Magic Leap 2 Vs Hololens 2: Which To Buy & Why?

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In comparison to the people I’m meeting, AWE 2022 is completely insane. A growing number of people are asking me, “Hey Tony, what should I absolutely try at this AWE?” Since this afternoon, I’ve been wondering, “When will Magic Leap 2 be released?” Please excuse me while I explain my reasoning.

Due to the short duration of my Magic Leap 2 experience, I can only provide you with a first impressions article. As a result, you should take what I say here with a grain of salt because a thorough understanding of a product can only be gained through extensive use. Surprisingly, my brief experience with Magic Leap 2 left me with the impression that it is a high-end product that easily outperforms HoloLens 2 in terms of visual quality. And this is not a fabrication.

However, the HoloLens 2 is widely regarded as the best AR headset available today. It was released in 2019, but I have yet to try it due to the high cost and the pandemic that has prevented me from travelling. But now, thanks to VR Expert, a company that sells and rents augmented reality and virtual reality headsets, I’ve had the opportunity to put this device through its paces for a few days. I’ve decided to share my thoughts on the HoloLens 2 with you because I’m so excited.

Magic Leap 2 vs Hololens 2: Comparison Table

Features	Magic leap 2	Hololens 2
Launching Year	2022	2022
Brand	Magic Leap	HoloLens
Model Name	Magic Leap VR 2	Hololens VR 2
CPU	AMD 7 MM	Qualcomm Snapdragon
Available Colors	Black	Black
Weight	260 g	566 G
Camera	12.6 MP	12.8 mP
Storage	256 GB	64 gB
Battery	3.5 Hrs	2 hrs
Online Price Ranges	NA	RS. 4,98,000
Customer Ratings	4.2/5	3.8\5

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Magic Leap 2 vs Hololens 2: Detailed Analysis

Design

The HoloLens 2 is an attractive piece of technology. It’s much more portable and lightweight in person than it appears in videos, and it gives the impression of holding a high-quality item. The black colour and fabric coatings suggest a high-quality, business-oriented tool.

I didn’t feel weighed down when I put the Magic Leap 2 on my head. Surprisingly, there was no knob or other similar fitting mechanism, so I simply grabbed the back of the headband with both hands and pulled it apart to loosen it, and pushed it together to tighten it. Extremely simple to grasp and highly effective.

The true annoyance of the device is that it is a headset rather than a standalone computer; you must still wear a compute pack that is connected to the device via a cable. The cable did not cause any issues during my brief testing, but having to wear two devices at once (as is the case with the HoloLens 2) did increase the amount of friction I experienced.

Visuals

The visuals on the HoloLens 2 disappointed me greatly. You’ve probably heard or read about the “rainbows” that people have seen through the headset. I had the rainbow wallpaper on my phone as well… and not just that!

My device had every problem I could think of. The colour inconsistency, or “rainbow vision,” was striking even with a white virtual image in front of me (like a Window of the OS). I could see swaths of colour all across my visual field as if multiple rainbows had been superimposed on the virtual objects. I could only make out some inconsistency (almost as if it were mura) on colored pieces, but it was very noticeable and unsettling on white.

Let’s get back to the point of this conversation: the visuals of Magic Leap 2: I looked at a demo in which I could pan, zoom, and move a 3D city map while also inspecting various UI panels related to it.

The enhancements worked well, the demo text was legible, and the colours were adequate; they weren’t the brightest I’d seen, but they weren’t the dullest either. Rainbows and other visual anomalies from the HoloLens 2 were not present here. In general, the virtual components appeared to be very well done. It was occasionally distracting to see a rainbow of colours reflected on the inside of the lenses, but I quickly realized that it was caused by all of the lights in the expo hall behind me.

The “holograms” in this headset were only partially opaque, as with other augmented reality headsets.

The field of view (FOV) surprised me; it is significantly larger in Magic Leap 2 than in Magic Leap 1 and even larger than HoloLens 2. The company took a risk by increasing the depth of field in the vertical direction, and the payoff has been spectacular.

Tracking

Both the headset and the controller provided accurate positional tracking, which allowed me to play the augmented reality game without issue. I haven’t put the controller through its paces, so I can’t say how it reacts to fast motion. However, considering the slow movements inherent in a point-and-click adventure, it performed admirably. The onboard camera tracking worked flawlessly; I had no idea it was happening

The augmentations remained mostly in place even as I moved and rotated my head, demonstrating a strong tracking algorithm. However, when you move your head (e.g., turn your head) or walk, the virtual elements exhibit some chromatic aberration and slight shaking.

To provide integrated audio, the Hololens 2 has two speakers built into the bottom of the headband and the top, right above the user’s ears. The audio quality is excellent, and I have an average hearing. The Valve Index and the Vive Focus 3 aren’t as impressive, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. The volume is controlled by two buttons on the device. One surprise about the HoloLens was the lack of a standard 3.5mm jack for connecting custom headphones. This jack is found in almost every other VR headset on the market. They most likely did not include the option to use custom isolating headphones because the designers did not believe it would be comfortable for them to wear themselves.

Magic Leap 2 vs Hololens 2: Quick Result

Particulars	Magic Leap 2	Hololens 2	Which one is the best?
Battery Life	Good	Amazing	Any
Processor	AMD	Snapdragon	Hololens 2
Camera Quality	Great	Great	Any

Magic Leap 2 vs Hololens 2: Final Verdict

The Magic Leap 2 has been my favourite product of the day for two reasons: the FOV (field of view) and the dimming (which makes the holograms opaque and allows us to see the black in AR). It appeared to be a well-made product, with visuals that were even better than the Hololens 2. Magic Leap can truly become the market leader in the enterprise augmented reality sector if it can find a good cloud partnership to compete with HoloLens’ cloud offerings (Azure’s are pretty good).

My brief experience with the HoloLens 2 confirms its position as the best-augmented reality (AR) headset on the market. However, I’m not completely satisfied; it’s actually worse than I expected.

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