Despite its efforts in Windows 10 and the cloud, Redmond's most ambitious project is definitely HoloLens. While public demos have proven formidable, Microsoft maintained a strict radio silence on its specifications… which was lifted (partially) during a special event held by the company in Tel Aviv. There, details about its battery, wireless connectivity, and support for universal apps were revealed.
New Details Revealed
When Microsoft announced its HoloLens headset of augmented reality, it said it would be available within the timeframe of Windows 10. The latest member of the Windows family is about to turn six months old, but everything seems to indicate that Redmond has no rush to launch the device. Beyond its successful demos, there are still many sharp edges to smooth out. Its official price of three thousand dollars and initial availability for developers are two strong proofs that the HoloLens will demand every last drop of patience.
Fortunately, a special event in Tel Aviv was the key to new data. According to Bruce Harris, one of the company's MTEs (Microsoft Technical Evangelist), the first shipments of the HoloLens will occur during the first quarter of the year, although nothing is confirmed about its availability for enterprise customers or the general public. We must add that any universal app capable of running on Windows 10 will work natively on the HoloLens, and that the headset will be a completely wireless device, using WiFi or Bluetooth as communication means. For now, there are no plans for a wired (tethered) option.
The most striking news about the HoloLens focuses on its battery life. Harris suggested that it can reach a maximum of five and a half hours with light usage (for example, email and Word), and in the most demanding cases, battery performance will be around two and a half hours. All interested parties would do well to ask what is the logic behind using the HoloLens to edit a document in Word, but we are dealing with hardware that could be described as alpha, and it needs improvement in many aspects.
