The HoloLens is not dead! New updates to Dynamics 365 change everything...

Microsoft broke the silence about the HoloLens 2 with a set of blogposts, clearly underlining that HoloLens is not dead, and development still continues, providing updates for apps and solutions for the device. We also heard of a great case study of the use of Dynamics 365 Guides from Toyota. Microsoft even hinted at the development of a HoloLens 3, which had been rumored to been killed off some time ago.

Updates coming to the HoloLens

First off, Microsoft finally announced true Teams support for the HoloLens 2. Until now, support has been kind of an afterthought, with you being able to join Teams calls and meetings through the Dynamics Remote Assist application, but not having much of a great experience with limited controls.

Now full support has been added, with ability to share your holograms and view shared content in mixed reality. For example, you can finally see someone's shared screen as a hologram when in a meeting on the HoloLens, which wasn't previously possible.

Another new feature is the ability to access your Teams calendar, which also wasn't previously possible. Before you had to just open the Remote Assist app close to the time your meeting would start so it would show up on the app (and then you'd just pray you don't have any overlapping meetings).

The merge of Remote Assist and Guides

With the new updates, Microsoft is also deciding to merge the Remote Assist and Guides applications into one running under the Dynamics 365 Guides name. This is so users can easily switch between a guide while working alone and collaborating with others, or even running both at the same time.

Multitasking on the Hololens used to be a painful task, with the device quickly slowing down with it's limited resources and many big Dynamics apps running. Consolidating the features into a new "mega-app" seems to be a great progression to combat this, although we need to test it in action. (Stay tuned for that!)

Will there be a HoloLens 3?

We have repeatedly heard from various sources that the project for the HoloLens had hit roadblock after another, with some saying the whole project was scrapped.

But now the VP of Mixed Reality at Microsoft Scott Evans states that even though the HoloLens 2 "don't need a successor yet", clients want to know that it will come. He also tells that "No one wants to be obsoleted for 10% better capabilities", underlining how they don't want to release a new iteration of HoloLens before it actually can bring something new to the table.

To wrap it up, Evans says that Microsoft is pushing forward in all core technologies: displays, tracking, sensors and battery life.

Seems like maybe all hope isn't lost just yet! These updates with Microsoft's recent announcement of support for Meta's Oculus headsets really pins Microsoft as a future Metaverse powerhouse, and I'll be sure to blog all about that.