Microsoft HoloLens 2 will makes those holograms feel more real

Everything you need to know about the next gen Holographic headset
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Microsoft has officially unveiled its new HoloLens headset, four years after showing off the first version of its innovative holographic headset.

Debuting at its MWC press conference, the second generation headset firmed up many of the rumors that circulated prior to its unveiling including a smaller, lighter design and enhancements with the tech that improves that mixed reality experience.

Microsoft says it has upped the immersion more than doubling the field of view and boosting resolution, which is said to be the equivalent of moving from a 720p HD display to a 2K one. That's all while maintaining an industry standard 47 degrees pixel per sight. That's currently better than what Magic Leap's One headset is able to offer.

Hands on: Microsoft HoloLens 2 review

Elsewhere on the hardware front, we're getting eye tracking sensors, which app developers will have access to, while Microsoft is also bringing better hand gesture recognition to make interactions with holograms feel a little more special.

On the comfort front, there's now a flip up visor to make it more friendly for glasses wearers and a lighter design (it now weighs 566g compared to 579g on the first HoloLens). Battery life is said to be around 3 hours, which seems to be the norm for high end AR and MR headsets right now.


In the power department, there's a Snapdragon 850 Compute Platform along with Microsoft's second generation holographic processing unit. You're also getting a 5 channel microphone array and built-in spatial audio to cover the sound bases.

For anyone with enough cash to burn, the HoloLens 2 enterprise edition is available to pre-order now for the princely sum of $3,500. That's $500 more expensive than the developer edition of the original HoloLens but not quite as steep as the Commercial Suite that sits at $5,000. Again, we should remember that it is still designed for business and enterprise use, which means no sign of a consumer edition just yet. The HoloLens 2 will start shipping later this year.

We'll be getting some hands on time at MWC to find out how much better things have got with Microsoft's holographic headset.

Microsoft HoloLens 2 will makes those holograms feel more real


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Michael Sawh

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Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.

He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.

Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech. 

Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.


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