Microsoft has returned with a new iteration of the HoloLens, the company's mixed-reality headset effort. Available for preorder now and shipping later this year, the $3,500 sequel improves upon its 2016 predecessor with 2K displays offering a 52-degree FOV, eye-tracking sensors, and better comfort. It also features superior battery life, having switched out Intel's Cherry Trail parts for an ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon 850.

Compared to the HoloLens we first saw demonstrated four years ago, the second version is better in nearly every important way. It's more comfortable, it has a much larger field of view, and it's better able to detect real physical objects in the room. It features new components like the Azure Kinect sensor, an ARM processor, eye-tracking sensors, and an entirely different display system. It has a couple of speakers, the visor flips up, and it can see what your hands are doing more accurately than before. There's an 8-megapixel front-facing camera for video conferencing, it's capable of full 6 degrees of tracking, and it also uses USB-C to charge. It is, in short, chock-full of new technology. But after four years, that should be no surprise.