LIVE FROM IFA2017, BERLIN: Asus said it had worked in several key areas to improve the user experience of headsets, as it unveiled its Windows Mixed Reality device.

Highlighting advantages over rivals Oculus and HTC (Vive), the company said the device uses “inside-out” tracking, with two built-in front facing tracking cameras, and a lack of external sensors or additional software meaning the initial setup is easier. It offers 3K resolution with 90Hz refresh rate, “which will help you to avoid motion sickness”, Shawn Yen, senior product director, said.

Yen noted the company innovated in three areas: design, comfort and hygiene. He drew the comparison with wearables, where design and comfort are as important as technical performance.

The device (pictured, left) features a “unique futuristic design” with “hundreds of 3D polygons”; weighs under 400 grams with a “balanced crown” design which reduces pressure on the nose and face to enable longer periods of use; and with such devices likely to be shared among family and friends, includes antibacterial cushions.

The company put a price tag of €449 on the device.

Other products making the stage included the ZenBook Flip 14, which is apparently the world’s thinnest 2-in-1 with high performance discrete graphics; ZenBook Flip S, the world’s thinnest convertible laptop; and VivoBook Flip 14, a convertible which “fits a 14-inch Full HD display into a frame the size of a typical 13-inch laptop”.

In recent years Asus used its IFA event to introduce the latest products in its ZenWatch line, although this year the wearable was notable only by its absence – earlier reports suggested Asus’ attitude to the wearable had cooled.

Given Asus announced its newest smartphones, the ZenFone 4 line, earlier this month at an event in Taiwan, the devices did not get a mention here in Berlin.