We know Microsoft is fully on the train of being one of the first companies to push forward an Augmented Reality product -- hopefully to us regular consumers. This is a different Microsoft than the one from a few years ago, and as such, we should expect big things.
A few years ago, Microsoft introduced the HoloLens, a very sophisticated augmented reality device designed to change the way we use computers. The headset is all about placing interactive holograms in the real world. So far, the technology industry has responded well.
HoloLens in its current form is far from ready for the consumer market.
At the moment, the device is being sold for $3,000. But in all fairness, it’s mainly meant for developers. However, anyone with that amount of cash can go ahead and pick it up, granted they understand that the software and the headset itself are not complete.
How can Microsoft tackle this problem?
The company recently showed off a new AR device, one that looks very different from HoloLens. The design is more in line with regular glasses, and from our point of view, it’s something that could open the doors for AR in the consumer market more so than HoloLens.
“The benefits of digital holography have long been explored through decades of research, demonstrating powerful features such as variable focal control and optical aberration correction.
Despite these capabilities, holography is often associated with noisy, low contrast, and mono color imagery,” according to Microsoft.
Microsoft isn’t the only company looking into possibly adding AR to regular glasses. Google tried in the past with Google Glass, and it failed. Not too long ago, Snapchat came out with a device known as Snap.
Now, Snap are not actual AR glasses, but it shows how much the technology could work in the consumer space if incorporated correctly.
As for Facebook, the company is also looking into creating AR glasses in the future. Certainly, it will have a profound connection to the popular social network.
Will Microsoft’s new hardware be mass produced?
Here’s the thing, Microsoft is a company that tends to work on several projects with little intention of bringing them to market. There’s a good chance this particular device may never see the light of day, and the technology may be used to create something else.
Nevertheless, we hope the software giant takes it seriously and does something with these AR glasses because the market is headed upwards, and being left to pick up the scraps is not the position Microsoft wants to find itself in.
