HoloLens 2 will run Windows 11. Microsoft promises a free, optional update by June’s end. Windows 11 will improve app performance for HoloLens 2 owners.
In a blog post, Robin Seiler, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows and devices, writes that the free update to Windows 11 provides continuing platform maintenance, ensuring device security. With the upgrade, HoloLens 2 users will continue to get monthly security maintenance upgrades that protect sensitive data and improve app performance.
The update enhances app speed, but a crucial developer feature should boost applications. Microsoft’s Edge WebView2 control lets app developers quickly incorporate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This could enhance web-powered apps, and Microsoft Teams is switching to it from Electron.
Windows 11 will improve HoloLens 2’s Dynamics 365 Guides capability. HoloLens 2 users can soon freely annotate video chats with 3D graphics. In addition, Microsoft is launching a “Restricted Mode” for enterprises to better govern HoloLens 2 mixed reality apps.
“This is a significant update for highly confidential facilities looking to enforce stricter access controls around systems and information deployed on HoloLens 2,” adds Seiler. As a result, companies can better protect confidential and sensitive data.
These HoloLens 2 updates come months after Microsoft offered complete Teams connectivity and teased a HoloLens 3. “We’re just looking for the right design point to make it a meaningful update,” said Microsoft’s mixed reality vice president Scott Evans in December.
Microsoft claims it has adjusted its “hardware portfolio” since HoloLens and other departments were laid off. Last year, Microsoft canceled HoloLens 3. However, according to a person familiar with Microsoft’s HoloLens plans, the firm is “evaluating” a next-generation headset, although it’s unclear if it will be a HoloLens 2.
This year, Congress refused the US Army’s proposal to acquire up to 6,900 HoloLens headsets but approved development on “a new form factor” headgear. As a result, Microsoft and the Army inked a billion-dollar contract more than four years ago to test the newest specialized Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) headsets in 2025.