Microsoft began shipping its latest AR headset, HoloLens 2 in November. After a slow initial rollout, devices are getting out into the hands of more developers and reports have surfaced that many units are exhibiting significant color-consistency issues. Microsoft has acknowledged the problems and says its working with customers to understand the cause.
HoloLens 2 is Microsoft’s latest AR headset, boasting a larger field of view, greater resolution, and improved hand-tracking compared to the original HoloLens.
While the original headset wasn’t exactly know for a high level of color-consistency, several HoloLens 2 units that we’ve seen appear to be much worse off, showing an obvious rainbow-like pattern over virtual imagery displayed by the headset.
It’s unclear how widespread the issue is, but Microsoft confirmed that it’s aware of the problem and working to identify the cause. A Microsoft spokesperson shared the following with Road to VR:
“Microsoft continues to invest and innovate in the field of display technology. Microsoft HoloLens 2 contains a new type of display that more than doubles the field of view of the original HoloLens and is the result of a set of balanced display trade-offs. We are aware of reports from some developers experiencing issues with their displays and we’re working closely with them to understand the underlying cause.”
HoloLens creator Alex Kipman responded to a twitter user who posted pictures of the color-consistency issue.
#HoloLens2 The cat is out of the bag…@TonyRogersVAai @CharlieFink @Scobleizer pic.twitter.com/QsHnaMxjHb
— César Berardini (@cesarberardini) December 18, 2019
In a string of tweets Kipman said that photos of the headset’s display through a camera wouldn’t look accurate because the headset incorporates eye-tracking into its display. He also encouraged those with issues to reach out to contact him:
Friends, we have a binocular system that forms an image at the back of your eyes not in front of it. Eye tracking is fully in the loop to correct comfort which also includes color.
Eye relief (the distance from lens to your pupil) changes the image quality. Further out you are, worse the image quality becomes in terms of MTF as well as color uniformity.
Taking monocle pictures from a phone (or other camera) is completely outside of our spec and not how the product is experienced.
When you look at it with both eyes, at the right eye relief (somewhere between 12-30 mm from your eyes) with eye tracking turned on, you experience something very different.
If you are having issues experiencing our product, first our apologies, second please get a hold of us (akipman@microsoft.com is your friend) and let’s engage on how we can solve your issues. Team is fully leaned in and listening.
Granted, in all five or so of the HoloLens 2 units which I’ve personally tried, it was immediately apparent that the colors across the display were highly inconsistent, which was the impetus for asking Microsoft if they were aware of the issue. With a $3,500 price tag, I can understand why developers getting headsets with this issue would be concerned.
On the plus side, HoloLens 2 seems to be everything else that Microsoft has promised with regards to improved field of view, resolution, and hand-tracking. It also seems to have exceptional ergonomics (when used with the top strap) thanks to its light weight, balanced design, and large eyebox.
