Developer’s edition of HoloLens 2 launches today

Today Microsoft has launched the developer’s edition of HoloLens 2. This launch means that developers now have the ability to begin working on, and testing, experiences and applications intended for use on the public release of the device.

HoloLens 2 Development Edition is limited to one purchase per customer, preventing anyone from buying the device for sale too early. There are two payment options for HoloLens 2 for developers, the first is an outright on-off payment of $3,500, or there is a payment plan option which will cost $99 a month.

Prior to purchasing HoloLens 2 Development Edition developers must first register with Microsoft. This step helps to avoid one studio taking too many devices, but also prevents regular consumers from finding a way to cheat the system and get their hands on the device early.

Currently there are two other options for purchasing HoloLens 2 from Microsoft, though these are the releases intended for general consumers. To pre-order HoloLens 2 without any extras, just the device on its own, will cost $3,500 per device. No payment plan option is indicated. The second option for pre-ordering HoloLens 2 comes with Remote Assist and will cost $125 per month.

The Development Edition of HoloLens 2 comes with Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, as well as credit for Microsoft Azure at the value of $500. In addition, this package comes with a three month trial for Unity Pro, the development engine, and the plugin for CAD data, Pixyz.

Unreal Engine 4 support is set to be released for HoloLens 2 by the end of May. Microsoft announced this earlier in the year, but so far a support patch has yet to arrive.

No public release date for HoloLens 2 has been announced so far, but the fact that developers can now get their own device for prototyping purposes is encouraging. The more developers who can access and build experiences and applications for HoloLens 2, the bigger the lineup of launch titles for it when the public release date does come around.

One of the worst things that can happen to a device is for it to launch with little or no content. Microsoft is clearly taking steps here to ensure that doesn’t happen.