this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024

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Microsoft is discontinuing its HoloLens headsets (www.theverge.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/technology

25 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Production is ending on the HoloLens 2 headset, with no sign of a replacement. In totally unrelated news, MSFT stock dropped 2.23% in a day, bringing the weekly average down to 1.63%, with an asking price at $420.69 after close.

Microsoft has now teamed up with Anduril Industries, the military tech company started by Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, to improve its IVAS mixed reality headsets used by the US Army. Microsoft’s initial IVAS headset, based on HoloLens technology, first went into trials in 2021 and includes integrated thermal and night vision imaging sensors in a heads-up display.

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[–] phoneymouse 95 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Microsoft will under invest in the space and then panic when someone releases a viable product.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago

Clearly you've been listening in on their high-level meetings. How could you possibly be aware of that global strategy?

[–] Buffalox 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

For major markets that's actually rare, and usually not even because they under invested, they just didn't quite get it.
Their actually successful strategy is to make an inferior product, sell it slightly cheaper, undermine the competition, then achieve near monopoly.
But your comment is of course funnier. 😋

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

They can also leverage the ecosystem effect. If it’s well integrated with some enterprise products, companies might buy it anyway.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Just like they did with the smartphone.

[+] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Meta is desperate for content and use cases for MR, and nothing comes up. They have been doing jams, they have funds to give to developers, and everything that comes up are basic wave shooters or simple ports (downgrades, really) from VR to MR.

Microsoft has probably figured out that, except for the military, it's a solution in search of a problem, at least in the current form factor ans with current limitations.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I've said this elsewhere: The Company Formerly-known as Facebook's headset has some impressive features and tech. However, the pixels-per-degree is abysmal. They need to at least triple it to be competitive with smartphones or birdbath optics. I'm not holding my breath but, I'd also not be mad if they succeed and are able to deliver for a reasonable price point.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

There's also a huge amount of bad will.

VR/AR are still (yes, even years later) in the tech enthusiast niche, because the actual tech is hard. But a sizable chunk of tech enthusiasts know enough to hate Facebook, hate them specifically in VR because of how they handled their purchase of Oculus, or both.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

People in the VR scene also hate Meta because all the eye tracking information is being harvested and sold to ad companies.

Did you know that the pattern your eyes move and what you look at and how fast you look at it and WHAT you look at can tell an algorithm how you’re feeling, if you suffer from certain specific mental illnesses or neurodivergence, your age and gender, and your core inner desires and activation triggers? Now give all that info to Facebook. For free.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Oh, absolutely. I'd never be willing to use their firmware and I'd be extremely hesitant to give them any money on account of their active role in election manipulation and complicity in political violence.

[–] [email protected] 73 points 2 months ago (3 children)

420.69? No one?

[–] eager_eagle 32 points 2 months ago

a lot of high fives in wall st

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

I took a flyer on some GME back during the excitement. Got in at about $35, set a limit order at $420.69 (nice) for the lolz, and was pleasantly amused when that order got filled.

Source: trust me, bro

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Nice

[–] ChihuahuaOfDoom 29 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Too bad, I thought those were promising for industrial applications.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago

Yeah, good news though- they will likely continue to develop a military version to ensure our best tech continues to contribute to efficient killing. Also they will redirect some of the the hololens resources to further AI development bullshit.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago

Yes, in the weirdest way possible: the military, somehow.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

I thought I was told just a year or two ago it was supposed to be the future of manufacturing.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago

What is with the most evil fuckin corps taking names from Tolkien for their shitty companies. Lookin at you palantir you fucks don’t even pronounce it right. Creepy shitheels

[–] errer 13 points 2 months ago

NASDAQ as a whole dropped 1.5% today so it isn’t really notable that their stock dropped

[–] pycorax 8 points 2 months ago

Well no surprise here given what's been going on with their MR departments. What a terrible shame.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Again?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago

No, they only said they were stopping work on HoloLens 3 last time.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

There go my hopes and dreams of IRL Solid Vision system and duel disks...

One day, it will happen with MR.

[–] eran_morad -5 points 2 months ago

Nice