Using your virtual reality headset as a monitor for your Windows 11 PC just got a lot better.
Remember when mixed reality and virtual reality were the biggest buzzwords in tech? Before the advent of ChatGPT and the latest wave of AI, tech companies spent billions on the metaverse and VR.
I'd argue that the VR push yielded more concrete results than AI, but that's a topic for another day. Today's news is that mixed reality is still here, and Microsoft just released a new feature for it.
A recent update to Mixed Reality Link greatly improves the experience by allowing you to use your headset's microphone and cameras directly within Windows.
Mixed Reality Link is an app that lets you connect up to three virtual monitors on a supported headset to your PC. With the app, you can extend your computing experience to a device like the Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S. Mixed Reality Link works through a wired or wireless connection.
Mixed reality may not dominate headlines like it used to, but Microsoft still invests time and effort into it. Mixed Reality Link received an update to work with Windows on Arm last year and is even compatible with Windows 365 Cloud PC.
But Mixed Reality Link had strange limitations that made the experience awkward. If you wanted to use a microphone, you had to have one hooked up to your PC and then talk at it from a distance. Mixed reality headsets have built-in microphones, so it's strange that it took this long to integrate them with Mixed Reality Link.
The update to Mixed Reality Link version 26.9105.9070.0 adds support for using your headset's microphone, sharing your headset's camera with Windows applications, and having your Meta avatar appear as a camera source.
Windows Central take
I miss virtual reality and mixed reality trending in the news. I covered the Gear VR, the original Quest headset, and the rebrand of Oculus to Meta. I interviewed a game developer in Australia while facing him in his own game. I sideloaded songs onto Beat Saber. It was a fun time in tech.
I never thought that the metaverse was going to take off. I still can't believe people spent money on virtual real estate. But by golly it was fun to cover Azure Spatial Anchors turning a laser tag arena into an intercontinental battle royale.
You can still get a VR headset, of course. There are games worth playing and experiences worth exploring. Microsoft has done some clever stuff to make headsets into virtual offices. Mixed Reality Link's latest update is overdue, but it's a reminder of what mixed reality headsets can do.
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