Microsoft's HoloLens journey is seemingly coming to a sad and unfortunate end. After more than five years without new hardware, Microsoft has confirmed the discontinuation of its only existing mixed reality headset, the HoloLens 2.

The headset is no longer being produced, the company said in a statement to UploadVR; however, existing customers will continue to be supported until the end of 2027.

HoloLens had a ton of potential

Microsoft first introduced the HoloLens and the concept of mixed reality in January 2015, when it announced WIndows Holographic. This version of Windows 10 was designed form the ground up for mixed reality glasses like the HoloLens, and it brought your virtual world into the real world in a way that's not too dissimilar from what we see today with the Apple Vision Pro. However, HoloLens was even better, because it actually overlaid the virtual content on top of your real world, rather than using cameras to capture the world and showing it to you on a screen. It was more immersive and more natural.

The first HoloLens released in 2016, and it was only ever really a developer device. Then, three years later, we got the HoloLens 2, with better screens and more processing power that promised an even better experience. This was a bit more widespread, with Microsoft gearing it towards certain enterprise customers in addition to developers.

Microsoft had essentially no competition, and an opportunity to create a niche for itself, which it did to a small extent. Unfortunately, we haven't had a new HoloLens device ever since, and Microsoft is still selling the HoloLens 2 for $3,500.

Microsoft's mixed reality division was troubled

Despite having a very unique concept with plenty of potential, Microsoft failed to ever deliver a product that consumers could buy or experience. HoloLens 2 was only targeted at large enterprises, and in the years following its launch, Microsoft's HoloLens division went through big changes. Alex Kipman, who had led the HoloLens division left the company in 2022 after allegations of verbal abuse and sexual harassment, and there was seemingly no direct replacement to lead the mixed reality efforts at Microsoft. Around the same time, it had also been reported that a successor to the HoloLens 2 had been canceled.

Last year, Microsoft also announced the discontinuation of Mixed Reality in Windows 11, with existing headsets losing support entirely by 2026 for consumers, or 2027 for businesses. If you install Windows 11 version 24H2, which was released today, you'll lose support immediately.

It's been reported that Microsoft is still working on a new mixed reality headset to compete with the Apple Vision Pro, but we have yet to hear any confirmation from Microsoft. It's a shame, too, considering Meta also recently showed off a look at what it believes is the future of augmented or mixed reality with the Orion glasses. Microsoft had been early in this market, but fell behind due to apparent mismanagement or lack of interest.

That being said, production of the original HoloLens was also discontinued before the HoloLens 2 was announced, so maybe the discontinuation of the latest model is a sign of things to come. We've reached out to Microsoft for confirmation and further comment, and will update this story if we hear back.