Sunday 24 February 2019 6:43 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 12:19 am

Microsoft goes all-in on holograms in the workplace with the new Hololens 2

Microsoft's long-awaited update to its mixed reality headset, the Hololens 2, has placed big bets on businesses including holograms in their day-to-day working life.

Revising several major issues to the 2016 Hololens such as comfort and immersion, the biggest change to the Hololens 2 is the price. Coming down 30 per cent from the cost of the original model, the Hololens 2 can be bought for $3,500 (£2,678) or via a subscription for $125 per month.

Unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft said the new headset is three times more comfortable than its predecessor. It features new capabilities such as eye-tracking to predict a user's intent, and a wider lens that more than doubles the field-of-view.

Chief executive Satya Nadella said the software giant aimed to "from day one, eliminate any learning curve" in business. "That’s what we’re building technology for, to give each of us superpowers."

Microsoft's Alex Kipman said the device is designed specifically for enterprise use, with the hope that everyone from construction workers to doctors and nurses will be able to customise the Hololens 2 to their business.

The launch follows an open letter to Nadella from Microsoft workers on Friday, which criticised the company for its involvement in a $480m deal to sell its mixed reality headsets to the US army.

The contract, which would see the Hololens used to "increase lethality" on the battlefield, followed similar calls last year for Microsoft to withdraw its bid for a $10bn Pentagon defence project.

"We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression," said the letter, which was signed by more than 50 employees.

"We are alarmed that Microsoft is working to provide weapons technology to the US military, helping one country's government 'increase lethality' using tools we built. We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used."

Microsoft's chief legal officer Brad Smith, who was also an addressee on the letter, wrote in a response last year that tech companies could not expect new developments such as artificial intelligence to be addressed by governments wisely if they withdraw from the conversation.

"This is a critical moment in Microsoft’s ambitious plans for Hololens and for mixed reality in general," said CCS Insight vice president of enterprise research Nick McQuire.

"The jury is still firmly out on whether Microsoft can convince companies to go all in on Hololens but if there is one company that can do it, it is probably Microsoft."