It looks like Microsoft is taking its time with developing the next Hololens. Sources within the company are saying that the next generation augmented reality headset won’t be released until at least 2019; and that development is skipping straight to the third generation of the device.
Manufacturers traditionally look to make incremental upgrades to products. Mainly to meet the expectations of releasing a new model every year. However, Microsoft apparently thinks that there is no danger of competition from other manufacturers; leading it to rethink its Hololens roadmap.
Microsoft will apparently use this opportunity to accelerate the release of the third generation of Hololens. The good news is that this means that the Hololens 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) will have a much bigger leap in terms of technology.
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It’s not exactly surprising that Redmond has decided to take this path. It’s not like there are other manufacturers competing in the same space. While some companies, like Leap Motion, have demonstrated similar technology, none of them have successfully brought any products to the mass market.
On the same note, Microsoft is not selling all that many Hololens units. The company is said to have sold thousands of headsets, although the sales numbers have supposedly not reached five digits.
Skipping the second generation Hololens could also be a move to make more space for Microsoft’s AR partners. The company has convinced OEMs to build budget minded VR headsets for the impending arrival of Windows Holographic. A new Hololens could possibly steal some of this thunder, and Microsoft could simply be trying to avoid such an incident.
[Source: Thurott]
