Microsoft Discontinuing Mixed Reality HoloLens 2 Headset

Microsoft is planning to discontinue its mixed reality HoloLens 2 headsets, according to a report from UploadVR. Production on the HoloLens 2 is ending, and sales will cease when stock runs out.

microsoft hololens 2
Security updates will be provided until December 31, 2027, but after that point, Microsoft plans to end software support for the HoloLens 2.

Microsoft was one of the first companies to delve into mixed reality technology, and it introduced the original HoloLens in 2016, following up with the HoloLens 2 in 2019. The HoloLens headsets have always been expensive and Microsoft has targeted them to enterprise customers rather than the general public.

At the current time, Microsoft does not appear to have plans for another HoloLens headset. There were rumors of a version three back in 2022, but work was reportedly canceled due to a lack of focus and internal hardware development challenges. Microsoft has also been downsizing its mixed reality team in 2023 and 2024.

Microsoft does apparently plan to continue supporting its HoloLens IVAS, which stands for integrated visual augmentation system. It is an AR headset that Microsoft is creating for the U.S. Army, and it is set to be tested in early 2025 to determine its feasibility for full-scale production.

As Microsoft has been winding down its work on the HoloLens, it has partnered with Meta to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming and its Office apps to the Quest headsets, and it is also working on Windows 11 integration with the Quest.

Apple's Vision Pro headset has been marketed to both consumers and enterprise customers unlike the HoloLens, but it currently shares some of the same shortcomings, such as a high price tag. Apple is not yet ready to abandon mixed reality, and there is another version of the Vision Pro in the works. A second AR/VR headset could come as soon as 2025.

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Top Rated Comments

roar08 Avatar
10 months ago
Another MSFT hardware product gets Zuned.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SigurTom Avatar
10 months ago
This pattern is a big reason WHY Microsoft hardware never takes off, there's no confidence that development and releases will continue. I say this as a Timex, Zune, Band, and Kinect adopter, and Windows Phone avoider.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hieranonymous Avatar
10 months ago

Another MSFT hardware product gets Zuned.
I was just thinking about this. Windows Phone, Microsoft Band … even the Xbox division only had one bona fide smash hit—the 360, which ultimately wound up in the red anyway due to all the hardware failures/recalls. Apart from Azure, their bread and butter is still Windows and Office despite decades of diversification efforts.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TakeOFF250 Avatar
10 months ago
It seems like Apple has found the right solution for AR. What Microsoft attempted wasn't ready, and Meta also shelved Orion because the current technology isn't working. I believe that for the next 5 to 8 years, AR will need to rely on effective passthrough like the vision pro.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TakeOFF250 Avatar
10 months ago

What Apple is doing isn't ready either. The Vision Pro is a beta product with beta software on it that doesn't meet the needs of anything outside of a very heavy entertainment device. I purchased one and was never so glad to get rid of an Apple product as when I sold mine.
I've had one since launch, and I really like it. It's definitely not for everyone, and Apple never claimed it was. It's the first version and they wanted to create an OS for AR, and that's actually the best part about the Vision Pro. The lens glare is noticeable, and the field of view could be better, but these are things that will likely be improved in the next version. Will AR be the next big thing? I don't know but Apple is on the right track if we look at hololens or Orion
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UK-MacAddict Avatar
10 months ago
AVP going the same way.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)