Microsoft is bringing Windows 11 to its HoloLens 2 headset. The update will be available for free, and Microsoft says it should arrive as an optional upgrade by the end of June. HoloLens 2 owners can continue to use Windows 10, but Windows 11 offers better app performance and some important additions for developers.
“The free upgrade to Windows 11 promises continuous platform support, meaning our customers can rely on the continued security of their devices,” explained Robin Seiler, Microsoft corporate vice president of Windows and devices, in a blog post. “With the upgrade, HoloLens 2 users will continue to receive monthly security updates that strengthen the protection of sensitive information while improving app performance.”
While the update doesn’t seem to bring any major user-facing updates outside of app performance improvements, there’s an important addition for developers that should help apps improve. Microsoft gives developers access to the Edge WebView2 control that lets them easily embed HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into their apps. This should improve web-based apps, and it’s the same control that Microsoft Teams is moving towards through the current Electron app.
Microsoft is also improving the Dynamics 365 Guides feature on HoloLens 2 with the release of Windows 11 in the coming months. A new annotation feature will be available soon that will allow HoloLens 2 users to apply 3D drawings anywhere to freely illustrate during video calls. Microsoft is also adding a “Restricted Mode” for businesses to have better control over the mixed reality apps running on the HoloLens 2 headset.
“This is an important update for highly confidential facilities that want to enforce stricter access controls around systems and information deployed on HoloLens 2,” said Seiler. “Companies can better prevent unauthorized access to confidential information and highly sensitive data.”
These latest HoloLens 2 improvements come just months after Microsoft added full Teams integration to the HoloLens 2 while also teasing a potential HoloLens 3 headset. “We’re just looking for the right design point to make it a meaningful update,” Scott Evans, Microsoft’s vice president of mixed reality, said in December.
Since then, Microsoft says it has changed its “hardware portfolio” amid layoffs that hit HoloLens and many other divisions. Microsoft reportedly scrapped plans for a HoloLens 3 last year. I recently heard from a source familiar with Microsoft’s HoloLens plans that the company is currently “evaluating” a next-gen HoloLens headset, but it’s still not clear if we’ll see a true HoloLens 2 successor.
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