HoloLens has been an AR (or MR to some) headset that has managed to draw attention since the day it first came out. The starting price of this mixed reality headset, which is used for professional purposes on the corporate side, is $3500. New customized solutions are also available based on the demands of organizations from Microsoft.

On the consumer side, however, I hadn’t seen any steps taken until now. In fact, I could say I had lost hope after 6 years had passed since HoloLens was first announced. Today, when I saw Wall Street Journal writer Joanna Stern’s online interview with Microsoft’s Alex Kipman on Twitter , my first reaction was surprise.

Alex Kipman: “You can’t lead in a new computing medium if it doesn’t appeal to consumers. Therefore, we are definitely working on a consumer-focused approach for HoloLens. I am happy to confirm this and say that it is a very important part of our strategy.” By making this statement, he officially gave the good news of an augmented reality headset that will cater to the end-user.

Kipman, who did not specify any roadmap, price, release date, or specifications, shared the information that they are also working on HoloLens 3.

For my part, I would expect the price of a consumer-facing AR headset to be around $500. I hope it won’t make the mistakes Magic Leap did and will focus on a solution that is accessible to consumers, or more accurately, one they can accept. It is almost certain that the next 2-3 years will be quite active for AR/VR/MR/XR.