SAN FRANCISCO - If last year's Microsoft developer conference was laser focused on Windows 10, Build 2016 is about planting the company flag in the nascent realm of augmented reality.
Standing out from the variety of keynotes and developer-focused sessions will be Microsoft's deliberate focus on HoloLens, the world's first large-scale rollout of an AR headset. Attendees to the conference, which sold out in minutes, will be able to demo HoloLens during Build, which starts Wednesday and ends Friday.
The $3,000 device begins shipping to hundreds of developers Wednesday, who are expected to create a suite of consumer-focused applications for a product that won't hit stores for another year or two.
Expect CEO Satya Nadella and other top Microsoft executives to tout HoloLens as the company's vision for how consumers will interact with their digital lives in the future. By layering holograms over the real world, users will be able to send emails, watch travelogues and play video games without disappearing into the occluded world of virtual reality goggles.
While a lot of attention is being focused this year on high-end VR gear, such as the recently released Oculus Rift, AR ultimately promises to be 75% of a $120 billion AR/VR market by 2020, according to industry advisors Digi-Capital. Microsoft clearly intends to get a jump on the competition, which includes the intriguing AR work being done by secretive Florida-based company MagicLeap and Silicon Valley start-up Meta.
This futuristic Microsoft showpiece aside, Build should also provide insights into how Microsoft plans to keep Windows 10 momentum building (the operating system is now active on more than 200 million devices) once its one-year free download window ends this summer.
Other topics to keep an eye on include further developments to Cortana, Microsoft's voice-controlled virtual assistant; updates on Azure, the cloud computing platform that has made impressive gains on Amazon's long dominant market position; and enhancements to the company's Office products, which now include Skype for Business and digital pioneer Ray Ozzie's Talko app that is reminiscent of workplace communication platform Slack.
In January, Microsoft announced its sixth straight quarter of EPS beats, which reaffirms that Nadella, now two years into a radical company turnaround, has picked the right goals for the onetime software-selling king.
The CEO and longtime Microsoft employee has vowed to reshape the company into nimble cloud- and mobile-first enterprise that is a leading player in enterprise work solutions, casting aside a losing model in an age that continues to see declining global PC sales.
Developers are seen as critical to any tech company's dreams of mass adoption. Much as the iPhone became a hit thanks to the millions of apps created by outside parties, so Microsoft hopes to continue to expand the functionality of its operating system with the addition of innovative applications that mesh with consumers' personal and work lives.
Stay with USA TODAY for coverage of the opening keynote as well as other big highlights from Microsoft Build.
Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter @marcodellacava
