When people talk about the companies powering virtual reality, they generally talk about Facebook-owned Oculus, HTC, Samsung, and Google. But Microsoft wants to be a big part of that conversation, and completely transform it, too.

This holiday season, the first group of what are called Microsoft Windows Mixed Reality devices–but which are really third-party high-end tethered (meaning, requiring wires that are connected to a PC) VR headsets made using Microsoft’s reference design–will begin shipping. The company had already announced devices from Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, but today, it said that Samsung has joined that group. The first four of those will begin shipping October 17, with Samsung’s device available for pre-order today and shipping November 6. It will cost $499.

What is “mixed reality?” It’s VR with the potential for more in the future. In a blog post, Microsoft’s Alex Kipman wrote that “With mixed reality, our ideas move beyond the boundaries of paper, beyond the boundaries of screens, and beyond the boundaries of description. This is the fundamental promise of mixed reality. The barrier that exists between our physical and digital worlds will disappear.”

Microsoft has some ground to stand on here. Its Hololens is a high-end, multi-thousand dollar system that blends holograms and elements of VR with physical space, and the ability to work with augmented reality on complex tasks like professional design. But as of today, consumer Windows Mixed Reality systems swim much closer to the VR end of the pool. Still, Microsoft insists that before long, its system will merge AR and VR. “Without a shadow of a doubt,” said Kipman, “in the near future, devices will do both.”

As The Verge wrote recently of mixed reality, “Microsoft has picked that name because it eventually wants to blend the best of augmented and virtual reality into a single headset with support for multiple experiences.” But it’s not there yet, and there’s no known timeline for when it will get there. Right now, each of the five mixed reality headsets will offer experiences similar to that available on competing VR systems.

Still, the Windows 10 Mixed Reality operating system does offer some features no others can match. It allows each user to create their own personalized space in which they can set up all kinds of in-world windows–things like weather applications, digitized picture frames, even browser windows, as well as watch movies, play games, listen to music, and enjoy other kinds of media content. Essentially, it allows user to have a 3D Windows environment that can be manipulated with voice commands and hand-held controllers.

All that said, it’s not yet clear if a collection of new Microsoft-powered headsets can help kickstart the consumer VR industry, let alone a true mixed reality ecosystem. Although analysts have predicted VR will be a $38 billion industry by 2026, VR hardware sales have been slow to date. However, some of the things holding the industry back are expected to be resolved with the release of new generations of hardware this year and next.