News

Mixed reality start-up Magic Leap unveils first headset

Magic Leap One set for 2018 release

Mixed reality start-up Magic Leap unveils first headset

Billion-dollar US tech start-up Magic Leap has unveiled its first mixed reality headset to the public.

Called Magic Leap One, the headset is powered by its own body-worn ‘lightpack’ computing platform attached by a wire.

A wireless haptic controller, that also responds to gestures, can be used to interact with apps.

Magic Leap One is currently slated to ship sometime in 2018. No specific timeframe during the next year or an indication of the price has been disclosed. The device is being pitched at developers and other creators rather than consumers.

The Magic Leap One controller

A Creator Portal for developers which includes access to the SDK along with tools, documentation and learning resources will go live in early 2018.

Long road ahead

In October 2017 Magic Leap raised $502 million in a Series D funding round, bringing total investment to date to around $2 billion.

The Magic Leap One lightpack computer

The headset has been a long time coming, sparking concerns around the difficulties of trying to fit the tech to such a small device.

Finally unveiled as a device that can be worn on the body, Magic Leap One is now set to compete with other augmented and mixed reality tech including Microsoft’s HoloLens, which is yet to get a release date.

On top of that though, it’ll be competing with Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore, powering the new wave of AR apps on the devices most people already own - their mobile phone.

Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.