By: Nick Gambino
When launching the HoloLens, Microsoft intended to make an AR headset that would be used for more than just gaming and entertainment. In fact, the intention was for it to be used by developers and professionals in the commercial sphere. That was reflected in the $3,000 base price tag.
Now it seems Microsoft is aiming to make the HoloLens 2 more accessible to the everyman and woman. A report by The Verge suggests that the sequel to the hefty Mixed Reality headset may see the light of day sometime in early 2019 with a reveal this year.
Currently going by the codename “Sydney,” the more lightweight headset will reportedly see an improvement in field of view with an uptick in comfort. The price will see a significant drop, opening it up to the average consumer who just wants to see a realistic dinosaur in his bedroom. (Think of what they could do with a Jurassic World tie-in?)
An ARM-based processor may find its way into the headset after testing shows it increases battery life. It will also work off a Mixed Reality version of Windows 10, similar to the OS in play with its predecessor.
Though the Kinect sensor was removed from the Xbox One and effectively discontinued as a product you can buy to up your console or PC experience, it lives on in the HoloLens. Factually, the origin of the HoloLens is based in the Kinect sensor that was released in 2010 for the Xbox 360.
The wave-your-hand-to-control-it sensor never quite worked as well as it was supposed to and what’s more, it was never fully embraced by consumers. But after being put out to pasture in October 2017, it found a second life in the cloud and now the HoloLens 2.
Most of this information was obtained by tech website Thurrott from internal Microsoft documents. (Now that I’ve told you that, we’re all in this together. If I go down, you’re going down with me.) So, like most info obtained on the sly, there’s limited to go on. We should hopefully hear from the horse’s mouth in the near future.
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