Today, Microsoft published its February update for mixed reality. It"s the first in a series of monthly blog posts where the company will discuss what"s new for its platforms.
Most notably, the firm announced that HoloLens will now be available in two new markets: Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. This brings the total number of markets that the device is available in to 41, after 29 countries were added in December.
The other significant development is that HoloLens is now available to rent. Businesses in the United States and Canada can rent one from ABCOMRENTS, so they can evaluate the product and decide whether to purchase it, or just to temporarily increase their inventory.
Unfortunately, there"s still no news of a second-generation HoloLens. The last we heard of such a device was a year ago, and that report said that the next model will be available in 2019. In the nearly two years since the Development Edition was made available, little has changed. In fact, the device is still running the Anniversary Update, and Microsoft still only sells a Development Edition for the same price of $3,000, and the Commercial Suite for $5,000.
And the device isn"t without its issues. The first-generation model has been criticized to have a narrow field-of-view, something that many are hoping will be improved in the next one. Unfortunately, while we keep hearing about it launching in new countries, the HoloLens itself appears to remain stagnant.