What just happened? Microsoft has ended production of its HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headset and as it stands today, there are no plans for a successor. Could this be the end of the road for HoloLens as we know it? It sure seems that way.
Microsoft has ended production of its HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headset and as it stands today, there are no plans for a successor. Could this be the end of the road for HoloLens as we know it? It sure seems that way.
Microsoft announced its second-gen visor in early 2019 as a direct successor to the original HoloLens. It boasted numerous improvements over the first model, but was also more expensive at $3,500. Despite its price, Microsoft was in a position to dominate the enterprise market but just one month after HoloLens 2 launched, rival Magic Leap shifted its focus to go after the same set of business customers.
A third version of HoloLens was in the pipeline but according to a 2022 report from Business Insider, the project was canceled during the previous year.
As for HoloLens 2, UploadVR claims Microsoft told them the device has been discontinued. Redmond reportedly told partners and customers that now is the final opportunity to buy the hardware. Once current inventory is depleted, that’ll be it. Microsoft stopped manufacturing the original HoloLens in 2018, roughly three years after launch.
A company spokesperson told the publication that HoloLens 2 will continue to receive software support until the end of 2027. Once the calendar rolls over to 2028, however, the updates will stop. Software support for the first-gen HoloLens is set to end on December 10 of this year.
It’s not entirely surprising to learn that Microsoft is halting HoloLens 2 production. The hardware is almost five years at this point, the division’s leader left in 2022, and Microsoft made cuts to its mixed reality segment just a few months ago. Mixed reality devices haven’t exploded in popularity like some imagined they would, and selling a product at $3,500 a pop is a big ask.
