Microsoft is probably working on a new Hololens

Image: Microsoft

Hololens have already been declared dead – for companies that have invested in Microsoft’s AR ecosystem, this would be a huge blow. But Microsoft is probably still working on the AR headset.

Last year was marked by negative headlines for Microsoft arkansas Hololens headphones. following the departure of Hololens co-creator Alex Kipman in June 2022, Business Insider reported that there were “no roadmap to speak of” for Hololens 3.

Instead, Microsoft is focused on fulfilling its Military Hololens (IVAS) contract with the US Army, the sources said. But the military Hololens also has big problems.

However, before leaving your former employer, Kipman contradicted Hololens 3 discontinuation rumors, and a recent statement from his successor, Scott Evans, underscores the point. In an official blog, Microsoft’s vice president of mixed reality hinted that a successor to Hololens 2 is in the works.

New Hololens “not every two years”

“We’re just looking for the right design point to make it a meaningful upgrade. They want a successor device that allows for an even higher return on investment,” said Evans.

After all, the business customers targeted by AR headsets don’t want to replace their devices every two years just to get a little more power. Microsoft continues to hear from business customers who don’t want to go through the typical two-year retail cycle, Evans said.

“They don’t need a successor yet, but they want to know that it will be available at the right time.”

Microsoft is currently working on improvements in all the basic hardware areas, according to Evans. This includes the display, tracking, sensors and battery capacity. However, the term “upgrade” might imply that it’s not a huge hardware leap for now. In any case, Evans does not mention the name “Hololens 3”. Hololens 2 was released in November 2019.

Evans said that lessons learned from the IVAS military variant are also being fed into development. The AR headset has its own specifications for US Army applications, he said. But testing with military early adopters is good for identifying improvements for other, cheaper models at the same time, he said. Evans calls this a “trickle down effect” in development.

Microsoft focuses on XR software, but could keep working on hardware

Evans’ recent comments contradict assumptions that Microsoft has put its own XR strategy on hold, especially when it comes to developing new hardware. After the launch of the new Meta professional search mixed reality headset, Microsoft announced an extensive collaboration with Meta in Windows and Office applicationsso you are bringing your more valuable software to a potentially competing product.

Furthermore, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made it clear that Microsoft’s Metaverse strategy focuses on software. Previously, there were rumors that Microsoft might work with Samsung on a new XR headset; nevertheless, the project is said to have already been discontinued. Now Samsung is supposed to bring a new XR headset only next year.

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