Microsoft HoloLens v3 arrives in 2019, v2 will be skipped

Anonymous sources close to Microsoft told Paul Thurrott that the software giant decided to skip the next version of its HoloLens because it doesn't feel the need to launch an incremental update. The first version of the HoloLens was shown off two years ago, at that time Microsoft had a roadmap for the next couple of generations and it appears the company recently cancelled what would have become "HoloLens v2". Instead, Microsoft is focusing on accelerating the market availability of version 3 to preserve the lead it has build in the augmented reality market. The "HoloLens v3" device is expected to arrive in 2019 and should be a big improvement versus the currently available product.

Yes, 2019 is a considerable amount of time away but for Microsoft, if they would have built what was known as version two, the company would not be able to get version three delivered by 2019. In short, the company is making a bet that the advancements they are investing in today for the v3 version of Hololens are significant enough and add enough value to the product that it will make sure they continue to lead the segment by getting that device to the market earlier.

Of course, it’s always possible the device arrives before then but do not expect a new device this year and likely nor will one arrive next year, based on what I have been told. I did reach out to Microsoft for comment and they provided the following statement but it’s generic and doesn’t add any new context to the information already provided:

“Mixed reality is the future of computing, and Microsoft HoloLens is the future and present of mixed reality. Our commitment requires no roadmap”