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Microsoft’s HoloLens successor reportedly arriving in 2019

Microsoft’s HoloLens successor reportedly arriving in 2019

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Microsoft first unveiled its HoloLens headset more than two years ago at a special Windows 10 event. While the company didn’t start shipping units to developers until last year, anyone is currently free to purchase a HoloLens developer device for $3,000. Many had expected Microsoft to start selling a retail version of the headset soon, but it appears that the company has pushed back its plans.

A report from Thurrott.com suggests that Microsoft has decided to sideline its plans for a second version of HoloLens in favor of a third version it has also been preparing. The report suggests that Microsoft can focus on bigger changes to HoloLens as a result, and that a lack of competition has enabled the company to make such a decision.

Microsoft could be confident over the lack of competition

The successor to HoloLens will reportedly arrive in 2019, three years after the headset started shipping to developers. It’s not clear what Microsoft has planned for HoloLens, but it’s reasonable to assume the company will shrink the headset’s size and improve things like battery life, processing power, and maybe even the field of view.

While Microsoft faces competition from a large number of virtual reality headsets on the market, you can’t buy anything quite like HoloLens today. The closest competitor appears to be Magic Leap, but recent reports have suggested the company’s augmented reality headset might be further behind HoloLens than many had hoped. A leaked photo revealed one of Magic Leap’s many prototype developer units, but we’re still waiting for the company to publicly demonstrate its technology.