Top 8 Smart Glasses in Canada, 2026 - Expert Reviews & Buying Guide

• “I only got a small taste of Hololens 2 and I’m already chomping at the bit to see how it will fare in the real world. But at $3,500, the target audience is clearly limited for now.”

• “By pushing the boundaries of its design and technical specifications, HoloLens 2 offers a more immersive and comfortable mixed reality experience than ever before. The next sections will further delve into the technology powering this device and the user experience it offers.”

• “I can hardly wait for the future when I can place virtual manuals anywhere I need them when I’m working on my car and battle wizards with a future version of the Harry Potter Wizards Unite game.”

• “Microsoft's HoloLens 2 may look like it's designed for a very specific purpose, but the possibilities are endless with this mixed reality headset.”

• “I demoed Microsoft's software and also tried a few other apps. I sat down and tried opening web browsers, then played a game or two (yes, there are a couple). What really struck me was how windows could pop up and float on my desk, or in whatever formation I wanted.”

• “But the Bentley Holo — Lens 2 software doesn't just allow you to manipulate virtual objects, it allows you to manipulate time — sort of. By opening a new tool, this time while using the device in a solo capacity, I was presented with a sliding bar against calendar dates.”

• “With the Holo — Lens 2, Microsoft is looking to build on the handful of enterprise successes it has carved in the last five years, based on customer and user feedback. Specifically, the firm has looked to address ergonomics, immersion, and what it dubs time-to-value'.”

• “Well, the headset itself features two times the field of the view compared to the original HoloLens. There’s also fully articulated Hand Tracking, as well as Windows Hello and Eye Tracking. The headset can even map your hands and create a 3D model in the real world.”

• “The only real use of eye tracking I got to experience was a brief demo showing how my quick eye movements could pick a virtual object without even moving my head. I made little virtual crystals explode by staring at them and commanding them to burst.”

Loved13

• +

  Overall, if you’ve used the first-gen headset, you’ll be hard-pressed not to notice the difference here. If you haven’t, just know that this won’t feel as uncomfortably heavy on your head as other virtual reality headsets can.

  — TechRadar
• +

  That's one of the big improvements the Microsoft HoloLens 2 received, with the design being both smaller and lighter. We immediately noticed the weight difference when we put it on, and it's down to the company's new carbon fiber build.

  — TechRadar
• +

  Despite being lightweight, the Microsoft HoloLens 2 still feels premium. It's comfortable and easy to adjust, with a wheel at the back of the headset to either tighten or loosen the edges around your head.

  — TechRadar
• +

  There's padding all the way around, and we found it to sit securely on the head, too, so we weren't constantly worried it may fall off. This is a very expensive piece of kit to drop and break in your first five minutes of use.

  — TechRadar
• +

  Larger field of view

  — TechRadar
• +

  However, where the first HoloLens front-loaded all the hardware to be fitted just above the visor, the latest edition has distributed the internals more evenly across the band. The battery, for instance, is now fitted in the back.

  — IT Pro
• +

  The idea is that employees can now comfortably wear the device for multiple hours in a working day where previously there were recommended to wear the HoloLens for no more than an hour or two at a time.

  — IT Pro
• +

  With the Holo — Lens 2, employees can exploit a much wider field of view, as well as more intuitive gestures that fit around natural interactions used in day-to-day lives; think pinches, pulls and drags.

  — IT Pro
• +

  The Holo — Lens 2 features a raft of hardware improvements on the original headset. These include an array of improved sensors, namely four visible light cameras, two infrared cameras, a depth sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer.

  — IT Pro
• +

  The inclusion of a USB-C port in particular, against the Micro USB featured in the original device, is much-welcomed. The HoloLens 2's battery life is also improved from the first iteration's 2-3 hours, although exact figures are not yet available.

  — IT Pro
• +

  Intuitive eye and hand tracking

  — Tom
• +

  Aside from the comfort, the other notable feature of the headset is the visor, which can be flipped up in case you need to fully engage with the real world. It’s lightweight and swings up and down, easily latching into place.

  — Tom
• +

  The visor flips up now, like a welding helmet. It makes a big difference.

  — CNET

Criticised5

• −

  HoloLens 2 isn’t going to be a device you’ll buy on a whim. As it’s an enterprise-led product, it’s not as hard to stomach its high price, but it’s definitely not cheap in anyone’s book, least of all a typical consumer.

  — TechRadar
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  HoloLens was a well-designed mixed reality headset, but since it was a first-gen product, it was clear some improvements needed to be made in the future.

  — TechRadar
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  Moreover, typing on the virtual keyboard can only be done with your index fingers, which slows web-browsing considerably (though Bluetooth keyboard and mouse support is included), and it also means you’ll be tracking your hands as you use other devices which, as I write this...

  — UploadVR
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  The second point that Microsoft looked to address was the immersion factor. Holographs were previously consigned only to a narrow field of view of only a few square inches that immediately removed users from the immersive experience.

  — IT Pro
• −

  Hand tracking with the Hololens 2 does take some getting used to, as there were times the tracking was a little more exacting than I was expecting, causing me to reposition my fingers to grab on to the edges.

  — Tom