Everything indicates that Microsoft will be presenting the second version of its Hololens AR headset in the margins of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.
Microsoft makes a comeback on MWC. The software giant, who has ignored the world’s largest telecom exhibition since the collapse of Windows Phone, plans to hold a major press conference on Sunday, February 24. This is apparent from an invitation received from various international publications. In addition to CEO Satya Nadella, technical fellow Alex Kipman will also climb onto the stage, giving Microsoft an enormous hint about the subject of the presentation.
Chicken man and Hololens
In recent years, Kipmans has been the man at Microsoft who takes care of everything at Hololens. That the event will be about the Hololens is therefore almost certain. Moreover, since the middle of last year rumours about the Hololens 2, codenamed Sidney, have been circulating. Sidney should be available by the end of the first quarter of this year. It is unclear whether it concerns a broad availability or a limited developers edition, but in this case it is not important either. In both cases, the timing corresponds to an official presentation at the MWC.
The Hololens 2 should build on the first version, but be a lot more advanced. Microsoft will use further developed Kinect technology to show the AR glasses environment, while the headset inside will be powered by a dedicated AR chip and a Qualcomm 850-SoC. This means that the glasses will officially become an ARM device. Rumour has it that wearing comfort should also be boosted.
Wider FoV
More important but more unclear is the upgrade for the holographic displays. It seems obvious that Microsoft will also take care of this for Sidney, and in particular focus on the field of view. This is limited with the Hololens (as with all other AR-headsets by the way), which means that you look at an alternative world through a window, in which you’re not completely immersed, as promotional material invariably suggests. We don’t think something like that is realistic for tomorrow either, but any enlargement would be a big step forward.
To find out what’s true about the rumors we have to wait until MWC. Techzine will be present at the fair with a large team and will report extensively.
Related: Microsoft releases two new business applications for the HoloLens
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.
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