Let's face it, holograms are cool; they epitomize just about everything we want to see out of future technology — an allure that often puts them at the center of a lot of our favorite pieces of science fiction. There's just one big problem: holograms, the convincing kind you see in movies, are really expensive to produce.
Given those cost constraints, when any company purports to offer a true hologram at a price that the average consumer can afford, it's worth noting. Looking Glass, a company operating out of Brooklyn New York and Hong Kong, is doing just that.
While Looking Glass' product, a 1.3 lbs. frame that displays a customizable hologram, isn't quite a full-scale Coachella projection, it's a pretty compelling bit of technology for something that's small enough to be placed on your desk. It's also fairly cheap compared to comparable technology, especially if you opt-in on its early bird price.
Picture-wise, the portrait is compatible with phones that have portrait mode like the iPhone X, 11, and 12. Those models of iPhone in particular capture 3D data using a sophisticated camera systems that can judge depth, and (with the newer models of iPhone) LiDAR.
The Portrait also supports Azure Kinect and Intel's RealSense, meaning it can connect with a camera and record holographic video. The company says this is a first step toward holographic video calls.
Looking Glass isn't alone in its quest to build an immersive holographic display. Sony is also working on a "Spatial Reality Display" that can project images in full 3D and costs $5,000 (a comparable display from Looking Glass costs $3,000).
If you're not looking to drop thousands on a still fairly experimental piece of technology, the Portrait may be a smarter choice for just getting your toes wet. To buy one, follow this link.