Microsoft's HoloLens wins IDSA International Design Excellence Award

Despite all its limitations and being more than two years old now the Microsoft HoloLens remains the best mixed reality headset, with competitors either still to launch (see Magic Leap) or lacking in significant ways, such as being tethered, being even bulkier, not actually being head-mounted (see ARKit) or lacking in offering a real platform for developers.

The Industrial Designers Society of America has now honoured the device with a Best in Show award at IDSA IDEA ( International Design Excellence Award) in the segment of Consumer Technology.

The International Design Excellence Awards is a premier international design competition sponsored annually by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and judged by renowned design experts from around the world.

They write:

The Microsoft HoloLens is the first self-contained fully untethered holographic computer. It puts holograms right into a physical environment, giving the user a whole new way to see the world. HoloLens is immersive, but it doesn’t block out the real world. Instead, it embeds holographic content and applications into physical surroundings to see, place and interact as if the holograms are part of the physical world. This mixed reality is enabling new ways to create, communicate, work and play.

Despite the award the headset is currently believed to be out of production, with a successor only expected in 2019, meaning the device is likely to soon become a rare commodity.

Microsoft technology has won this award previously, including for Windows Phone and the Windows 10 Start Menu.