MWC 2019: HoloLens 2 Is An AR Headset I’d Actually Use

I considered myself a HoloLens skeptic. Microsoft’s first-generation AR headset was promising on paper, but the thing bit into my nose, was finicky to use and, well, we all know about the field of view. HoloLens was not, in my opinion, a usable device (I haven’t used Magic Leap One, for clarity’s sake). HoloLens 2 is.Don’t get me wrong, this is still incremental steps over the original. But they’re important steps all the same – HoloLens is slightly lighter (13g) and better-designed than the original and it makes a world of difference. During my MWC 2019 demo I regularly stopped to chat with the team guiding me through. At times I completely forgot that I was even wearing a headset. That’s also down to the more comfortable design that rested easier on the bridge of my nose, of course. My 10 minute demo consisted of the usual AR staples. I did a quick eye-tracking calibration (more on that in a bit) and then found several 3D models dotted around Microsoft’s idealized living room. I could pick them up and scale them to my liking, just as I could on HoloLens1.But it’s how I did it that was important. HoloLens 2’s handtracking was able to recognize a variety of grabbing gestures, from clenched fists to pinches. It didn’t matter how I wanted to grab the corner of an object. Anything that I felt would work in real life simply. . .worked.