In other words, the HoloLens is only a crucible for the new borderless Microsoft Mr. Nadella is seeking to create. No pressure.

‘A Decent Batting Average’

There is a short list of big technology companies that have staged comebacks that restored them to their former glory. Arguably, that list contains just one name: Apple.

Microsoft, which passed the 40th anniversary of its founding in April, is an easy target for critics because its golden era, the 1990s, was eons ago on the digital calendar. For today’s young entrepreneurs and software developers, it’s hard to believe the Microsoft of 2015, defanged by antitrust battles and strategic missteps, once ruled the industry.

It’s also easy to overstate Microsoft’s problems. With $22 billion in profit last year, $87 billion in revenue and a cash pile over $95 billion, it often trades places with Google as the second most valuable technology company in the world after Apple. Windows and the Office suite of productivity software continue to print money, especially from corporate customers, despite a spate of premature obituaries. While Mr. Ballmer was harshly criticized for his tin ear on technology, more than a dozen new products released under his watch exceeded $1 billion in annual revenue.

Imposing, yes, but Microsoft is rarely named among the future-defining tech companies of today, especially when it comes to the consumer businesses. It is nearly always an afterthought following Amazon, Apple ,Google and Facebook.

In the interview in early April, Mr. Nadella argued that Microsoft’s misses should be put in perspective.

“What gets lost is we wouldn’t be who we are and as successful as we have been if we didn’t have a decent batting average,” Mr. Nadella said, sitting on a couch in the same understated and window-lined office once occupied by Mr. Ballmer and, before that, Bill Gates. “I think we would be dead and gone if we were just mostly failing. It’s just that our average in the last five years has not been as great as, let’s say, Apple’s.”