Microsoft made some big mixed reality and HoloLens announcements at WinHEC in China

During Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) earlier today in China, Microsoft made a variety of big announcements regarding mixed reality, its presence in Windows 10 going forward, and their own HoloLens device.

The company has submitted HoloLens to the Chinese government for approval and hopes to have the augmented reality device available to developers and the public sometime during the first half of 2017. They also revealed that they’ve publically shared with partners the specifications they developed with Intel for the Windows 10 PCs that will power the new mixed reality headsets. One of these partners is the Chinese company, 3Glasses, which is one of China’s leading mixed reality hardware developers. They will begin incorporating the Windows 10 experience in their products in 2017. For North American developers, Microsoft announced that HMD developer kits would be made available at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next year.

On the consumer side of things, Microsoft revealed that they now have over 20,000 apps in the Windows Store that are compatible with Windows 10 mixed reality devices. They also emphasised the role their Edge browser is playing in mixed reality with its 3D object drag and drop capability (which users can use to drag objects out of a browser window into their augmented reality) and the new immersive WebVR content that’s now available. Microsoft also announced plans for 360 degree video content in their Windows 10 Movies & TV (also, Films & TV) service.

Does any of this news excite you or are you more hyped for Project Evo and the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Windows 10 devices that were also announced at WinHEC today? Let us know in the comments.

Further reading: Apps, China, HoloLens, Microsoft, Microsoft Edge, Movies & TV, Windows 10, WinHEC