Today, Microsoft laid out its plans for the Windows Holographic platform, opening it up to its hardware partners to create augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices of their own, using its software and building on its shared expertise from developing HoloLens.
While the first HoloLens units are already in the hands of developers who paid $3,000 for them, many have wondered when the first Windows Holographic devices will be generally available to a wider audience.
As CNET reports, according to Microsoft, "they"re months away, not years."
But Windows and Devices Group chief Terry Myerson added: "Don"t expect them next week. Really, it"s up to the partners to some extent. We need to complete the platform for them, because we"re learning a lot from these very early engagements."
Earlier this week, Microsoft released its first major update to Windows Holographic, delivering many significant new features. Even so, the fundamental nature of the features delivered - including multitasking support and adding browser tabs to Edge - show how much work still remains before Microsoft"s efforts to "complete the platform", as Myerson put it, are fully realized.
Microsoft believes that up to 80 million virtual reality devices will be sold by 2020, and Myerson said he "expects most of them to be third-party", rather than its own HoloLens headsets.
Source: CNET