Microsoft is pretty much the only major player in the augmented reality market at the moment, despite the fact that the HoloLens hasn’t even been released yet, but some other players might be entering the field soon. We already know that ASUS is interested in developing its own, more affordable version of the HoloLens, but it looks like augmented reality headset’s first serious competitor might come from Lenovo. According to CTO Peter Hortensius, the Chinese company is definitely interested in augmented reality, even more so than virtual reality, but he didn’t elaborate on what kinds of hardware we can expect from the company, or when.
Microsoft’s HoloLens hasn’t even hit the market yet, but the idea of Lenovo bringing out a virtual-reality headset competitor is not at all far-fetched, according to the company’s chief technology officer, Peter Hortensius. “We’re comfortable with bringing these kinds of things to market as customer demand grows,” Hortensius said in an interview with the IDG News Service. The concept of virtual reality is already becoming popular, but Hortensius is especially hot on augmented reality, in which virtual objects are superimposed on top of the physical world via a headset like HoloLens. VR and AR are going to be big, and Lenovo wants to be a part of the fast-growing market, Hortensius said. Lenovo works closely with Microsoft, and Hortensius said HoloLens gives a good view on where the AR market is headed. Aside from hinting at a possible device, Hortensius didn’t give specifics about how the company would develop and release AR hardware. He said Lenovo was proud of whipping up innovations at a fast pace, indicating that developing a headset wouldn’t be an issue. Another option would be to license Microsoft’s proprietary HoloLens technology, which supports Windows 10, as a platform for AR. But Hortensius said Lenovo is capable of bringing out homegrown devices if the market dictates, much like it has in the past with PCs, TVs and mobile devices.
