Microsoft has confirmed it’s discontinuing its HoloLens line of mixed reality headsets, with production now ceased and software support on HoloLens 2 ending in December 2027.
HoloLens launched in its original form back in 2016, offering a $3,000 USD mixed reality experience that built on at least some of the technology featured in Microsoft’s Kinect accessory for Xbox. It’s perhaps best remembered in gaming circles for the striking (albeit never ultimately released) Minecraft demo shown ahead of its launch in 2015.
Microsoft’s first HoloLens was surpassed by the $3,500 HoloLens 2 in 2019, and while the line-up never saw a consumer device, it did make inroads in enterprise usage, including healthcare, manufacturing, and education. Microsoft also signed a $479m contract to provide 100,000 HoloLens devices to the US military in 2018, a deal that didn’t go down well with employees.
Soon, though, HoloLens will be no more. Microsoft confirmed it’s discontinuing the line in a statement provided to UploadVR. Production of HoloLens 2 has now officially ceased (manufacturing of the original HoloLens ended in 2018), with software support for HoloLens 1 set to end on 10th December this year. As for HoloLens 2, that’ll continue to receive “updates to address critical security issues and software regressions” until 31st December 2027.
Microsoft does, however, say it remains “fully committed” to providing HoloLens technology to the US army as part of its Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), but no further HoloLens devices will be developed, despite previous hints at a HoloLens 3.
Microsoft’s mixed reality ambitions have more recently been focused on its partnership with Meta, with the company introducing Xbox Cloud Gaming and Office web app support for Quest headsets. Meta, meanwhile, just unveiled its own glasses-style AR prototype, Orion.