At the beginning of 2015, Microsoft showed off the HoloLens, an ambitious headset that displays digital images over the world around you, using a technology commonly referred to as augmented reality (or "mixed reality," in Microsoft's parlance). Today at a big press event in New York City, the company announced that HoloLens will be available in the first quarter of 2016 starting at a price of $3,000 — but only for software developers.

Most importantly, the new HoloLens shipping to developers early next year will be a stand-alone product, "fully untethered — no wires, no phones, no connection to a PC required," according to Microsoft executive Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Windows and Devices group within the company. That's a huge improvement from Microsoft's earlier prototypes of the device, which were connected to a nearby PC with cables and wires.