Microsoft has axed its HoloLens 2 blended actuality headset and there will not be a {hardware} alternative, The Register can affirm.
An organization spokesperson informed us: “Microsoft is not producing Microsoft HoloLens 2, and now we have signaled a final time to purchase for patrons and companions. Assist for HoloLens 2, together with safety updates, will finish on December 31, 2027.
“We are going to proceed to spend money on blended actuality alternatives with first-party software program options and providers, partnering with the broader cell phone and blended actuality {hardware} ecosystem.”
In order that’s that then.
The HoloLens 2 was unveiled in early 2019 and started delivery to clients later that yr. 5 years on, Microsoft has pulled the plug on the gadget.
A consultant of an organization specializing in digital and augmented actuality functions who spoke to The Reg stated he was shocked on the announcement. Not as a result of it’s a shock HoloLens 2 is gone, he informed us, however fairly that he’d thought it had been canned years in the past. In any case, in 2022, HoloLens boss Alex Kipman left Microsoft. Many believed the writing was on the wall after the gadget largely did not characteristic at that yr’s Construct occasion.
Our supply mused: “I suppose they thought the tech and supplies had reached the head of what is at the moment doable whereas additionally being commercially viable. Magic Leap is transferring to a ‘license the tech’ mannequin as nicely. So go away it to Meta to pour in billions for incremental beneficial properties and excellent the screens. Then let AI work out tips on how to commercialize it and shrink it.”
Microsoft’s determination comes shortly after Apple launched its Imaginative and prescient Professional headset, with an eye-watering $3,499 price ticket, just about the identical because the HoloLens 2. Microsoft has type releasing merchandise parallel to Apple gadgets. There was the Pill PC, which the iPad has since overshadowed, and the Microsoft Band, which was quietly dropped after the Apple Watch stole the wearables present.
However what of present HoloLens clients? The US Military has been working with the Home windows big on bringing the headsets to the battlefield, or no less than into the barracks. Microsoft stated: “We stay absolutely dedicated to the IVAS program with the US Division of Protection.” ®