Wintel Virtual Reality: Intel, Microsoft, & The Plan

Intel is not going to build and sell Alloy HMDs. Intel is building an Alloy platform that other companies can use as a basis upon which to develop shipping products. Intel is not going to build and sell mainstream VR HMDs that are effectively lower-end versions of Rift and Vive. Intel is going to develop technology and possibly create prototypes to help develop IP with Microsoft that other companies can use as a basis to develop shipping products. In both cases, Intel and Microsoft are an item, as it were. Perhaps a helpful way to understand all of the above is to contrast Intel’s approach with that of a company like Oculus. It is true that Oculus has huge VR plans, but they center squarely on its Rift HMD. It starts with a single product; continues with a platform, a catalog of titles, and additions like the Touch controllers; and ends with--well, no one knows what it ends with yet. In any case, Oculus’ strategy of starting with a Thing and growing from there is what you could call an inside-out strategy. Intel is taking on VR with an outside-in approach. Instead of focusing on one product, it’s building up a massive portfolio of IP--including RealSense cameras and deep learning--that could be leveraged for numerous aspects of XR. This is exactly what Intel has done in the PC market: Be everywhere. Be in everything.