The rumors are true: Microsoft officially announced the HoloLens 2, its next-generation holographic headset, at a keynote session at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday.
Like 2016’s original HoloLens, this new iteration is a pair of goggles that projects digital imagery over the real world — a technology that Microsoft calls mixed reality, and others like Facebook call augmented reality. Whatever you call it, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and many others have made big bets that this will be the next big thing.
What’s new with the HoloLens 2 is a comprehensive redesign, fixing several frustrations with the original. First and foremost, the HoloLens 2 doubles the viewing area, alleviating one of the major problems with the first generation of these sorts of headsets. That said, it’s still not close to totally filling your field of vision with holograms.
Microsoft also boasts that the HoloLens 2 comes with a brand-new interface: Rather than wave your fingers around to tap on virtual icons, Microsoft says that you can use “intuitive” movements to manipulate the holograms as you would a physical object. It also comes with eye-tracking technology, Microsoft says, that offers more ways to interact.
The device has gotten a physical redesign, as well, with Microsoft boasting that it’s more comfortable and easier to adjust. That’s another plus from the original model, which required users to fiddle with knobs to get the fit of the headset just right.
