality within the same unit.

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The announcement was caught by analyst @ZhugeEX, who called the tech “…Similar to Hololens in a way. Better even.” They also added that some Google Glass-style lenses were announced, called Air Glass, along with the main Halo headset.

Halo’s website, when run through Google Translate, reveals a few technical specifications about the HMD. It will reportedly offer a large field of view, and will run on a Qualcomm Xiaolong 820 processor. Android will be used as a development platform. Gesture recognition functionality is complemented by a switch that toggles between augmented reality and virtual reality.

We’re not sure how that toggle will function, considering the concept render above appears to show clear lenses much like Microsoft’s HoloLens or the Meta 2. These clear lenses are required for augmented reality, so we’re not sure if the Halo’s VR mode would completely deprive you of your perception of the outside world.

Currently the Halo is set to release first in China for the equivalent of around US$1,500. Shadow Creator says that a launch in other regions around the world is planned for sometime in 2017.