Skip to main content

The Meta 2 dev kit makes the HoloLens look like an expensive toy

While PC gamers prepare to cloister themselves away in VR experiences this spring, the first wave of augmented reality headsets is already in the thick of development. It’s about to get a huge push forward though, thanks to the Meta 2 headset, which embarrasses other options with its wealth of features and turbo-charged specs.

The headset will be focused on productivity and collaboration.

Recommended Videos

But the Meta 2 is much more impressive than other AR headsets that we’ve seen. Rather than just a small hologram area like the Hololens, the Meta 2 boasts a huge 90-degree field of view. It’s also a full-fledged 1,440p screen, thanks to a mirrored overhead display. While we don’t know the specifications of the screen on the HoloLens, the Meta’s experience is almost certainly higher quality than the headset we tested back in May of 2015.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

There’s also a 720p webcam on the front, but the real trick is in the sensors. The sensor array in the Meta 2 handles hand and location tracking for the headset, allowing for a completely hand-controlled experience. It also means no stationary tracking fixtures, like the HTC Vive’s lighthouse.

Granted, this version of the Meta is tethered to a computer via a 9-foot cable, either HDMI 1.4b or DisplayPort. Eventually the headset will be a standalone device, but like competitors, the technology isn’t quite there at an affordable price. The Meta has a relatively affordable $949 price tag, while HoloLens pre-orders cost $3,000.

And Meta isn’t just about creating a headset, it’s about a shift in design principles to the idea that “you are the operating system.” There are no gestures to learn for hand control, you just reach out and grab, spin, or pinch. As Meta CEO Meron Gribetz put it during his TED Talk, “We are creating an experience that merges the art of user interface design with the science of the brain, creating ‘natural machines’ that feel like extensions of ourselves rather than the other way around.”

You can still interact in augmented reality space with familiar control methods like a keyboard, or a Web browser. In fact, right out of the box, the Meta 2 supports Microsoft Office, the Adobe Creative Suite, and Spotify, and it’s all built on Unity, an increasingly popular VR and AR platform.

It’s worth pointing out that this version of the headset is designed specifically with developers in mind. It’s lightweight and comfortable, while still coming on and off easily for testing and coding. Ultimately, the headset will be focused on productivity and collaboration, with multiple headsets syncing up to show the same content, and allowing both users to interact with it simultaneously.

If you decide this is a platform you want to develop for, Meta 2 pre-orders are open for $949 with a Q3 ship date, but keep in mind you’ll also need a powerful PC to run this sort of hardware and tracking at the same time.

Brad Bourque
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad Bourque is a native Portlander, devout nerd, and craft beer enthusiast. He studied creative writing at Willamette…
Meta believes VR haptic gloves could unlock the future of the metaverse
Meta researcher holding prototype haptic glove.

The metaverse seems to be coming, as is the futuristic hardware that will increase immersion in virtual worlds. Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has shared how its efforts to usher in that new reality are focusing on how people will actually feel sensations in a virtual world.

The engineers at Meta have developed a number of early prototypes that tackle this goal and they include both haptic suits and gloves that could enable real-time sensations.

Read more
Meet the Illuminarium: The multisensory theater that makes IMAX look prehistoric
illuminarium spacewalk

“When you walk in, you will feel like you are there,” said Alan Greenberg. “You see it with the best projection systems in the world. You hear it with what we think is the best, [most] technologically advanced sound systems in the world. You feel it through the low frequency haptic systems in our floor. You smell it through our sense systems. And you actually affect it; you're part of the narrative through our lidar-based interactive [technology]. You put all that together, and we really capture your entire visual central framework in a way that no place that I know of has done [before].”

What is Illuminarium? :60 sec

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