Gadget Lab Podcast: A Deep Dive into Microsoft’s HoloLens 2

Microsoft just unveiled a brand new product, but it really doesn’t want to hype it. That’s according to Alex Kipman, technical fellow at Microsoft who is credited with inventing Kinect and HoloLens. Kipman joins the Gadget Lab podcast this week to talk about HoloLens 2, the next-generation mixed reality headset.

HoloLens 2 has some significant upgrades: It’s lighter, more comfortable, and “smarter” than the previous version. Due to a new, patented optics module, its field-of-view is larger. But if you’re an officer dweller or average tech consumer, you likely won’t be buying one, both because of its price ($3500) and because of who it’s built for. Microsoft is focused entirely on commercial clients; think frontline employees, field workers, and maintenance professionals.

“The majority of the world does not sit in front of desks all day, and a lot of these jobs are being digitally transformed,” Kipman told WIRED in an earlier interview. “Things are getting more complex. There’s much more need to travel around the world. Mixed reality, in those cases, can transform things.”

Also on this week’s show: What does the viral Momo hoax say about our internet tendencies? Is Facebook getting into crypto? And, Amazon’s Project Zero will shift responsibility for flagging counterfeits into the hands of the brands being copied.

Show notes: You can read all about the new HoloLens here. Also, here’s how to avoid falling for internet hoaxes.

Recommendations: Arielle recommends Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials by Malcolm Harris. Mike recommends Barbarian Days, a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir about surfing, by William Finnegan. Lauren recommends Russian Doll on Netflix, and does a terrible Natasha Lyonne impression while she’s at it.

Send the Gadget Lab hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes can be found at @pardesoteric. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode. Michael Calore can be found at @snackfight.

Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys.

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