Microsoft Throws In The Towel On HoloLens 2

Microsoft has axed its HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset and there won't be a hardware replacement, The Register can confirm.

A company spokesperson told us: "Microsoft is no longer producing Microsoft HoloLens 2, and we have signaled a last time to buy for customers and partners. Support for HoloLens 2, including security updates, will end on December 31, 2027.

"We will continue to invest in mixed reality opportunities with first-party software solutions and services, partnering with the broader mobile phone and mixed reality hardware ecosystem."

So that's that then.

The HoloLens 2 was unveiled in early 2019 and began shipping to customers later that year. Five years on, Microsoft has pulled the plug on the device.

A representative of a company specializing in virtual and augmented reality applications who spoke to The Reg said he was surprised at the announcement. Not because it is a shock HoloLens 2 is gone, he told us, but rather that he'd thought it had been canned years ago. After all, in 2022, HoloLens boss Alex Kipman left Microsoft. Many believed the writing was on the wall after the device largely didn't feature at that year's Build event.

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Our source mused: "I guess they thought the tech and materials had reached the pinnacle of what's currently possible while also being commercially viable. Magic Leap is moving to a 'license the tech' model as well. So leave it to Meta to pour in billions for incremental gains and perfect the screens. Then let AI work out how to commercialize it and shrink it."

Microsoft's decision comes shortly after Apple launched its Vision Pro headset, with an eye-watering $3,499 price tag, pretty much the same as the HoloLens 2. Microsoft has form releasing products parallel to Apple devices. There was the Tablet PC, which the iPad has since overshadowed, and the Microsoft Band, which was quietly dropped after the Apple Watch stole the wearables show.

But what of current HoloLens customers? The US Army has been working with the Windows giant on bringing the headsets to the battlefield, or at least into the barracks. Microsoft said: "We remain fully committed to the IVAS program with the US Department of Defense." ®