One week ahead of its Build developer conference (May 6-8), Microsoft announced its HoloLens 2 Development Edition, a $3,500 package for developers working on the platform. It will also be available for $99 per month (for 36 months). The company didn’t reveal international pricing. The Development Edition “will be available for preorder soon and ship later this year,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Tom’s Hardware.
To be notified when the HoloLens 2 Development Edition becomes available for pre-order, join the Mixed Reality Developer Program.
The package comes with a HoloLens 2 headset, $500 in Azure credit and 3-month trials of Unity Pro and the PiXYZ CAD data plugin. All of these together should allow developers to build interactive AR experiences for enterprise.
Additionally, the company said Unreal Engine 4 support will be available by the end of May.
Developers who want to pre-order the HoloLens 2 Development Edition should join the Mixed Reality Developer Program, a Microsoft spokesperson said.
And, like the first HoloLens was, it appears HoloLens 2 is aimed at enterprise, not consumers. Specifically, in a press release, Microsoft referred to “professional mixed reality experiences using your industrial design data.”
The HoloLens 2 headset was first revealed at Mobile World Congress in February by Microsoft technical fellow Alex Kipman. It offers double the field of view of the original headset and will integrate with Azure and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
