The HoloLens has the potential to be one of the most innovative and useful consumer devices and Microsoft has just shown off an Outlook mail and the calendar app used through the $3000 AR goggles in a surprisingly useful mixed-reality setting.
Checking your mail and meetings in mixed-reality could be the future with the HoloLens
With the new app, you can literally stay on top of the business of your life, reading those emails in the background while you fiddle with things in front of you. It takes productivity to a whole new and exciting level. This is the first time that it’ll be available painted directly in front of you without having to load it into a browser. It’s almost like physically interacting with it, though it doesn’t support the Kinect for Windows or LEAP motion controllers just yet.
Microsoft is pretty serious when it comes to integrating the HoloLens and augmented reality in general into Windows 10 in new ways that actually boost productivity. It’s true that it could probably help immensely if the kit gets into the right hands. The apps themselves were made with the Universal Windows Platform, as we’d expect.
If you happen to have a HoloLens, then you can download the new app by searching for Outlook Mail and Calendar apps within the Windows Store with the HoloLens firmly on your face. They’re looking for feedback and are open to hearing what you think should be new features they should add. It’s all kind of surreal, and an interesting development. It’ll be even better when we can actually use our hands and eyes to point, click and play with the environment like that, too.