Microsoft finally gives up on Hololens 2
We haven't heard much about the Hololens 2 in years, with a successor in doubt. Now it's officially dead.
Microsoft has quietly informed its partners and customers about the end of the product, and has now confirmed to UploadVR that the Hololens 2 will be discontinued. The remaining devices will be sold while stocks last.
Hololens 2 will continue to receive "updates to address critical security issues and software regressions" until 31 December 2027, after which software support will end.
Work continues on the military Hololens called IVAS. The US Army plans to conduct further tests in early 2025, before deciding on full-scale production in late 2025, UploadVR reports.
Update: Here is an excerpt from Microsoft's notification to partners and customers.
On Friday, Microsoft announced the End of Life for HoloLens 2 as Dec 31, 2027 and a "Last Time Buy" to their Mixed Reality Partner Program. The end of life for HoloLens (1st Gen) is Dec 10, 2024, devices will "continue to function, however will no longer receive security updates… pic.twitter.com/hf7aMvsNT1
— Kent Bye (Voices of VR) (@kentbye) September 30, 2024
The Hololens 2 has been dead for years
The Hololens 2 was released in 2019, and was the leading enterprise AR headset.
But demand seems to have fallen short of Microsoft's expectations. From 2022, there were increasing reports that the hardware would be discontinued. Around the same time, Microsoft began laying off staff from its own mixed reality division. At the beginning of 2024, it was said that Microsoft would stick with Hololens 2. It shows how Microsoft feels about the device that the end of the hardware wasn't even worth a press release.
With the end of Windows Mixed Reality and Hololens 2, Microsoft is no longer offering VR or AR hardware. Instead, the company is focusing on software and is working with Meta in this area. Meta recently unveiled its own prototype AR glasses called Orion, which have a much smaller form factor.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
