WATCH: Microsoft introduces HoloLens 2 with enhanced immersion

To open the Mobile World Congress this year, Microsoft unveiled the HoloLens 2 with better hand tracking and improved direct hologram manipulation without complementary hand controllers.

Three years after the release of the first HoloLens, Microsoft debuted the HoloLens 2 complete with an enhanced immersive experience and finished with a more comfortable headset design.

Most significantly, user interaction with the holograms, which are now more vibrant and more realistic, has been considerably improved without the addition of dedicated controllers, thanks to built-in AI tech and a new time-of-flight sensor.

The original HoloLens could only recognize basic tap and click gestures, but the second generation has been upgraded to recognize 21 points of articulation per hand. In the same way, you would manipulate objects in the real world, you can manipulate objects in the holographic world; the control has become more natural and instinctive.

Control has been further enhanced with integrated eye-tracking sensors which offer “enterprise-grade” authentication via iris recognition: it is easy for multiple people to log in and out quickly and efficiently. This is especially useful considering that a single headset is typically used by many.

Plus, if several people are using a device, it is now easier to adjust the fit. The headset has been redesigned to comfortably mold to anybody’s head, glasses or no glasses.

Like the first, the HoloLens 2 is targeted at businesses and academic settings including construction sites, factories, operating rooms and classrooms, so do not expect this headset to be popping up even in your tech-savvy friends’ homes. The price tag of $3,500 (about P182,000) certainly limits consumer accessibility, though Microsoft did say at the MWC that the upcoming HoloLens 3 may be more tailored and priced for the average person.

Enthusiasts can preorder the HoloLens 2, but the official launch date has not been announced. JB

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