Hololens price estimate

[DanielJoseph7]

i would think that something using this type of technology would be in the 10,000 dollar range. But if they want to compete with google glass then 1500-2000 would be the way to do it

I can tell you 10 grand is far off, trust me. But the hardware behind it isn't incredibly expensive. 1000-2000$(USD) is my conclusion from large amounts of research and collecting of opinions.

 

[xandros9]

Also remember the R&D costs probably factoring in, as well as being new and the tech outside of just the specs.

 

[OsirisGaming]

A top of the line Atom tablet with a big battery like Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro costs $500 (13"), $370 (10").
A Kinect 2.0 sensor for PC costs $200.

That's why I would say the minimum price is at least $600.

A top of the line Atom tablet with a big battery does not have to cost $500. Thats just part of Lenovo's profit margin. As microsoft has down with the Xbox, they are willing to lose money on the hardware to sell services. A top of the line Atom tablet only costs about $100 to make. We already see HP Atom tablets for $99. And any argument about Cherry trail vs ivy trail doesn't hold water because Intel traditionally does not price its lower end chips that way. I bet that chip will cost no more than $20 in the quantities Microsoft will order them in,

The Kinect 2 sensor was priced at $200 only because it was a retail product, but again, it only has $20 worth of parts. The real price will be when they add up all the costs and then choose an appropriate profit margin based on their intended goal. I believe they can manage to build it for less than $300.

 

[bilzkh]

​It really depends on how quickly Microsoft plans to push this to market and how far they are in the product development cycle. I honestly do believe that Microsoft's aiming to offer a consumer grade HoloLens in 12-24 months. For one thing, this is still an ill-defined market, the floor is wide open and Microsoft has the opportunity to define and own it, and in turn, have developers orbit around the HoloLens. Focusing on the enterprise landscape is good, but I don't think it will compensate for not winning over developers focused on consumer applications and solutions.

I think Microsoft will aim for a $499 price-point, $599 tops. I'm not worried about the Cherry Trail CPU, RAM or even display technology driving up costs, the main concern is whatever the HPU is and the Kinect/camera and sensor technology. But at this stage, honestly, I think Microsoft has a lot of that down flat. They've been working on this for a few years now and I can't imagine them showcasing this as a viable product if a consumer grade version weren't close.

 

[anon(9057135)]

As a teenager who is still in school, I hope its around 300-400$. I want of these so f#$@%#$ bad.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

​

I think Microsoft will aim for a $499 price-point, $599 tops.

If you are accurate, I'd buy one in a second!

 

[Santos lil elpair]

No way will it cost less than a surface...first versions of it will be a few thousand dollars.

 

[Nicholas Maguire]

I'd really love it to be $500-600, but if I'm being realistic, it'd be around $1500, sadly.

 

[Andre du Toit]

I totally disagree with you. Nvidia has made huge strides in the mobile graphics market with its very powerful Tegra K1 chip, and there is the K2 to be released this year which is more than 2x as poweful as the K1. These graphic chips are also very cheap. And Quallcom and Mediatek has very powerful 64bit CPU chips coming out in next coming few months. Mediatek chips range from $5 to $15 per chip, depending on speed etc. No need for Intel i7's expensive chips. Also, the Tegra K2 and Mediatek 2x octa core 64 bit 2,7ghz cpus uses far less battery power. You do not have a screen, instread you have tiny lasers which is also cheaper than Amoled or IPS etc to manufacture.

 

[vikassolankiii]

200-500$

 

[jayblazer]

I think Microsoft will use this product as a loss leader. This is a product that could change society in the same way smart phones or video games have. If they sell this in a way that makes people invest heavily into the Microsoft eco system "Xbox music, movies, Windows phone, Surface, Microsoft Band and Windows" then they stand to make much more money in the long run. Remember that Microsoft is still new at hardware "with the exception of xbox" and trying to get there foot in the door is not easy. This would kick it open..
Apple just closed the other day with a value of 700 billion. that was accomplished on the strength of their brand.
They Have very few products that are truly successful, but the ones that are sell Millions upon Millions of units. and then people buy their music and movies through that eco system. And I bet a lot of people who start with an iPhone buy a Macintosh computer because they are familiar with the ecosystem.
Microsoft "and every other company on the planet" want's a chunk of that pie. And this is there best chance at taking a bite.
With all that said I think they will have a few different sku's for this product with a range between $399-$799. If they do go with a higher price tag like $799 I think you will see them offered through companies like Verizon and At&t with subsidies.

 

[DavidinCT]

I guess it all depends on the market they want to hit with it. As it has appeal for everyone, the price point would kill it.

If they are going for the business/corporate end with high end parts, Yea, the $1500-3000 I would bet would be the price range. This would be for specialty things like shown on the demo. It does fit in this area and would probably sell pretty well, just not very high volume.

If they are trying to do mass sales, with the consumer for home use, it would have to be around the $199 to 399 price range. This all depends where they are planning to go with it. If it will be an add-on for the Xbox one, then the $200-300 range would have to be there. If it's PC only based, geared for the consumer then $300-500.

Besides people with a TON of money burning holes in their pocket, the $1K price point will not sell to the consumer. No matter how cool it is, I wont pay $1K for it...

The bigger issue is, If it's for the Xbox one (crossing fingers for PC/Xbox one) They need to keep the price low, so consumers will buy it and the more that is out there, the more software will come.

It may be the coolest thing out there right now but, with out any media or software, it's just a neat set of glasses that you will use 2-3 times and sit on a shelf.

The success of this device will ALL depend on pricing and software/content.

 

[todd7900]

I can't believe anyone believes this will run on a mobile chip. It's going to be at least in the range of the Surface Pro 3, and since they are selling like hotcakes lately the price point must be Ok.

 

[Jmedhawk93]

One thing to keep in mind, when guessing the cost of new product is the targeted market. Companies don't always make a profit on the actual hardware but rather the software. An example of this is with the PlayStation and Xbox consoles.On average for each system sold the Manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft respectably, lost 500 dollars a unit. If Microsoft thinks that this is the next great advancement in the computer world and wants to reach the largest possible market I would expect the price range to be in that of the standard computer or tablet range. Most likely in the 500-1000 USD range. Of course this all depends on the direction that Microsoft wants to go after the failure of the Google Glass Initiative. The Google Glass was an expensive piece of hardware that failed in part to the price and part to the same reason as 3d technology failed; most people in the general public don't want to have to wear glasses to view things. So, my opinion, is that Microsoft would need to make Hololens on the cheaper side in order to get a larger number of people invested in the hardware, that would want to pay for the software. Most likely the 500-750 USD range. Or to even have the Hololens be a single piece of additional hardware that you buy seperate from your computer in the range of 200-400 USD.

 

[Yazen]

At least, I can't imagine this thing running on at least an i5, probably a i7 processor and who knows what graphics set. This has to be in the range of a high end Surface. Those thinking $300-$500 are dreaming.

Supposedly HoloLens will be operating on the Intel Atom platform. It is pretty clear Microsoft is aiming to enter at a more consumer friendly price, but I doubt they will price any lower than $500.

I do not know why the HoloLens would need "i5" level processing with flagship graphics.

-Firstly, it has already been stated that the sensors have a dedicated processing unit separate from the CPU.
-Secondly, the HoloLens is not rendering entire environments.
-Thirdly, take a look at existing implementations. Kinect on the Xbox One takes a small fraction of CPU resources, and the CPU on the Xbox One is comparable to what you get on an Intel ATOM BayTrail CPU in terms of raw computing capability.
____

An entry level price could be anywhere north of $500. Depends on market reaction, manufacturing costs, r&d, etc.

 

[Yazen]

I can't believe anyone believes this will run on a mobile chip. It's going to be at least in the range of the Surface Pro 3, and since they are selling like hotcakes lately the price point must be Ok.

Nope. The sensors have a dedicated, realtime processor that specializes in positional computations.

Let me give you an example you might be able to relate to, just hear me out ;p

• You have a TV right? Quite possibly an HDTV with that awesome "120Hz/240Hz" cinematic effect!
• That effect is created through interlacing algorithms
• Without a dedicated processor, you would need a very hefty CPU and/or GPU to accomplish a similar effect.
• Try this: SmoothVideo Project (SVP) - motion estimated frame interpolation with any video player and frame doubling in real-time
• Watch how much CPU resources are being consumed
• You are not going to tell me that your Television has an i7 Processor for the sake of a cinematic effect are you?

When Microsoft developed HoloLens they did not imagine a consumer tethered to a flagship desktop.

 

[TASWinFan]

If we take into account the recent report of microsoft having considered giving away the original xbox, then I could see them making hololens cheap and taking a loss, but enabling the average consumer to buy hololens would allow for a rapid user growth.

I mean if they are giving windows 10 free, and they were considering giving away the original xbox, I think anything is possible

 

[Motor_Mouth]

At least, I can't imagine this thing running on at least an i5, probably a i7 processor and who knows what graphics set. This has to be in the range of a high end Surface. Those thinking $300-$500 are dreaming.

It runs on an Atom chip, the new Cherry Trail. This is a known fact about HoloLens (one of the very few).

But MS cannot make the same mistake Google made and that they made with the Xbox One.

Both are different situations. Glass was a phone accessory and X-Box One had competition. HoloLens is the first of a new class of device and it is a stand-alone product, so none of those lessons apply here.

I think most people just want to get their hands on one at almost any costs. I would guess that the console will cost around 1500 and another 500-700 for the headset. It's a lot but I would still buy it.

It IS the headset, there is no console.

I totally disagree with you. Nvidia has made huge strides in the mobile graphics market with its very powerful Tegra K1 chip, and there is the K2 to be released this year which is more than 2x as poweful as the K1. These graphic chips are also very cheap. And Quallcom and Mediatek has very powerful 64bit CPU chips coming out in next coming few months. Mediatek chips range from $5 to $15 per chip, depending on speed etc. No need for Intel i7's expensive chips. Also, the Tegra K2 and Mediatek 2x octa core 64 bit 2,7ghz cpus uses far less battery power. You do not have a screen, instread you have tiny lasers which is also cheaper than Amoled or IPS etc to manufacture.

All irrelevant. We already know what CPU it will use (see above).

The bigger issue is, If it's for the Xbox one (crossing fingers for PC/Xbox one) They need to keep the price low, so consumers will buy it and the more that is out there, the more software will come.

It's not for anything, it is a stand-alone device running Windows 10.

OK, my take is this - it is not just a new product, it is a whole new platform. When did anyone offer a whole new platform on the cheap? Product price is never simply a reflection of the cost of making it, it is based on what the manufacturer believes they can get away with charging. That means it is going to come down to what Microsoft want to achieve with it. From the demos we know for sure that they see it as a consumer device, not just something for business or government, but I don't think they'll want to hit the market too hard with the first gen device, much as Apple only sold the first iPhone in the US and didn't get carried away until they were sure they had a solid platform.

Put these things together and I think a lot of people who want HoloLens to be cheap are going to be seriously disappointed. I'm expecting it to be somewhere in the range of $1000-$2000 but even if it's $5000 I will still be first in line for one. I am usually not an early adopter but this thing seems like the future to me and I want in on it from the get-go.

 

[Yazen]

It runs on an Atom chip, the new Cherry Trail. This is a known fact about HoloLens (one of the very few).

Both are different situations. Glass was a phone accessory and X-Box One had competition. HoloLens is the first of a new class of device and it is a stand-alone product, so none of those lessons apply here.

It IS the headset, there is no console.

All irrelevant. We already know what CPU it will use (see above).

It's not for anything, it is a stand-alone device running Windows 10.

OK, my take is this - it is not just a new product, it is a whole new platform. When did anyone offer a whole new platform on the cheap? Product price is never simply a reflection of the cost of making it, it is based on what the manufacturer believes they can get away with charging. That means it is going to come down to what Microsoft want to achieve with it. From the demos we know for sure that they see it as a consumer device, not just something for business or government, but I don't think they'll want to hit the market too hard with the first gen device, much as Apple only sold the first iPhone in the US and didn't get carried away until they were sure they had a solid platform.

Put these things together and I think a lot of people who want HoloLens to be cheap are going to be seriously disappointed. I'm expecting it to be somewhere in the range of $1000-$2000 but even if it's $5000 I will still be first in line for one. I am usually not an early adopter but this thing seems like the future to me and I want in on it from the get-go.

The average consumer is not going to pay $1500 for a device like this. Not like I am going to be replacing AutoCAD or SolidWorks for a clearly inferior CAD solution. If I wanted to be tethered to a PC, I'd probably buy the Rift. Afterall, the development kits are $300, so I would expect the retail unit to cost less than $1500 ....

If they want to charge more than $500 they better ship with some serious solutions.

 

[BackToVoid]

I guest it may be 1.5 ~ 2 * (Google glass price).:sweaty: