At MWC yesterday Microsoft announced the $3500 HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset. On stage the company boasted the headset’s “more than 2x” field of view compared to the original. However, no specific values were given.
Today on Twitter Microsoft’s Alex Kipman clarified the details. The headset provides 52 degrees of augmented viewing when measured diagonally, according to Kipman. Given that the Microsoft website states the headset’s aspect ratio is 3:2, this would give a horizontal FoV of 43° and a vertical of 29° using the basic Pythagorean theorem.
That 43°×29° is an impressive increase over the 30°×17.5° of the original. It’s now roughly equal to the 40°×30° of the $2295 Magic Leap One.
But how is this “more than 2x” the field of view of the original, you might ask? Well it seems Microsoft was referring to the total FoV area — not the per-axis measurements. A 43°×29° FoV is actually around 2.4x the area of 30°×17.5°.
This is an impressive leap forward and will make holographic objects feel much more immersive than before. But in perspective, it is still significantly narrower than even a typical VR headset. There is also a ways to go before either AR or VR headsets are capable of filling the entirety of human vision.
HoloLens 2 is the state of the art in augmented reality — using a custom designed laser MEMS display system. However AR technology still has a long way to go before becoming consumer friendly. Just like VR 10 years ago, AR will need several breakthroughs before it is truly ready for consumers. But based on what Microsoft showed us at MWC, we’ve never been more excited for AR’s future.
Spatial is a real-time AR collaboration platform first developed for the original HoloLens by New York-based startup Spatial. Although now that Microsoft’s new and improved HoloLens 2 is in the mix, Spatial CEO Anand Agarawala and CPO Jinha Lee took the stage today at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) HoloLens 2 unveiling to show off what’s next for the platform.
Agarawala and Lee demonstrated some new features coming to Spatial, among which are more lifelike avatars thanks to HoloLens 2’s improved hand-tracking and newly introduced eye-tracking. Chatting through Spatial, Lee’s avatar mirrored his physical arm, hand and eye movements in a way that simply wasn’t possible running on the original HoloLens.
To show off how companies are using Spatial, Mattel CTO Sven Gerjets took the stage, saying that the Mattel’s toy designers, engineers, marketers and manufacturers are spread all over the world. Gerjets says that Mattel is now using Spatial to reduce the need to travel (as much) via the platform’s shared work spaces, represented by virtual walls filled with standard 2D media like Power Points and videos, but also interactive 3D models so the team can better assess product readiness.
Using the Spatial mobile app, Lee quickly typed a message on his smartphone which automatically became a ‘virtual sticky note’ that he could then append to an in-development toy model to tell an engineer that a critical piece needed to be tweaked.
To demonstrate how brainstorming for new products works in the shared, collaborative AR space, Agarawala showed off the app’s ability to use HoloLens 2’s vocal recognition by ordering up a collection of 2D and 3D reference images. Clicking any one of these bundles would elicit an Internet search for more 3D models, images and web pages.
As a persistent digital object, the digital work space is said to be accessible by a multitude of devices including VR headsets, PCs, and mobile phones.
Like all on-stage HoloLens demos to date, footage was captured with an external camera which included mixed reality & depth-sensing hardware to better visually demonstrate how a user can interact with virtual objects in their physical environment. Despite the video’s more immersive visuals, Spatial’s HoloLens 2 demo offers a prescient look at what could be the workplace of tomorrow.
We’re here at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, so check back soon for breaking news, previews, and all things AR/VR.
At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona today Microsoft unveiled HoloLens 2, the next iteration of the company’s standalone AR headset. While HoloLens 2 purportedly boasts a 2-3 our battery life and a 70 degree field of view—two times larger than the previous HoloLens—Microsoft’s onstage demo revealed a few more improved capabilities attested to the device, namely its hand-tracking, voice input, and eye-tracking.
Julia Schwarz, a senior researcher at the company’s Mixed Reality division, took the stage to show off some prototype software built to take advantage of HoloLens 2’s hardware capabilities. As with on-stage HoloLens demos past, footage was captured with an external camera which included mixed reality & depth-sensing hardware to better visually demonstrate how a user can interact with virtual objects in their physical environment.
First showing off its improved hand-tracking with a number of interactive virtual objects, Schwarz demonstrated HoloLens 2’s full hand models by ‘touching’ windows and objects to resize them, and turning them with a simple grabbing motion. Tickling the ivories of virtual piano and playing with a number of prototype selector switches and buttons, Schwarz underlined that HoloLens 2 is made for more physical interactions than its predecessor despite the notable lack of haptic feedback or motion controllers.
Ordering a far off browser window to “follow me,” Schwarz then showed how you could keep important windows close to you as you move about the room to do other tasks. Telling the headset to “show surprise,” a humming-bird appeared, darting around to then land on her open palm when prompted.
Finally, the AR headset’s eye-tracking had its time to shine as Schwarz scrolled through a browser window by simply looking at and then dictated a message using the command “start dictation,” and following with a string of text “the humming-bird looks great – exclamation point.”
We’re here at MWC 2019 and will be going hands-on with HoloLens 2 soon, so check back for more breaking news, previews and all things AR/VR.
Microsoft today revealed HoloLens 2, a standalone AR headset and successor to the original HoloLens. While the company is still keeping some specs under wraps, a list of official specs gives further insight into the new headset.
HoloLens 2 was announced today boasting a field of view that’s purportedly twice as large as the original, along with a sharp 47 pixels per degree resolution, hand-tracking, eye-tracking, and improved comfort.
Image courtesy Microsoft
Along with the announcement came some official specifications which we’ll post in full below, but first some highlights:
Resolution
Microsoft isn’t giving the exact resolution but says that the resolution is “2K” per-eye with 2.5K light points per radian; which works out 47 pixels per degree, which we understand to be the same pixel density as the original headset (very sharp compared to contemporary consumer VR headsets). On stage at the reveal, the company made the point that they’ve maintained 47 pixels per degree despite more than doubling the field of view of the headset.
Aspect Ratio
The specs note a 3:2 aspect ratio for the display which is more square than the original headset’s 16:9 ratio. 3:2 is arguably a better shape for an AR headset because it distributes the display more evenly across the horizontal and vertical portions of our vision, though which is best ultimately depends on the use-case.
Field of View
The field of view of the original HoloLens is around 30 degrees horizontally and Microsoft says that HoloLens 2 offers “more than double” the field of view of the original, but isn’t saying in exactly which dimension (which matters considering the change in aspect ratio). It seems we can expect around a 65 degree horizontal field of view, though we’ve reached out to Microsoft for more details on their measurements.
“Eye-based Rendering”
There’s minimal detail on this, but the HoloLens 2 specs indicate an “eye-based rendering” feature which offers “display optimization for 3D eye position.” We know that the headset includes eye-tracking, and this suggests that the system takes into account not only the IPD (distance between the eyes) of the user, but also the lens-eye distance to adjust rendering for ideal visuals. This should mean a more comfortable experience from user-to-user with automatic software adjustment, though it doesn’t appear at this point that there’s any mechanical adjustments for IPD, nor any indication of the minimum or maximum IPD supported.
Processor
Rumors have turned out to be correct; HoloLens 2 uses a Snapdragon 850 processor, along with Microsoft’s own 2nd generation ‘Holographic Processing Unit’, a co-processor which handles sensor input. The original HoloLens headset used an Intel x86 processor.
Battery Life
Microsoft claims “2–3 hours of active use” for battery life which isn’t exactly stellar, and remains roughly in line with the original HoloLens. This will surely be a sticking point for usability, but with an on-board USB-C connector and “quick charge” capability, it may be possible to significantly extend battery life with an external battery pack depending upon whether or not this would lead to thermal issues.
Glasses
The specs say that HoloLens 2 “fits over glasses,” which is certainly a plus, but it isn’t clear if glasses will impact the eye-tracking used in the headset.
Top Strap
HoloLens 2 also comes with an optional top strap which runs from the back of the headstrap to the front for added comfort. This wasn’t shown at all during the reveal, but could add significant comfort by better distributing weight across the top of the head.
What We Don’t Know
Aside from lacking specifics on field of view and resolution, weight and brightness are two other major unknowns. Microsoft says that HoloLens 2 ‘increases comfort by 3x’ over the original, but it isn’t entirely clear how they’ve quantified comfort. However it seems clear that they’ve taken steps to better balance the weight of the headset by moving some of the bulk to the rear of the device.
Brightness (both minimum and maximum) is important because it dictates in which environments the headset will be usable. Without enough brightness from the display, outdoor daytime use-case could be rendered useless, while the same goes for minimum brightness in dark environments. Hopefully we’ll learn more about all of these aspects soon.
Here’s the full HoloLens 2 specs that Microsoft has revealed thus far:
Microsoft today revealed HoloLens 2 at MWC 2019 in Barcelona. The headset features a laser-scanning display which brings a field of view that’s more than 2x the original HoloLens and 47 pixels per degree.
HoloLens visionary Alex Kipman took to the stage in Barcelona to introduce HoloLens 2 which addresses many of the key criticisms of the original headset: field of view, comfort, and hand-tracking.
Kipman on stage in Barcelona | Photo by Road to VR
Kipman says that HoloLens 2 “more than doubles” the field of view of the original HoloLens, though hasn’t yet specified exactly what the field of view is. The original HoloLens field of view was around 35 degrees, so HoloLens 2 is expected to be around 70 degrees.
Of course, there’s a direct inverse relationship between field of view and resolution, because as you stretch the field of view you reduce pixel density. HoloLens 2 retains it’s high 47 pixels per-degree despite the jump in field of view. Kipman said the headset targets 47 PPD because that’s the bar for legibly reading 8-point font on a website. For comparison, contemporary VR headsets like Vive Pro are around 16 PPD.
Image courtesy Microsoft
HoloLens 2 is also designed to be more comfortable, with much of the headset’s bulk balanced in the back of the headset. Kipman said HoloLens 2 “more than triples the comfort” over the original HoloLens… though the exact weight, and how they came to that specific figure, is unclear. Still, the front portion of the headset is said to be made entirely from carbon fiber to cut down on weight and offers a convenient flip-up visor.
HoloLens 2 also brings hand-tracking which goes much further than the coarse gesture control in the original headset. Now with full hand-tracking, users can interact much more directly with applications by touching, poking, and sliding controls directly rather than using abstract gestures.
Image courtesy Microsoft
The headset is also equipped with eye-tracking. Although Microsoft didn’t go into detail about its capabilities, it is said to be “real-time” eye-tracking and the company noted that it’s capable of being used for biometric authentication (and presumably user recognition), which ought to be very useful for enterprise use-cases.
Microsoft says that HoloLens 2 will be available for $3,500 (putting it squarely in the non-consumer category), and pre-orders are available starting today. The company says it will also offer the headset in bundles with Dynamics 365 Remote Assist starting at $125 per month.
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HoloLens was was category-defining first-gen AR headset introduced in early 2015. Microsoft initially launched HoloLens as a dev kit in early 2016 and later that year made it available in a ‘Commercial Suite’ edition that was positioned toward enterprises. Through 2017 and 2018 the company steadily grew the headset’s distribution channels and options: opening official third-party resales and rentals, expanding regional availability, offering a certified hard hat option for the headset, and launching first-party software tools for enterprise visualization and remote help. And to top it all off, Microsoft recently landed a $480 million defense contract to provide the US Army with AR headsets, which is almost certainly based on HoloLens 2 technology rather than the first-generation headset.
Microsoft is expected to reveal HoloLens 2 at its MWC Media Event today in Barcelona and you can catch the official livestream right here.
Road to VR is on the ground at MWC to bring you the most important news from the show, but if you want to see Microsoft’s expected HoloLens 2 reveal, you can tune in right here at 9:00AM PT (your timezone here):
Microsoft hasn’t explicitly said that it will be showing HoloLens 2 at the event, but it has done some significant teasing that, combined with other evidence, has left little doubt that we’ll get our first glimpse of the next HoloLens at the event today.
Microsoft has managed to keep HoloLens 2 quite under wraps up to this point, though within the last 24 hours images of the headset have purportedly leaked and been claimed legitimate:
The images appear to show a slightly sleeker HoloLens which concentrates some of its bulk onto the rear of the headstrap. The images also appear to show larger waveguide optics which could signal a wider field of view.
What are you predictions for HoloLens 2? Drop them in the comments below!
Microsoft is starting to ramping up the teasing for its upcoming press event at MWC on the 24th. A new video today all but confirms that we’ll be seeing HoloLens 2 (or whatever the next iteration is called) at that event.
A short video teaser posted today shows some flashy animations of a computer chip and the silicon that forms it, as well as carbon and carbon-fiber structures, the latter of which may be a hint about the weight of the headset. At the end of the video, flashing text reads out BARCELONA 02 24 19, the same date of Microsoft’s upcoming press event at MWC 2019 later this month.
While the video itself yields very little useful information, the fact that it was posted on YouTube by none other than HoloLens visionary Alex Kipman says volumes. Kipman has been central to the project, and was the one to introduce the world to the original HoloLens back in 2015; he’s confirmed to be speaking at the upcoming press event.
It’s unclear if HoloLens 2 will be a next-gen version of the headset with the same enterprise and commercial focus as the original, or if Microsoft is ready to position the headset toward consumers as well. Either way, Road to VR will be in attendance of Microsoft’s MWC press event on the 24th to find out.
Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the next major tech event on the calendar, and it looks as though Microsoft will be using its press conference to unveil the next version of its mixed reality (MR) headset, HoloLens 2.0.
Microsoft’s technical fellow and HoloLens creator Alex Kipman released a very short video teaser for the upcoming headset on his YouTube channel. It doesn’t showcase the device in any way, more alluding to several components such as a new Holographic Processing Unit (HPU) and what looks like carbon fibre sections.
The original Microsoft HoloLens launched in 2016, purely as an enterprise-focused device retailing for $3,000 USD. While the company hasn’t yet released specific details regarding price or specs, the headset is expected to feature a wider field of view (FoV) – currently, it’s a rather narrow 35-degrees – a new generation Kinect sensor, improved comfort, better battery life and is reportedly going to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 processor.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Microsoft continues down the enterprise path for HoloLens 2.0, or if it’s now considering a more consumer-friendly price point for the next-generation device. Companies and organisations like NASA and Luminous Group are always the ones shown to be using HoloLens, yet developers such as HappyGiant have already ported videogames like HoloGrid: Monster Battleto the system.
Microsoft’s Mobile World Congress press event will be taking place on Sunday, 24th February 2019 at 5pm CET (11am ET), Barcelona, Spain, with CEO Satya Nadella, CVP Julia White, and of course technical fellow Alex Kipman in attendance.
When further details regarding Microsoft HoloLens 2.0 have been released, VRFocus will keep you updated.
According to a report from The Verge, an upcoming Microsoft press event is likely to offer the first glimpse of HoloLens 2.
Microsoft sent out press invites this week to an event that it will host just ahead of MWC 2019 in Barcelona next month. Official details are very limited: the company would only say that the event will include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, CVP Julia White, and Technical Fellow Alex Kipman.
But even that gives us some clues: that Nadella will be travelling to Barcelona for MWC means this is certainly a significant press event for Microsoft. Then there’s Alex Kipmam, the visionary behind HoloLens, whose closely involved with the company’s overall AR and VR efforts. Kipman was the one to introduce the world to the original HoloLens back in 2015.
The Verge however reports this outright, calling the event a “HoloLens 2 press event,” and noting that it marks a return to MWC for Microsoft, which in recent years hasn’t had a major presence at the show. The confidence of the headline, written by Senior Editor Tom Warren, suggests he has reason to believe this is a HoloLens 2 event beyond what’s reported in the piece itself.
HoloLens is a standalone AR headset that has had a remarkably long lifespan as a first-gen product in a brand new device category. While the original headset was positioned for developers and enterprise, Microsoft’s long-term vision is that such devices will become part of consumer’s lives too. To that end, it isn’t clear if HoloLens 2 will attempt to make the leap into the consumer space or just aim to be the next step for existing development and enterprise use-cases. Either way, HoloLens 2 is expected to be more compact than its predecessor while expanding the limited field of view of its predecessor.
For a category-defining first-gen device introduced in early 2015, HoloLens has had a remarkably long lifespan. But it increasingly seems like 2019 could be the year that HoloLens 2 is revealed as official channels have now been weeks without stock of the original headset.
Microsoft initially launched HoloLens as a dev kit in early 2016 and later that year made it available in a ‘Commercial Suite’ edition that was positioned toward enterprises. Through 2017 and 2018 the company steadily grew the headset’s distribution channels and options: opening official third-party resales and rentals, expanding regional availability, offering a certified hard hat option for the headset, and launching first-party software tools for enterprise visualization and remote help. And to top it all off, Microsoft recently landed a $480 million defense contract to provide the US Army with AR headsets.
With so much momentum, it’s surprising to see that both the HoloLens Commercial Suite and Development Edition have been out of stock from Microsoft for what appears to be several weeks now. We reached out to the company to ask when stock is expected to return, but the company didn’t offer any timeline.
“Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition and Commercial Suite are out of stock and unavailable from Microsoft Stores. For customers looking to purchase HoloLens, please visit HoloLens.com for a listing of HoloLens resellers as well as rental options,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Road to VR.
We looked into the official HoloLens reseller for the US and Canada, Insight, but found that HoloLens is out of stock there too.
Three potential explanations seem most likely: 1) A major production disruption has stalled HoloLens supply, 2) Microsoft has had to divert all production to fulfill its new contract to supply AR headsets to the US Army, or 3) HoloLens 2 is near at hand.
#1 & #2 seem less likely, however, as one would think that Microsoft would readily offer up an explanation to assure enterprise customers that HoloLens will eventually be back in stock and they can resume AR operations.
With HoloLens now more than 2.5 years old, and the launch of its first real competitor—Magic Leap—earlier this year, #3 is starting to look increasingly plausible, especially considering how long HoloLens 2 seems to have been in development.
It was back in July of 2017 that Microsoft quietly said it was working on a new version of the HoloLens ‘HPU’ (holographic processing unit, the nerve center for the headset’s many external sensors), and that the newer chip was being “designed to work in the next version of HoloLens.” Earlier this year the company affirmed ongoing development of the headset (despite some rumors of discontinuation), and as recently as May confirmed that the new ‘Project Kinect for Azure’ module would be the sensor package in the next HoloLens.
It also seems unlikely that Microsoft would have pitched its first-gen HoloLens technology for the US Army contract—which aims to deliver 100,000 Microsoft-built AR headsets—especially considering that Magic Leap was also vying for the contract with its newer tech.
While 2019 seems increasingly likely for a HoloLens 2 introduction, there’s still some big questions up in the air about what exactly is next for the headset.
Knowing that Kinect for Azure will be on board clues us in to some of the headset’s sensing capabilities. Rumors are swirling that the next HoloLens could ditch its current Intel CPU in favor of a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, which would dovetail nicely with Microsoft’s increasing emphasis on ARM support for Windows 10. With an ARM chip and 4G connectivity rumored to be on board the next version, the use-cases for HoloLens could vastly expand.
Microsoft was remarkably quiet about the original HoloLens before its reveal, and the headset turned out to be well ahead of its time. Though a few concrete details have emerged for HoloLens 2, Microsoft has been similarly quiet this time around; we still know next to nothing about key factors like field of view, form-factor, size & weight, or even cost. Can the company make another leap forward with the next version of HoloLens? 2019 seems like the year we’ll find out.
