HoloLens 3 isn’t happening and metaverse tie-in strategy is unclear, says report
It’s unclear what Microsoft’s long-term strategy is for HoloLens at this point.
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What you need to know
Microsoft has done a lot with HoloLens and its successor, HoloLens 2, in the time both products have been available to the public. However, even with the line’s accomplishments, a HoloLens 3 may not be in the cards.
According to a report byBusiness Insider, HoloLens 3 has been scrapped by Microsoft and the HoloLens team is trapped in a state of perpetual confusion and uncertainty over what the long-term goals of existing plans are. As a result, teammates are leaving Microsoft to pursue augmented reality positions at rival companies such as Meta, a developmentthat was documentedbefore this report.
Some of the HoloLens team believe the focus should remain on hardware innovation efforts, like has been seen with the U.S. Army’s IVAS contract, which holds the potential to net Microsoft up to $22 billion in exchange for its delivery of soldier-attuned HoloLens variants. That projecthas been delayed, reportedly because Microsoft has been thus far unable to produce a combat-ready device.
Another camp of HoloLens teammates want to focus on the metaverse, a space the company allegedlystill doesn’t have a clear vision for. According to the sources Insider spoke with, this split in focus has resulted in constant assignment and vision changes to a point where little has time to properly cohede.
On top of those woes is the added complication ofMicrosoft’s partnership with Samsung, which is said to be diluting the HoloLens team’s focus even more by pulling resources from existing issues in need of addressing. According to one source, Samsung wants Microsoft to focus on the software side while it handles the hardware, which has not sat well with some parties. The start of this partnership marks the approximate death date of the HoloLens 3, based on the report’s timeline.
What all of the aforementioned information means for thefuture of HoloLensremains unclear.
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Robert Carnevale is the News Editor for Windows Central. He’s a big fan of Kinect (it lives on in his heart), Sonic the Hedgehog, and the legendary intersection of those two titans, Sonic Free Riders. He is the author ofCold War 2395. Have a useful tip? Send it to robert.carnevale@futurenet.com.
