Microsoft HoloLens Now Available to Developers

SAN FRANCISCO—Making good on a promise to deliver its HoloLens 3D augmented reality headset, Microsoft's dynamic Alex Kipman, the face of the product, today announced that the device starts shipping to developers now, "marking another great step on our journey of interacting with computers in ever more personal ways."

Unlike VR (virtual reality) headsets such as the Oculus Rift, the untethered HoloLens doesn't take over your entire vision field, but rather adds 3D objects to the actual world in front of you. Thus, what it does is frequently referred to as "mixed reality" as well as augmented reality.

At its Build developers confernce here, Microsoft demoed hightlights of HoloLens applications created by NASA, Case Western Reserve Medical School, and others on stage. Case Western showed medical students going over a 3D human anatomy model while a remote professor pointed things out. The professor was represented by an avatar head and a hand, rather than being introduced into the room a la Star Trek's Holodeck in full living color.

NASA not only showed how it uses HoloLens to design spacecraft, but also Destination Mars, which will be an exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center featuring astronaut Buzz Aldrin as a holographic guide to the Red Planet for visitors starting this summer. Destination Mars will also be availble for conference attendees to experience.

Kipman also unveiled a HoloLens app that was suggested by the developer community through a program called Share Your Idea. The app, Galaxy Explorer, will be available in the Windows app store, and all its code will be on GitHub.

Microsoft also announced Skype for HoloLens, which projects a 2D video screen in mid-air. Unfortunately, it doesn't project your chat partner in 3D—yet. The apps run by HoloLens are considered by Microsoft to be Windows 10 Universal Apps, but of course they need custom code to run on the device, just as they do on Windows Phones.

To apply for the $3,000 Developement Edition of HoloLens, developers can head to Microsoft's HoloLens site. But don't expect to get one if you're a layman: The application process requires that you're a serious developer with cool ideas about what apps to build for the 3D augmented-reality headset. There's no word on when the device will be available to the general public.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

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