This morning, Microsoft finally pulled the sheets off of the ready-to-ship version of HoloLens exclusively for early-accepted developers who also slap down $3,000 for the holographic computer.
Buried within all the new videos and documentation of the cutting edge hardware is the full list of hardware, sensors, specs and more for the first-ever wearable HoloLens holographic computer system.
Let's pop the hood and see what Microsoft HoloLens version 1.0 is running.
Microsoft HoloLens 1.0 specs
| Category | Specs |
|---|---|
| Display | See-through holographic lenses (waveguides) 2x HD 16:9 light engines Automatic pupillary distance calibration 2.3M total light points holographic resolution, 2.5k light points per radian |
| Sensors | Inertial Measurement Unit, 4x environment understanding cameras, mixed reality capture, 4x microphones, ambient light sensor |
| Processor | Custom Microsoft Holographic Processing Unit HPU 1.0, Intel 32-bit architecture |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Weight | 579g (1.2lbs) |
| Camera | 2MP photos, HD video |
| Audio | External speakers, 3.5mm audio jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, Micro-USB 2.0 |
| Power | 2-3 hour active use battery life, 2 weeks standby, passive cooling |
| OS | Windows 10 with Windows Store Human Understanding: spatial sound, gaze tracking, gesture input, voice support |
What's in the box
- HoloLens Development Edition
- Clicker
- Carrying case
- Charger and cable
- Microfiber cloth
- Nose pads
- Overhead strap
What you need to develop
- Windows 10 PC able to run Visual Studio 2015 and Unity
All in all, there is nothing too surprising in in that list but if something did pique your interest as standing out let us know in comments.
Source: Dev Windows
Reader comments
These are the full hardware specifications of the Microsoft HoloLens
If it only has 2GB SDRAM (probably DDR3 or DDR2) how am I gonna run Crysis on it?
Custom SOC by Microsoft.....maybe the start of the chip for a surface phone? shows they atleast have some inside enginering ability.
I think this device will be aimed mostly at hospitals, research centres, science labs in schools, not really to end users directly.
This is not a news that would get me excited. This is a prototype and a lot of people might have too many things that can be done using this.
I am waiting for a time when I can wear it as a normal pair of spectacles all day. Use it like: a smartphone, get navigation assistance while driving, without taking my eyes of the road, Get Citylens kind of information about building and monumnets near by, build or repair things at my home using DIY tutorials and holograms so on and so forth. I really want it to me everyday device. It should even act as normal spectacle for whole who wear corrective lenses. One shoudl be able to watch full movies on it while travelling, Take DSLR like pictures and share them online without even using their hands, read books and study all your subjects though virtual classrooms. The list is just endless for me.
That would be my ideal Hololens. I don't know if all, or even some of that will be done in coming years. But this is a vision I have for such a device. (Did I forget to mention that it should be incredibly light, should run atleast one full day without a need to recharge and look cool too?)
If get this, I will be the happiest person in the world! I want to explore the galaxy and share using this.
Pretty Awesome. Looks like a prop from a sci-fi movie. It's from the FUTURE!!!!!
It is unbelievable how many Hololens "experts" are on this thread. A completely new platform and an amazing number of folks "know" it needs more RAM, resolution, 64bitCPU, etc, etc. How do you know what the resolution of a hologram is? The efficiency of the HPU, do you even know what a HPU really is? Specs on a new device like this are totally irrelevant since there is no basis for comparison. To compare this to current tech on the market would be like comparing a P51 Mustang to a F22, yea they are both airplanes and fighters but totally different technologies.
Lets let the devs. come up with some cool software and Microsoft work on Ver2 before its trashed and the Apple/Android fanboi's are provided with ammo to pooh pooh this.
Exactly. There is just no benchmark for the specification of this device yet becuase its first of its kind!!!!
No One is talking about "WOW COOL HOLOGRAPHIC LIGHTBEAM LENSES"
EVERY one is like:
I need more RAM
I need 64bit CPU
I need more battery.
I need more a$s pum****
That's because "holographic lightbeam lenses" is not actually explained, no one knows what it really means, and may be a marketing term for "does what every other see-through HMD does" whereas the other specs are things people are familiar with.
Hopefully Holo for consumers isn't years out
I would be surprised if it hits consumers in the next two years. I think they want at least a year at the enterprise/education/scientific level and then some refinement and cost control for a consumer device. But then, if the SpaceStation trip works out well maybe it will be moved forward and we will see it sooner.
I'm really exceited by this device, however, looks to me that these holographic lens are going to need more than 32-Bit CPU and 2GB of RAM, Occulus Rift requirements are much higher like desktop class Nvidia GTX 970i + 16GB RAM + Intel Broadwell or similar CPU
From my understanding Holograms are better than virtual reality, since they mix reality with pixels, while VR is full pixels, so I think is more difficult to build Holographic apps like Minecraft.
hopefully less fatigue onn the eyes.
The problem with oculus is, it detaches you from the physical world, in which you need to balance in order to stand or walk, so it will be a sitting device.
Not really. Large scale "pure" VR has been done where the user can walk around a room (my lab in Grad School was ~15 ft per side tracking area, and we were limited by the room size, not the tracking technology) and people did not lose their balance.
One "problem" with Oculus is that the tracking area is only a few feet on a side (4 to 2.5 meters away from the sensor, with a restrictive frustum in whichhe headset can be tracked) -- https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/pcsdk/latest/concepts/dg-sens... -- that makes it a "sitting" or "standing still" device with looking around, but no physical locomotion. Hololens is designed to be worn and walked around with.
Oculus specs are high because, in aiming for a large FOV and high frame rate (90fps), they do a lot of heavy lifting on the software (GPU) side to predict motion, distort the image to compensate for the optical distortion inherent in large FOV Head-Mounted Displays, and even warp the image at the last fraction of a second to compensate for the system lag between the sensor reading and the display time, avoiding simulator sickness. Oculus is also higher than 1080p resolution per eye, whereas this is less. Since Hololens is optical see-through, any optical distortion is a deal-killer, so instead of that Hololens has a smaller FOV with zero-distortion optics, which are expensive to make and cannot be made better with new CPU tech along Moore's Law. Also because of the optical see-through, the "real world" will not lag behind quick head motions, and the "holograms" can probably tolerate a bit of swimming, so all the software for lag compensation isn't needed either.
Can anyone calculate the cost of everything and labor so we can guesstimate the retail price?? I'm eyeing at at least 1k-1.5k
A limited run HGPU has got to be expensive and everything else as a custom build. Plus theres the dev support bundled in and no-one knows if that is a factor in the price either. prototypes are expensive no matter who makes them.
Interesting that Unity is a requirement for developing for the device.
That's really sad. Untiy is awful for programmers. I'd rather use MonoGame, XNA or raw DirectX.
A time will come when the HoloLens technology will be implemented on humans internally, just like on the short film "Sight" !!!
~DheeraJ~
I'm really curious about the custom HPU. Can't wait for the nitty gritty details that will no doubt start floating around. Especially this is pretty much the first untethered AR headset to hit the market.
As well excited to see what devs do with this, it has alot of potential.
Hopefully, this puts the kick into getting battery tech upto scratch with modern tech.
most likely modern tech will come down to batteries.... High energy density batteries are plagued with problems and I dont think that will change anytime soon. and yes it takes yrs and yrs to really test new solutions that you may use up against someones head? 7nm and below may be the fix for the current problems (ooh a pun!)
Really having good hopes for the HoloLens. Microsoft it's going in the right direction, bringing up innovative products!!
2-3 Hour battery life? Considering how Microsoft tends to over estimate battery life...this is scary.
its a dev unit, so battery life isnt very important
Good start for 1st gen product. Looking forward to seeing where this goes moving forward.
Field of view needs to be improved.
Since you are such an expert and have had extensive hands on experience with the device, describe to us in great detail about how the FOV was not so good when you used the device.
And as several naysayers (including Paul Thurrott) have said, the 'good' FoV in the first demo is actually the same FoV as in the later demos that many people (including Paul) claimed was actually smaller.
Wonder how much will the non-dev versions cost? I don't know much about HPU but the other components are pretty standard. I hope it will be more affordable!
Yes. Really waiting for it to be out for consumers
I'm sure, faster 64 bit will follow with better graphics and storage etc, its 1st gen I'm happy were going in right direction
Windows 10 Universal app - does not matter what device I Used
Not for $3000!!!
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
It's the Developer kit. Calm down.
That's correct
Interesting that the cameras are just 2MP, processor is still based on x32-Bit architecture, and there's only 2GB of RAM...
It's all about efficiency.
Posted via the Note 4/Nexus 7 (2013)/Lumia 1020/Lumia 2520
You do realize a 64-Bit procssor is more efficient than a 32-Bit processor, right?
depends how you lok at it. 64bit needs more disk space and more ram. It can be more effeciant but its not a rule
No, it's not 'efficient'. 64bit processor can address more memory. That's all. And that is, if there is any more memory.
2gb ram can be addressed using a 32bit processor.
And why 2gb? Maybe the device don't need much.
"No, it's not 'efficient'. 64bit processor can address more memory"
You really should consider doing some research. Just like Quad-Core ARM processors, 64-Bit is a more power efficient way of enhancing performance; more processing performance for every Hz of CPU clock frequency. Thus potentially increasing battery life, which is a significant factor in this product.
'potentially increasing Battery life...' It's like throwing arrow in the air.
Again, processing speed has nothing to do with processor register size (32bit or 64bit). It does depend on the clock speed, can depend on number of cores and majorly depends on the architecture.
And keeping clocks, cores and architecture same, 64bit is definitely gonna use more battery.
Plus Microsoft is making this product. Of course they'll know what they're doing.
they seem to know what they are doing with windows 10 mobile..NOT :))) the presumption that if it's about Microsoft, then they know what they are doing does not work anymore.
Donyou have any idea how this entirely new kind of device gonna work??
It's not a smartphone made to compete galaxy S7.
Who said it is? Not being a SmartPhone doesn't mean I want to be getting crappy resolutions when recording holographic footage, nor does it mean I want a limited multitasking experience...
Who said that its camera would be used to record videos and processor to do multitasking?
And since when did Microsoft release this product to consumers and they've complaint about its performance?
If bigger ram and processor makes a better holographic experience then we better put our smartphones on our eyes.
I can't say if its specs are good or bad. No one can. It's a new category. There's no standard right now about how much RAM a holographic device should have.
Again. It's a new category. Many other things matter here than just RAM and processor.
"Who said that its camera would be used to record videos"
Sounds like someone has been living under a rock. Microsoft demoed so themselves.
"and processor to do multitasking?"
What exactly do you think the RAM is meant for? What makes you think a system running apps wouldn't need to do multitasking? It'll proabbly need to do even way more than SmartPhones, 'cause it also has to keep track of not only the status of the apps in the background, but also their geo location and position.
"Many other things matter here than just RAM and processor"
Who said other things don't matter? Easy there with dumb assumptions.
You really think they put camera in there just to record videos? In such devices it is used as an 'eye' to see the surroundings. Video would be a secondary use, because it's a camera after all.
About RAM, you can argue when you've used it as a consumer, and it starts hanging because of so much load.
Right now, interactivity with the real environment matters the most. Not how's the video quality and how many apps can we use at the same time.
Maybe at one point RAM and camera would matter. But not now.
When it's consumer ready and in the markets, maybe we'll see a better version.
Who said the camera is just for recording videos? But keep making asinine assumptions if that's what floats your boat...
"Right now, interactivity with the real environment matters the most."
I agree with that, doesn't mean the other use cases they demonstrate should be a gimped experience, especially in a hardware you're paying $3000 for.
"When it's consumer ready and in the markets, maybe we'll see a better version"
True, hope you're right about that. All I meant from the start is it's interesting how limited the components are in a $3000 product.
And you "know" exactly what a HPU does, how it works, and what resources it needs to function? Comparing it to current ech is stupid and a massive waste of time. It's NEW!
Besides, the $3000 is for more than just the hardware, the Dev Softwre and training are included. I'm guessing a pretty big portion of that $3000 is for the IP not the hardware.
"Comparing it to current ech is stupid and a massive waste of time. It's NEW!"
That's one heck of a retarded thought process for new technology. How do you assess if the new is better or worse than the old? Hint, new doesn't always equal better.
"Besides, the $3000 is for more than just the hardware, the Dev Softwre and training are included. I'm guessing a pretty big portion of that $3000 is for the IP not the hardware."
Ok...
Posted from my OnePlus One.
Yes, new does not always equal better. However, making judgments about new technology that you have absolutely no idea how it works is kind of pointless. Unless you have some inside knowledge about a HPU you have no idea what it can do, how it does it and what resources it needs. Since you don't know any of those things how can you know, or even intelligently guess, that it might be a "gimped experience" or limited components.
To me, a better thought process is to see if new technology can do something new or better than what is out there not compare specs and second guess what might be based on what the current state is.
Yeah you're right about that when it comes to the CPU architecture and RAM, +1. However, regarding cameras, I think they could have done it better. We'll just have to wait and see what the end product is specced like.
Mr Electrifyer,
you are stupid.
Aww, some ignoramus imbecile on the internet just threw an insult at me without any rational logic...pointless.
Posted from my OnePlus One.
Curious about the processor... 32 bit and only 2 GB of RAM. Interesting!
Seems like most of the processing will be through the HPU
Posted from Windows Central for Windows 10
Of course it will. As it is the only processor.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
I'm surprised by the 32-bit CPU, as opposed to 64-bit CPU. I wonder why it's not 64-bit?
Probably no need
Hmm.. I'm sure they'll bring up more of it, with coming developments. First they wanted to try it out for the developers, and in the near future, they might be able to provide it with more specs, and less price.
Why should we care? It's not a smartphone.
We don't know how that thing works. Nobody does, except for Microsoft. They made it, and are making design decisions. Let's trust them.
That's exactly why we should care. If we're gonna walk around wearing PCs on our heads, we need to be able to run software for them, and a lot of software developers have moved on to 64-bit.
Needless to say you won't be installing iTunes on this. Not that anyone is going to be buying one to install iTunes...
Just to be clear, I'm not horribly worried about how capable/incapable the device is, as it will supposedly work along your PC or Xbox for any really heavy lifting. The original Oculus Rift devkits looked pretty cruddy but the effect was still amazing.
Because the development of the HOLOLENS started almost 7-8 years ago when there was not any hype of 64bit processor in wearables.
I was curious about the same thing. I feel like it would actually benefit, given all the advanced spatial calculations it has to perform per-second to map out the environment around the user, and then display holograms appropriately. Definitely sounds like something that could benefit from extra bits to work with.
Obviously Microsoft knows about this more than I do, I'm just curious what their reasoning is.
Hopefully the consumer version will have usb3.0 and a bit more onboard ram. Either way, excited to buy one as soon as they make it to retail.
Must be nice... :)
yea like ram is the problem.... consumer needs BETTER FOV, BETTER battery, lighter device, then we can talk avout better camera, more ram and so on
Oh alexander0311
1.2lbs isn't light enough you big baby?
Can we appreciate the fact that Microsoft creates an entire new product category that hasn't even had a consumer release? Trust me, they know exactly what they need to do. Relax...
Posted with the Nexus 6, Nexus 5, or Surface Pro 3
Dude, do you even lift? ;)
Win!
Seriously? For a first Gen DEVELOPER, device it seems pretty awsome. Since I'm guessing its going to be at least 2 years before a consumer version is released I'm pretty sure your concernes will be addressed.
If they develop it at the same pace as windows 10 mobile, expect it to be ready Soon™ in 2030 :))))
I know it's not directly comparable, but can we get a feel for the resolution? In one review I read there was disappointment that the resolution was low - like 720p low, even with the 40 degree FOV. I've not yet been able to demo a unit but was curious if the anecdotal experience is shared and whether we can make a resolution comparison.
It's a first gen developers-only model. For most applications within that gen 720p is still overkill one inch from your eye. Give them time to get the FOV better and I'm sure the resolution will increase as well.
If projected items appear "720p" clearly it's not overkill.
Posted via the Note 4/Nexus 7 (2013)/Lumia 1020/Lumia 2520
its almost impossible to comment. Do note that you watch your 4K TV screen from a few feet away, and this lens is almost an inch away from your pupil. So I don't think it can be comapred with the specs of anything we use in everyday life, except maybe the camera. But then again, this is more like a prototype of the final device. By the time the developers develop some usefull applications for normal usage, the hardware too will undergo tremendous changes and who knows even the dimensions might change drastically.
You need more phones and tablets, Blacklac. In fact you have inspired me. So here is my irrelevant, stupid hardware list.
Posted via Windows 10 Pro on home built 8 core / 500GB SSD / 24GB PC, Surface Pro 3, Xbox One, Commodore 64, Sega Genesis, Amiga 3000 060, Lumia 950XL, Lumia 830, Lumia 640, VIC-20, Xbox One Elite Controller, Fender tube amp, Gibson Les Paul, Chevy Camaro
The percepted resolution I think has more to do with weak or no anti-aliasing capability present in the current model.
Cool.
Amazing.
Yawn
TROLL