This year's Mobile World Congress is just weeks away, and teasers and leaks have been popping out here and there.
One of the newest teasers comes from Microsoft, and it could be hinting at a long-awaited next-generation HoloLens, at least based on what the video shows.
HoloLens 2 At The MWC?
Alex Kipman, Microsoft's Technical Fellow for AI Perception and Mixed Reality in the Cloud, posted a tweet Monday, Feb. 11. In the tweet was a teaser video for MWC 2019 showing clues at what the company could be unveiling at the event.
While the 42-second clip doesn't really give any assurance, many speculate that this could be about the HoloLens 2, and that's a possibility considering everything that's included in the teaser video. For starters, Kipman is one of the people behind HoloLens, and the device's next iteration has long been rumored to arrive this year.
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
There are also a number of other clues in the teaser that could be referring to the second-gen HoloLens. The latter part of the video shows what appears to be a rock that forms into a material connecting to what looks like a chip.
The rock could suggest carbon fiber, a material that could be used to build the HoloLens 2 to reduce weight. The chip could also refer to the device's rumored processor, possibly the Snapdragon 850 ARM, according to reports.
Of course, these are all mere interpretations from what little clues the teaser video offered. As always, nothing's final until Microsoft unveils the next HoloLens — or if it even will — at this year's MWC, happening on Feb. 24 at Barcelona, Spain. So it's better to take everything with a grain of salt.
AI Capabilities
In 2017, Microsoft said that the next HoloLens will have an AI chip that's focused on machine learning. Called the Holographic Processing Unit (HPU), it'll support Deep Neural Network processing and will be completely programmable.
Recently, reports also mentioned about a Kinect sensor that'll be included in HoloLens 2. The Kinect sensor will enhance HoloLens' latency and visuals for a better mixed-reality experience.
