14 DAY TRIAL // HoloLens is definitely Microsoft’s most exciting product and the biggest innovation it has created in a long time, but for the moment, the Redmond-based tech giant is yet to release a consumer version that would allow us to experience the world of holograms and benefit from all the features that the company has presented at its latest events.
And yet, while Microsoft needs more time to bring HoloLens to the market (a developer version for $3,000 will become available in early 2016), others might actually step in and develop their very own versions of the augmented-reality glasses that could hit the market a lot sooner at more affordable prices.
Asus is one of the companies that are very interested in such a project, and in an interview with CNET, company executives have confirmed that such a project is currently on the table. Microsoft has already stated that with HoloLens, it just wants to start a new device category, which could then be available for other manufacturers too, so the company might actually work together with Asus on their own glasses.
“Wait and see”
Jonney Shih, Asus' chairman, and Terry Myerson, Microsoft's executive vice president of Windows, both confirmed plans for such a device, but the information that is available right now is quite limited.
"Everything we're doing in hardware, we do with the mind of how do we grow the Windows ecosystem," Myerson said, pointing out that the project is on the table and Asus could be the one that might actually benefit from the improvements it makes in this category. "That is why we're investing to create a category."
Shih, on the other hand, has refused to comment on their own version of HoloLens, but he suggested that it might be indeed under consideration behind closed doors.
“Wait and see,” he briefly said when asked about an Asus version of HoloLens.
If this is indeed the case, the new device is expected to be much more affordable than HoloLens and depending on how much Microsoft is ready to share with partners, it could be slightly different in terms of features. Either way, expect more information to emerge in 2016, when the project could actually take shape.