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Comment by EvanAnderson | Hacker News Reader

Is the intention, down the road, to sell new "compute packs" to allow for upgrades? Is the interface between the HMD and the compute sufficiently engineered and featureful to allow that to actually happen?

Similar to a camera system w/ interchangeable lenses, I'd be more apt to buy into this ecosystem if I knew that I could keep my HMD (w/ prescription inserts, perhaps custom-cut padding, etc) but change out the "compute" at a later time.

What's the battery replacement "story"? Can the unit run with an external power source without a functioning internal battery?

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1. Correct. We want users to be able to buy a new HMD and plug in their old compute pack, or a new compute pack and plug it into their old HMD. The compute pack itself is also upgradable (we're based off Intel's NUC Compute Elements, so it's easy to upgrade to a new CPU for example).

Component-level upgradability in the HMD itself is more difficult, but not impossible. There's a solid amount of breathing room and things are modular, so you could e.g. replace the cameras or the display/optics assembly etc.

2. Battery replacement: It'll be able to run off a USB-PD power adapter and the battery, while internal, will be easily user-replacable.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Modularity for upgrades within the HMD itself is nice but it's not something I'd want to see sacrifices made for. Being able to repair the HDM, though, would be a concern to me. Something I physically "wear" on my person makes me think about long-haul durability and repairs. I'd love to have a minimum 5 year expected lifetime for the HMD (if not more like 10).

I'm excited about this platform. The cost seems reasonable to me but I don't think I'm a first generation adopter. I can imagine a second generation version will have a lot of fit-and-finish type updates. I'm hoping you get some traction in the market.

A VR-based workspace is something I've definitely dreamed about.

Curious about this too, as well as if the pack is a single unit or a set of standard components that you can upgrade individually.

It's a set of standard components with some custom stuff:

* Intel NUC Compute Element (CPU+RAM)

* Custom heatsink/case

* Custom carrier board for the compute element

* M.2 NVMe SSD

* Battery is still ongoing, but it'll most likely be custom.

At least all custom components will be available from us down the line. Not sure down to which granularity (e.g. IC vendors might not like it if we sell ICs directly), but as granular as possible.

Cool. Are there any plans in the future to ship non-Intel options?

Not for this version, but definitely for subsequent ones-- assuming we have the volumes to make AMD consider us.

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