Following hints that it was in the works in January, the Chromium team has added initial support for Windows Mixed Reality headsets to Chrome's development branch. A toggle for the feature has been added to the latest Chrome Canary build, allowing it to be toggled on or off while it's still in development (via Windows Latest).
The flag, which is live in Chrome Canary builds 74.0.3710.0 and later, reads:
If enabled, Chrome will use Windows Mixed Reality devices for VR (supported only on Windows 10 or later). – Windows
Once enabled, the flag will allow anyone using a Windows Mixed Reality headset, such as the Samsung HMD Odyssey+, to browse the web with Chrome Canary using the WebVR standard. It's unclear when Windows Mixed Reality support will make its way to Chrome's release branch, but it's interesting to see that it's being worked on.
Best Windows Mixed Reality Headsets
Windows Mixed Reality support in Chrome Canary comes not long after Microsoft announced that it is switching its Edge browser's base to Chromium. The move will see Edge rebuilt from the ground up using Chromium, abandoning Microsoft's own Edge rendering engine and allowing the browser to be used on Windows 7, Windows 8, and, potentially, Macs. With Chromium as a base, the rebuilt Edge will also have access to Windows Mixed Reality support.
If you want to give Windows Mixed Reality support a shot, you can download the latest Chrome Canary build from Google. Keep in mind that, because Chrome Canary is a nightly branch for developers, it's likely you'll run into some bugs here and there.
Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
