Microsoft Teases HoloLens 2 Headset Ahead of 24 February Launch

It looks as though Microsoft is really gearing up to announce something big at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The latest nugget to drop comes courtesy of Alex Kipman, who serves as Microsoft’s Technical Fellow for AI Perception and Mixed Reality in the Cloud. While that job title is definitely a mouthful, all you really need to know is that Kipman is the father of the original HoloLens mixed reality headset.

Kipman has posted a video teaser to YouTube which is entitled "2.24.19 #MWC19", which is actually a day before the show officially kicks off. The video shows what appears to a microchip, some Terminator 2-esque “liquid metal” effects, and what looks like carbon fiber weaves. Could Microsoft potentially be developing the frame of HoloLens 2 out of carbon fiber for strength and lightness?
Kipman’s video description merely states, “Are you excited yet? I am!”

Microsoft already announced last month that it will be holding at an event on February 24th at 11am EST. Both Microsoft CEO Satya Nadellaand Kipman will be on hand, as will Corporate VP Julia White. With Kipman confirmed to be a presenter and this new YouTube teaser, there’s no doubt that Microsoft will be displaying HoloLens 2… at least in prototype form.

The original HoloLens entered the market in early 2016 and was geared primarily at developers given its lofty price tag. What’s unknown at this point is if Microsoft will once again be targeting the developer crowd, or if it will be able to cost-reduce the HoloLens 2 enough to make it appealing to the mass market.
With that being said, it’s previously been rumored that HoloLens 2 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 SoC, which was specifically designed for Windows 10 on ARM convertibles.

February 12, 2019