Microsoft Announcements Today: HoloLens, 3D, And VR

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At the Microsoft Windows 10 Event today, Microsoft made a number of announcements relating to HoloLens, 3D, and VR. If you’re looking for an industry perspective from inside of the emerging MR/AR/VR ecosystem, please feel free to reach out to me today.

The impact of today’s Microsoft HoloLens, 3D, & VR announcements

  • Microsoft is executing on a strategy to transition the digital world to 3D through a series of operating system, application, and hardware initiatives, backed by partners.
  • Windows Holographic is a new operating system not just for HoloLens, but for the broader VR/AR/MR ecosystem. As Microsoft has previously announced, they expect this to be a diverse and large ecosystem, along the lines of Windows for the PC and Android for smartphones. Expect 2017 and 2018 to be the key years for this strategy.
  • With the release of third-party VR headsets for the Windows 10 Creators Edition in Spring 2017 by HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer, most consumers will experience Windows Holographic for the first time through VR, not through HoloLens. With price points for these headsets starting as low as $299, this could be the breakout moment for VR.
  • For the emerging VR and HoloLens developer and content creator ecosystems, this represents a crossover moment. Applications made for HoloLens will be supported in the Windows Holographic Shell on Windows 10 PCs and tablets, and VR experiences that had been made for Oculus, Vive, and Samsung Gear VR, will make their way to Windows Holographic for both VR headsets on PC and tablets as well as HoloLens.

For us at Object Theory, this means shifting from being a HoloLens-focused mixed reality company to a Windows Holographic focused mixed reality and virtual reality company. HoloLens will continue to be at the core of what we do, but Windows Holographic is the larger and more diverse ecosystem that HoloLens exists within.

Object Theory works with organizations to design and build experiences for Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Holographic. We provide end-to-end services, from envisioning through delivery, with a focus on strategy, user experience, and development. Object Theory was selected by Microsoft to be one of the first six partners in their Microsoft HoloLens Agency Readiness program. This program connects prospective HoloLens customers with trained solution providers, enabling them to develop great holographic content to help transform business. My cofounder, Michael Hoffman, was a member of the HoloLens Studios team at Microsoft prior to forming Object Theory with me. And, we are solely focused on creating experiences for HoloLens and Windows Holographic.

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