Microsoft has started sales of its HoloLens 2 mixed reality smart glasses. Aiming to be a significant upgrade over its predecessor in both field and overall performance, the second generation of the company's head-mounted computer is geared primarily towards enterprise organizations, where Microsoft and its partners are continuing to experiment with and develop practical applications for augmented reality in the workplace.

From a tech perspective, Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 isn't a radical departure from the original HoloLens in terms of features and basic design goals, but as a second-generation product Microsoft has put a lot of work into improving the technology and the user experience. HoloLens 2's visual system offers a 52º diagonal field-of-view (up from 34º) with a resolution of 47 pixels per degree on its MEMS display. Under the hood, it is based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 as well as Microsoft’s custom holographic processing unit (HPU) 2.0 chips, which should offer a drastically higher performance than the previous-generation hardware. Finally, the product features better ergonomics and revamped interaction model with full-blown hand tracking and improved visuals.

As noted above, the HoloLens 2 is still focused primarily on businesses and organizations that can take advantage of the device in their workflows. Microsoft will continue to support the original HoloLens, but customers can now deploy the improved version.

Microsoft offers three options to buy its HoloLens 2. The a stand-alone HoloLens 2 device with Windows 10 Holographic is available from select resellers for $3,500. The HoloLens Development Edition with Windows 10 Holographic, a $500 credit for Azure (including mixed reality services), and Unity Pro & PiXYZ Plugins (with a three-months license) pre-installed can be purchased for $3,500 (or $99 per month). Finally, there is HoloLens 2 with Remote Assist version for enterprises that comes with Windows 10 Holographic and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist that can be had for $125 per user per month.

Related Reading:

Sources: Microsoft

Comments Locked

22 Comments

View All Comments

  • imaheadcase - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link

    Augmented reality is really awesome stuff. It has lots of better uses than VR in a work environment or even life. Hope it matures to something awesome.
  • imaheadcase - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link

    On a side note, using it on a phone really can freak people out you waving phone around..i was doing it at work and some women went to HR thinking i was taking pictures of her in break room. lol
  • JeffFlanagan - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link

    I think that probably has to do with being known as a headcase. Taking pictures at work for a company website wouldn't be unusual.
  • Duwelon - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link

    Did they even try to talk to you before running to HR like it's their mommy?
  • Amandtec - Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - link

    I just hope it cannot be used to overlay naked schematics of colleagues. Especially my colleagues.
  • Teckk - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link

    Looking forward to see a good application for this. Side note, if the pic is provided by Microsoft, they could have provided a bit more cheerful one. He doesn't seem too happy with it. 😅
  • nandnandnand - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link

    He has seen too much. Or too little based on that diagonal FOV.
  • PeachNCream - Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - link

    It isn't our responsibility to ensure someone that scruffy is happy. If he wants to feel better about himself he can mow that gross man goat hipster thing on his face. Guys with beards are such a huge turn off anyhow. It says a lot about a person's self-esteem, how much they care for themselves, and the sorts of hobbies and interests they have that are incompatible with any sort of meaningful life -- beyond being just physically revolting anyway.
  • Teckk - Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - link

    Whoa .. That was not supposed to be very serious, anyway, if you're concluding all guys with beards have low self-esteem, no meaningful life etc. then that's ridiculous.
  • PeachNCream - Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - link

    Not ALL of them are that way. I can think of one or two that defy the norm, I guess. It still doesn't fix the whole dead-animal-on-my-face look though.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now