Microsoft's enjoyed being the only mixed reality headset on the block for a little while, but the Meta 2 intends to join the party very soon. According to UploadVR, in a couple of weeks they'll begin shipping alpha versions of their headset with improved hand tracking.

Meta 2 offers a notably different approach from Microsoft's HoloLens. In fact, Meta's founder Meron Gribetz noted in his TED talk that he finds the prospect of living inside a Windows PC frightening.

As a result, he wanted to focus the Meta 2's operating system on more intuitive interaction principles founded in neuroscience. As the headsets make it to the masses, we won't see a slightly different take on mixed reality, but likely a much different one. This is the kind of competition that feeds innovation.

Meta intends to keep an aggressive shipping schedule, getting far more headsets shipped when they move into the beta phase with a full release shortly thereafter. If you've got $949 burning a hole in your pocket, you canpreorder now.