The HoloLens Inventor Thinks "the Phone Is Already Dead"

“People just haven’t realized.”

By Hope Corrigan

Microsoft's Alex Kipman, HoloLens inventor has proclaimed that mobile phones as a device are dead.

While discussing the medium, Bloomberg reports that Kipman is sure that the phones will soon be replaced by hybrid devices more akin to the HoloLens. “The phone is already dead,” he says. “People just haven’t realized.”

This sentiment is seemingly echoed throughout Microsoft as the company focuses on their other devices, despite the potential 1.5 billion smartphones likely to be sold this year.

Microsoft has said it would rather stay out of the mobile phone market entirely unless they can offer something truly different. Marketing chief Yusuf Mehdi has even stated  “We’re not going to come out with another device that someone’s done,” remarking on the stagnant nature of innovation within the industry.

HoloLens is Microsoft's entry into what it sees as the next generation of technology, which allows users to project holograms in augmented reality using the headset. Final units are available for preorder in some territories and are due to ship in late November.

We had an in-depth look at the tech late last year and although this may not be the next step for phones just yet, it convinced us that better things are definitely possible.

Hope Corrigan is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can find her on the internet.

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