(dubstep sting)
- Hey everyone, Danny Rubino here at Windows Central.
And I'm at Mobile World Congress 2019
at the Microsoft booth.
Today, we're gonna talk about HoloLens Two.
Stay tuned.
(peppy synthesizer beat)
Okay, so a couple of things about HoloLens Two.
If you missed the announcement yesterday,
you can still go watch that on Microsoft's channel.
But the long story short is, yes, HoloLens Two
is coming out later this year.
The price tag is a little bit higher
this year as well, $3500.
And it won't be sold directly, yet, to consumers,
but we are told that later on, that will happen,
so you will be able to pick one up
through a Microsoft store.
Now, I did get to try one on,
in fact I just tried it a few minutes ago,
and here's what I can tell you about it.
It's super-comfortable.
HoloLens One was actually, it was a nice design,
first generation, not very comfortable to wear,
at least not for more than a half-hour or so.
It would just get really fatigued on your head.
This is a very different experience.
I wouldn't say this is, like, you can tolerate it,
this is just flat-out comfortable.
It feels like you're putting a nice, cozy hat on your head.
Very much padded, all the way around,
the weight is evenly distributed,
and what's really interesting is,
the weight is not that much lighter than the original one.
It is, but very slightly, just a few grams difference.
But putting it on, it just feels so good.
Plus now you can flip it up,
so when you want to see the world around you,
when you want to go back to your computer,
well, you get back your normal worldview.
Let's talk about that view a bit.
On HoloLens One, the big complaint was,
field of view was pretty small.
So when you look around, holograms would get clipped.
On version two, though, it's very different.
They doubled the field of view, and it's much better.
Still technically clipped.
So you won't see everything,
your total field of view is not a hologram.
But it is a lot better now, everything is much larger.
The resolution is also increased.
Which is actually a big accomplishment
that they were able to do.
I was also able to experience the hand tracking,
and moving objects with my hands,
which is a different interaction model.
It's much more intuitive,
and that's what they were going for.
So instead of using gestures and weird things,
you can just now grab the hologram and re-size it.
We did have some problems, it was kind of funny.
My sleeves were rolled down,
and so it wouldn't recognize my hands,
but once I rolled up my sleeves, it did figure it out.
So there's still some bugs that they're working on.
The software's still in development,
which is why it isn't supposed to come out
until later this year.
Now, in case you're wondering what it's running,
Microsoft wouldn't tell me,
but we're pretty certain it's Windows Core OS.
The fact that they wouldn't flat-out say it's Windows 10
should give you a hint, there.
It's just a Windows experience.
We will hear more about this OS, though, at build,
so expect to get some actual definitions and terms
of what they're going to be using in HoloLens Two
at that time.
Regarding applications, it's still running UWP apps,
and developers will be able to recompile the applications
to use those new features,
like hand-tracking and eye-tracking,
which also work very well.
One of the things I was really blown away by was,
they showed a screen with text on it,
and I was able to read it with my eyes,
and as I got to the bottom, it auto-scrolled,
so I didn't have to move anything.
On HoloLens One you'd have to reach out with your fingers
and try to move that screen again.
Now it does it automatically.
If my eyes moved back to the top of the screen,
it would scroll the other way.
So it's really good for people
who are working with their hands.
And that was sort of the bottom-line of using this.
It's gonna be for first-line workers,
people on assembly lines, people doing construction,
people who need access to computers,
but don't have a laptop around them, or a smartphone,
and need to have something, basically, on their head,
so they can still be using their hands.
And in that regard, HoloLens Two seems to be a success.
So the big takeaway for HoloLens Two was this:
this is a real device,
this is a real service that companies are using.
When HoloLens One was announced, it was like,
here's what, one day in the future, you may be using.
Well, today, it's very different.
Microsoft's announced all sorts of new partners
and companies working with them,
it's an open platform,
Firefox is coming to it, of course.
And this idea that companies can now
make their own custom HoloLens, and then re-sell it,
is brilliant.
If you work in a hospital,
Microsoft doesn't know about medical-grade equipment.
There are companies, though, that's what they do.
And now they can make a HoloLens
and sell it to hospitals and doctors.
That's a really huge thing.
They're creating a sub-ecosystem for this.
And it's really a big takeaway.
Now, for consumers, well, this story isn't there yet.
But Microsoft did give you signs.
If you saw, during the announcement,
Tim Sweeney from FM games was there,
that should tell you something.
Now, they didn't announce any new games,
but yes, going down that road,
you will start to see consumer versions of this
coming in the next, I don't know, two to five years.
It's hard to put a number on it.
But Microsoft is aware that,
as the technology evolves, the price comes down,
developer's story increases,
someday, there will be a version for consumers as well,
just not today.
So, there's some quick thoughts on HoloLens Two.
Leave me a comment below and tell me what you thought
of the announcement,
and whether or not this is a big deal.
I'm super impressed with it,
I can't wait to get one myself, compared to HoloLens One.
Leave me any questions, too, if you have them, below,
and I'll try to answer them.
Otherwise, if you liked this video,
give it a thumbs-up,
and don't forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching, take care, everyone.
(dubstep sting)
- You have touched your first hologram.
Congratulations.
You can try another one.
If you bring your hand in, it'll get a little big,
and then just grab it when it grows.
You got it, you got it? - There it goes.
- Good, perfect.