Microsoft discontinues its HoloLens headsets, with no sight of a replacement
Microsoft has ceased production of its HoloLens and HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headsets, and there’s no replacement in sight.
Existing owners are going to continue receiving updates to “address critical security issues and software regressions” until the end of 2027, UploadVR has learned. Both the original HoloLens and HoloLens 2 are being discontinued. Microsoft will allegedly stop providing software support for the original HoloLens on December 10.
The writing has been on the wall for some time, especially with former HoloLens head Alex Kipman departing the company in 2022 and several rounds of Microsoft layoffs that affected the HoloLens 2 team heavily.
Microsoft is discontinuing its HoloLens headsets
Microsoft unveiled the original HoloLens in 2015, priced at $3000. The mixed-reality device looked like it came straight out of the future, using positional tracking technology based on Microsoft’s discontinued Kinect accessory for the Xbox.
A HoloLens successor was unveiled in 2019 with a starting price of $3,500 in the United States, the same as Apple’s Vision Pro headset. The HoloLens headsets never took off as mainstream products. Instead, Microsoft changed its marketing strategy and began pitching them to enterprise customers, who could rent a HoloLens from Microsoft instead of paying the full price.
Curiously, Apple seems to be stuck in a similar place. Its Vision Pro headset generated headlines, but usage has dropped due to a lack of compelling content, use cases and high price. Instead of working its way from the bottom up, Apple built a spatial computing platform using an overpriced device.
Apple’s problems are exacerbated by Meta’s new Quest 3S, which sells for just $300, or less than one-tenth of the Vision Pro’s price. People predominantly use augmented reality headsets to play games and enjoy immersive media. Given the choice between Apple’s overpriced hardware and the new Quest 3S, most people in the market for an affordable headset are going to pick Meta, not Apple.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2024/10/01/microsoft-discontinues-microsoft-hololens-headsets/
Leave a Reply