What is the difference?
Three degrees of freedom describe rotational tracking: turning left or right, looking up or down, and tilting your head. Six degrees of freedom add positional movement along three axes. This distinction describes motion the system tracks; it is not a complete specification for every application the device can run. Microsoft tracking explanation
Keep three questions separate
| Question | What to record |
|---|---|
| What can the hardware track? | Orientation, position and the documented conditions |
| What does the selected runtime expose? | The supported experience and coordinate-space behavior |
| What does this application use? | The motion and features actually supported in that app |
Microsoft explicitly notes that an application can provide an orientation-only experience even on hardware capable of positional tracking. Its coordinate-system guidance also distinguishes positional tracking from additional capabilities such as floor definition, boundaries and spatial anchors. A tracking label alone does not settle those separate requirements. Tracking explanation, coordinate-system guidance
How to read a product specification
For an evidence-based comparison, start with the exact device and accessory configuration. Then record the documented tracking capability, the intended app, any required runtime and the source. Keep accessory-dependent behavior separate from the base configuration. If two sources refer to different setups, preserve both conditions before treating their statements as a conflict.
This recording method is an editorial recommendation. It does not certify any named glasses, imply OpenXR support, or prove that a device has persistent mapping, eye tracking or hand tracking. Those capabilities need their own evidence. A device with missing documentation should retain an unknown value.
Scope and uncertainty
The cited Microsoft tracking guide is archived documentation. These Microsoft documents describe Windows Mixed Reality concepts; their definitions are useful here, but platform behavior cannot be transferred automatically to another manufacturer’s product. This article contains no physical tracking measurements or first-hand test results. Any later device example needs verification against its own primary documentation.
See the product library and developer resources. Record known limitations beside each comparison rather than compressing them into an unsupported overall score.