Microsoft Is Discontinuing HoloLens 2, With No Replacement

An anonymous reader shares a report: HoloLens 2 production has ended, Microsoft confirmed to UploadVR. Now is the last time to buy the device before stock runs out, the company has been telling its partners and customers. HoloLens 2 will continue to receive "updates to address critical security issues and software regressions" until December 31 2027. As soon as 2028 starts, software support for HoloLens 2 will end. For the original HoloLens headset from 2016, software support will end after December 10 of this year, just over two months from now. Production of it ended back in 2018. HoloLens 2 launched in 2019, three years after the original, with upgrades to almost every aspect: a wider field of view, higher resolution, eye tracking, vastly improved hand tracking, and more powerful compute housed in the rear of the strap to deliver a balanced comfortable design.

Couldn't compete

[GeekWithAKnife]

Apple's magical VR headset was just so wildly successful that MS threw in the towel...or something like that ;-)

Re:Couldn't compete

[HBI]

MSFT wanted out of this as early as 2019. It was kept alive for the US Army IVAS program. IVAS was potentially lucrative enough for MSFT to keep the product group running until now. IVAS doesn't look like a winner, so it's being killed.

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

I don’t think Apple will be successful in VR either. AI is the new VR which was the new crypto. These companies have been chasing fads.

Re:Couldn't compete [Apple VR]

[Tablizer]

Microsoft aren't the only ones who zucked themselves.

That is correct

[SuperKendall]

Apple's magical VR headset was just so wildly successful that MS threw in the towel...or something like that ;-)

You meant this as humor but it is correct.

Apple charged what they needed to for a product that had actual utility to the average person, that the HoloLens could not match. And they have sold hundreds of thousands of units thus far, and attracted a LOT of developers building for the platform as it expands.

HoloLens attracted a handful of developers at the start but could never get real developer no

Re: That is correct

[ArmoredDragon]

How can you thrive on Tim's fecal matter like this? I didn't believe it was possible for a person to do that, but here you are. For starters, how did you control your gag reflex? Or did you even have one?

Microsoft Graveyard

[UnknownSoldier]

Is Microsoft copying Google so much that they started even copying Google's graveyard? =P

Seriously though just how big is/was the market for AR? I didn't think it would even last this long.

Re:Microsoft Graveyard

[nugatory78]

There is a lot of potential in manufacturing. Instead of having to look at a computer screen to understand what to do, AR can overlay the instructions on what is actually being worked on, highlight where something is installed, dimensional inspection of parts, etc. If there is any safety concern during manufacturing or maintenance, AR can provide the ability to do their job, while having both hand free e.g. someone fixing something at height (phone tower, wind turbine, etc.) can use their hands for doing the job and remaining secure, not trying to also interact with a computer to do their job. The upside, is if you use an AR system in production, you can swap out a VR headset to train new employees

While there are use cases for it that provide real value, its just not mature enough for what most want. If the product is simple enough for the AR system to load and work in real time with the 3D overlay, then usually the product is simple enough not to need AR. When AR would be useful, the 3D model is too big and complex for it to work in real time.

I've used a simple heads up display (RealWear) in a factory to and it certainly makes like easier. It can display the screen to you, scan barcodes, interact via voice (very limited command set, but fantastic at understanding any accent in a noisy factory), and even do a video call to get help from an engineer. The demo's I've had of AR just provide that much more information to the worker, so if someone can figure out how to work with bigger models easily, there will be so many manufacturing companies that would buy them.

Re: Microsoft Graveyard

[VaccinesCauseAdults]

Totally agree.

Regarding safety, any safety impact of using a traditional clipboard or tablet must be weighed against safety concern of people walking around a factory, operating on machinery or secured at height with most of their peripheral vision occluded, spatial awareness and hearing disrupted, potential motion sickness and distracting VR overlays interfering with their vision.

Re:

[Seven Spirals]

This is what Magic Leap has been pivoting to. They call it "remote expert". I get the feeling the gaming world wasn't looking like it was going to pay back all that VC.

Re:

[tigersha]

I agree on that. As a fashio accessory for nerds (google glass weareres were called Glassholes) it is a failure.

But there is a lot of potential as a work place tool. think firemen with an overlaid thermal imager. Think Military applications. Pilots. Manufacturing as you mentioned. Medical applications. 3D modelling, architectural visualsation.

I think consumer grade AR Apple Vision is too expensive, for hard-core gamers there is the standard Meta Quest price class. No one is going to carry a VR headset or AR

Probably because ...

[JackAxe]

Microsoft is partnering with Meta:
https://blogs.microsoft.com/bl... [microsoft.com]

So long

[mustafap]

I have two, and it's just not easy to use. Can't connect to a private 5g network, so no 'reliable' usecase in a factory environment. Waiting for next gen technology.

Re: So long

[VaccinesCauseAdults]

Try using one at a time. It's easier to use that way.

Re:

[toxonix]

He, she or they may have 4 eyes, you insensitive clod!

Who could have predicted?

[SmaryJerry]

People don't want to pay $3,500 to $5,000 before tax for a slight improvement and in some ways a deterioration over existing screen quality. It's too bad Apple jumped the gun on their headset as well. There seriously needs to be a minimum of 8K per eye and 300+ HZ on these kind of things before charging that much is even a consideration.

Re: Who could have predicted?

[SuperDre]

These things aren't really meant for consumers, businesses don't have a real problem paying $3000-$3500 for a device like that if they can use it.

Holo Feature?

[NoWayNoShapeNoForm]

Never heard of this HoloLens thingie

Re:

[tigersha]

I heard it called the Hollow Lens once.

Microsoft is a software company

[Torodung]

And this is why you don't buy hardware from Microsoft. They have a track record of a software lifecycle for durable goods, especially when it doesn't succeed.

Re: Microsoft is a software company

[SuperDre]

Well, their natural keyboard is still the best keyboard, for me, out there.

Nobody wants AR

[xtal]

AR is a money pit.

It will continue to be a money pit.

People don't wan't to wear shit on their head to be productive and most certainly to not want to interact with normal people wearing said stupid shit on their head.

I'll continue to state the obvious.

Cheers

Re:

[gweihir]

To be fair, there are AR applications, e.g. in assembling machinery, that justify about 0.1% (or so) of the investments into it. Same for VR.