Microsoft today announced that its latest AR headset, HoloLens 2, is finally shipping. The headset can be purchased directly for $3,500 or rented for $125 per month.
Microsoft announced HoloLens 2 back in February and has started selling the headset today. Though pricey at $3,500, HoloLens 2 is actually cheaper than its predecessor which launched at $5,000. In addition to the outright purchase price, Microsoft is also renting headset to businesses for $125 per month, and will later launch a developer edition priced at $100 per month.
Image courtesy Microsoft
Like the original, HoloLens 2 is positioned as an enterprise-focused device. Microsoft envisions companies using the headset for design, remote assistance, training, visualization, collaboration, architecture, construction, and much more.
HoloLens 2 Specs
The official specs confirm the headset’s weight at 566 grams and ‘active use’ battery life at 2–3 hours. Here’s the full spec sheet:
Display
|
|
Optics |
See-through holographic lenses (waveguides) |
Resolution |
2k 3:2 light engines |
Holographic density |
>2.5k radiants (light points per radian) |
Eye-based rendering |
Display optimization for 3D eye position |
Sensors
|
|
Head tracking |
4 visible light cameras |
Eye tracking |
2 IR cameras |
Depth |
1-MP time-of-flight (ToF) depth sensor |
IMU |
Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer |
Camera |
8-MP stills, 1080p30 video |
Audio and speech
|
|
Microphone array |
5 channels |
Speakers |
Built-in spatial sound |
Human understanding
|
|
Hand tracking |
Two-handed fully articulated model, direct manipulation |
Eye tracking |
Real-time tracking |
Voice |
Command and control on-device; natural language with internet connectivity |
Windows Hello |
Enterprise-grade security with iris recognition |
Environment understanding
|
|
6DoF tracking |
World-scale positional tracking |
Spatial Mapping |
Real-time environment mesh |
Mixed Reality Capture |
Mixed hologram and physical environment photos and videos |
Compute and connectivity
|
|
SoC |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Compute Platform |
HPU |
Second-generation custom-built holographic processing unit |
Memory |
4-GB LPDDR4x system DRAM |
Storage |
64-GB UFS 2.1 |
Wi-Fi |
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac 2×2) |
Bluetooth |
5 |
USB |
USB Type-C |
Fit
|
|
Single size |
|
Fits over glasses |
|
Weight |
566g |
Image courtesy WalkingCat
Aside from field of view and resolution improvements, HoloLens 2 also launches out of the gate with full hand-tracking. This is a huge improvement over the ‘air tap’ gesture that was relied upon with the original headset. With hand-tracking users will be able to more naturally and directly interact with augmented reality content.
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