Skip to main content

Leaked video shows off HoloLens UI, including how to launch apps

Microsoft HoloLens Start / UI
The world gets its first real look at the Hololens UI today, thanks to a leaked two-minute tutorial video that shows off the interface in first person.

In the video a user launches applications using a layover called the “Shell,” which closely resembles the start menu from Windows 10. There are a few pinned tiles, and you can see a complete list of every application installed by clicking “all apps.” Users open things by “air tapping,” a technique the video demonstrates multiple times from its first-person perspective.

Recommended Videos

There’s a little bit of weirdness: at one point Kristina Horner, the tutorial’s host, explains that users “may have to look up and down, as well as left or right” to find an interface element. It seems like some taps don’t quite register, too. Still: it’s a computer interface overlaying reality, and that’s just plain cool.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The tutorial is for something called “Actiongram,” which allows users to drag 3D models, which the firm designates as holograms, into real-world surroundings and create 3D-supplemented videos. There isn’t an official Actiongram website right now, but Microsoft has applied for the trademark “Actiongram,” and other footage from the program has leaked recently.

Twitter user @h0x0d, who according to WinBeta.org first found the leaked video above, also found some early looks at Actiongram’s functionality. There’s this alien pet, for example, which creators can add to 3D videos:

Whip the Alien Pet pic.twitter.com/PyvYuPKd75

— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) February 23, 2016

And there’s footage of Horner dancing alongside a hologram:

VIDEO: Actiongram How-To videos 3 : Best Practices https://t.co/olVYOwDd5u pic.twitter.com/AUspFp79ez

— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) February 23, 2016

It’s not all flashy futuristic stuff, though: there’s also some old-school troubleshooting. For example, here’s a seemingly official, and totally mundane, tutorial for hard-resetting the HoloLens after a crash:

Tip: how to "hard restart" HoloLens when it crashed pic.twitter.com/1uENTjgtd2

— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) February 23, 2016

Microsoft has kept HoloLens information relatively close to the vest, so it’s fascinating to see these sorts of details. We’ll keep you up-to-date with anything else that emerges.

Justin Pot
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Justin's always had a passion for trying out new software, asking questions, and explaining things – tech journalism is the…
Hands-on with Microsoft Mesh: I handed someone a whale shark, and it was awesome
microsoft mesh hands on hololens control panel

There’s a fantastic scene in Kingsman: The Golden Circle in which Eggsy and the other leaders of the secret spy agency (Channing Tatum, too, of course) assemble around a board room table -- except they're not really there.  Each and every one of them is a hologram, thanks to incredible technology stuffed into a pair of ordinary-looking eyeglasses.

It’s a common trope in cinema, something James Bond and Ethan Hunt have used as well. And it simply isn’t possible with today’s augmented reality technology.

Read more
HoloLens 2 will have dark mode, 5G support when it launches globally this fall
hololens 2 dark mode launching new markets build 2020 microsoft hands on feature 768x768

At Build 2020, Microsoft has announced a number of new features for its HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality headset, as well as plans to launch in new markets around the globe. HoloLens 2 will also be getting 5G dongle support, plus a new dark mode and voice commands through a future software update, Microsoft announced on March 19.

According to Microsoft, the rollout of the headset to additional markets builds on the requests and feedback of customers who have been using the headset. It soon will be coming to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, and 11 other countries.

Read more
Oppo steps into augmented reality with its HoloLens-like AR Glass headset
oppo ar glass headset news

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 may have a new challenger next year. Smartphone maker Oppo has announced a pair of augmented reality glasses, and stated they will be released during the first three months of 2020. Oppo’s AR Glass headset is part of an effort to expand beyond only making smartphones, and was revealed alongside plans for a smartwatch and an Oppo-produced mobile processor.

Oppo's AR Glass is similar in design to HoloLens. A visor stretches across the front of the headset, attached to a band which holds it on your head, plus there is a forehead rest to keep it in position. This is not something designed for everyday wear, but more for home and industrial use. At home, Oppo says the AR Glass will be used for augmented reality content and games, while in the workplace, and somewhat less specifically, Oppo sees it being used for augmented reality services. These could include 3D modeling, planning, and design.

Read more