Microsoft’s Alex Kipman unveiled the company’s new HoloLens 2 headset today at Mobile World Congress, and the new device is a significant improvement over the original version. The new device has a HoloLens 2 has a new depth sensor that more than doubles the field of view, and it also comes with fullly articulated hand tracking as well as eye tracking. Microsoft also more than tripled the comfort of the device by adjusting the center of gravity so the device should be literally “float on your head.”
Kipman didn’t go into details about the specs of the HoloLens 2 during the press conference, but the full specs have been published on this page. As expected, the new headset comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC, but Microsoft only promises 2-3 hours of active use, which isn’t really much. In addition to the new ARM chip, HoloLens 2 features a 2nd Generation Custom-built Holographic Processing Unit, 2k 3:2 screens, a new Azure Kinect sensor, various sensors (Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer) and cameras that can shoot 8MP stills and 1080p30 video.
On the connectivity front, HoloLens 2 supports WiFi 802.11ac 2×2, Bluetooth 5.0, and the headset also comes with a USB Type-C that supports fast charging. Unfortunately, we don’t have more details about RAM and storage for now. Microsoft says that HoloLens 2 runs “Windows Holographic OS,” and we’ve seen various demos showing holograms that you can easily rotate and resize using touch gestures. Thanks to the new eye and hand tracking recognition technology, HoloLens 2 is now able to recognize you and the world around you, and there’s also support for voice commands by using natural Language with internet connectivity.
Microsoft also released a fact sheet for the Azure Kinect, another new device announced at MWC. This next-generation Kinect, a PC peripheral, features a 1MP Time-of-flight Depth Camera, a “12MP CMOS sensor rolling shutter” RGB camera, a 7 microphone circular array, and USB C.
We’re hoping to learn more about HoloLens 2 during our time at MWC 2019, so stay tuned to OnMSFT for more HoloLens news.
Further reading: HoloLens, HoloLens 2, Microsoft, MWC 2019
