Virtual Reality (VR), much like winter, is coming. One of the best things about it is that we’re not really sure what form it’s going to take. Will the best versions of it be pure VR, or part Augmented Reality (AR), or even Mixed Reality (MR)? Microsoft’s HoloLens is an implementation that we’ve been impressed with from the start, combining the best bits of a full-fat VR system with what Google Glass was supposed to be. And it looks like we’re going to get a look at the sequel in short order. HoloLens 2 should be rearing its head(gear) at this year’s Mobile World Congress.
That’s according to Alex Kipman, Microsoft Technical Fellow and the creator of HoloLens, who posted the teaser video below on his YouTube account. Microsoft has a press event set for 24 February, one with Kipman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and CVP Julia White in attendance. Kipman’s presence makes it all but certain that the teaser video refers to the second iteration of HoloLens.
The teaser video… doesn’t give us much idea what to expect at all. Unless, we suspect, you happen to work in Microsoft’s hardware workshop. In which case the abstract wiring concept playing out above probably has a whole lot of meaning. There is some speculation about what it all means, Basil. The chip (visible in the thumbnail as well as the video proper) should refer to an on-device AI-solution, while the wiring… You have us there. Optical fibre? Maybe?
There are some rumoured specs floating around for a HoloLens 2. A new version of Microsoft’s Kinect sensor is thought to reside therein, and the company’s apparently going to be using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 to run the head-mounted gear. It’s also supposed to get a custom version of Windows. We’ll be able to separate talk from fact in short order, though. Microsoft’s event is a little under two weeks away. Stay tuned.
Source: Alex Kipman (YouTube) via The Verge