Introducing Microsoft HoloLens 2
HoloLens 2 offers the most comfortable and immersive mixed reality experience available, with industry-leading solutions that deliver value in minutes—all enhanced by the reliability, security, and scalability of cloud and AI services from Microsoft.
The future of Mixed Reality?
Microsoft unveiled the next generation Hololens at the Mobile World Congress, but no release date was shared. At the Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Microsoft executive vice president Harry Shum shared: “the second generation, mixed-reality device will finally be released sometime this September with a $3,500 price tag”. Another Microsoft spokesman said, “the shipping of the Hololens 2 will start later this year and now official date for general availability hasn’t been announced yet.” Either way, the HoloLens 2 will be the second standalone AR headset of Microsoft and the newly revealed specs looks promising! This blog item will explain the new capabilities of the Hololens 2 and gives an answer on the question “is the Hololens 2 the future of Mixed Reality”.
What is the Microsoft HoloLens?
The HoloLens is Microsoft’s mixed-reality headset that use a transparent visor display 3D images on top of the real world. Microsoft calls these imaginary constructs holograms, because that’s what they look like. These three-dimensional objects can be viewed from any angle and the user can interact with them. It is essentially a wearable computer. The headset includes a built-in Windows 10 computer and lenses that act as the display, so there is no need to connect to a computer for it to work.
What’s new with HoloLens 2?
The updated HoloLens has been redesigned significantly for maximum comfort, with a lighter design, better-fitting headset to make it more comfortable to wear. The weight of the device has been drastically reduced. The visor can now flip up when you are not using the device.
The second big change done by Microsoft is a redesign of the headset to make it faster and improve the ease of use. The first generation of HoloLens had a small area of view. Fortunately, Microsoft has taken user complaints when making the “screen” of the HoloLens almost 2 times bigger from the previous headset. Together with the new eye-tracking capabilities, the new HoloLens no longer requires the users to move their heads as often. Besides a better view the, new hand tracking features have become more intuitive.
Microsoft is also focusing heavily on making out-of-the-box functionality available. With the new HoloLens want to improve the ROI by delivering standard Solutions like Remote Assist and Training/Task Guiding.
The benefits of this technology
The first generation Hololens already had a wide range of use cases, but due to some technical limitations like weight and view, the full potential was never reached. In the upcoming years we will see people down the street wearing a HoloLens, but it has proven value in B2B environments, for example solving complex Field Service processes. With the new collaboration tools like Remote Assist and the out-of-the-box apps, Microsoft will deliver continued improvements as the adoption rate increases. Combine this with better technical specs, the device promises to be a major gamer changer.
