The mystery posed by the introduction of the HoloLens 2 Augmented Reality glasses from Microsoft could be nearing its end. In mid-January, Microsoft invited to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019, which was addressed to the press and contained the name “Alex Kipman”, the creator of the coveted glasses.
Although the invitation doesn’t necessarily confirm that Microsoft will announce the second generation of HoloLens, there’ a good chance that they will be granted a look and even confirm their release date, especially after a teaser test Kipman himself published on his YouTube channel.
2.24.19 #MWC19 – are you excited? I know I am…https://t.co/nO8apOLrGB pic.twitter.com/JXENF2nzEq
— Alex Kipman (@akipman) February 11, 2019
The video does not reveal any further information about HoloLens 2. Instead, it provides an insight into Microsoft’s custom Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor, which should have been integrated into the new glasses last year to natively implement deep neural network features.
In other words, HoloLens 2 analyzes what the user sees and hears instead of wasting time sending this data for processing in the cloud. They also enable sophisticated manual tracking via motion segmentation and speech recognition.
This AI-based processor is also likely to be combined with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 chip, which means Microsoft is abandoning the Intel Atom processor that currently runs the HoloLens features. With Qualcomm’s new chip integrating the Snapdragon X20 4G modem, the glasses’ operating system will also include support for 1.2Gbps LTE connectivity.
Microsoft’s presentation at MWC 2019 will take place on February 24 at 17.00 (CET). Considering the invitation and the teaser presented today, Kipman together with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella could be the host during the presentation of the glasses.