Micorosft’s HoloLens headset is currently only available to developers and businesses for a whopping $3,000, but it seems the company has big plans for the future.
Speaking at the Bett Show in London on Thursday, Roger Walkden, Senior Director and Commercial Lead of HoloLens gave away some details about Microsoft’s ambitions in the AR sector (via BetaNews).
First of all, perhaps unsurprisingly, sales figures aren’t exactly through the roof, with Walkden revealing they are “in thousands, not hundreds of thousands”.
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Due to the limited availability and high price, it’s not exactly shocking to hear about these rough sales figures, and Microsoft doesn’t appear to be all that worried.
The company has added HoloLens features to a recent version of a Windows 10 Insider build, so it’s obviously expecting the headset to increase in popularity in the future.
Walkden also suggested that we’re a good three years from the point when VR/AR takes off and becomes more of a mainstream technology.
The Senior Director said: “I don’t know how far into the VR lifecycle we are — maybe two or three years from the very start of VR — so it does take years to get to that kind of position.”
But Walkden also revealed that Microsoft has plans beyond the current HoloLens, adding: “There’s a roadmap. I can’t tell you anything about it, though.
“They keep that kind of information way clear of me so that I don’t accidentally tell you anything. I have no news for you on when those will be.
“But the roadmap does exist, and we now [sic] that at this point this is the only device we’ve got, and the only one we need in order to get people started on their journey.”
All of which sounds like the company isn’t all that bothered about future iterations of its augmented reality technology, but Walkden went on to say that “this is version one, and there will be future versions.”
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Let us know what you think of Microsoft’s AR plans in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
