Microsoft is not quite sure what to do with its HoloLens strategy. Version 3 of the glasses is reportedly not on the horizon, but what the team behind it is aiming for is unclear.
Microsoft is not working on a successor to the HoloLens 2, Business Insider knows. Late last year, Microsoft announced a collaboration with Samsung on an AR project. Very little is known about that, but it would have killed the development of the HoloLens 3 in-house. Since the cancellation of HoloLens 3 development, the HoloLens team at Microsoft has been unsure what to do.
No vision
According to the report, Microsoft lacks a clear vision. Part of the people still wants to work on hardware, while Samsung and another part of the workforce prefers Microsoft to focus on software.
Although Microsoft pioneered AR development with the Hololens 1 and 2, the company has historically been primarily a software manufacturer. It would not in itself be illogical should Microsoft leave hardware development to third parties, to bet on AR software itself.
Spillover
Even there, however, vision is currently said to be lacking. Microsoft does not know where it wants to go, just as Mark Zuckerberg has created VR and AR hype with Meta and the metaverse. Lacking long-term goals, employees see their opportunity to move from Microsoft to competitors. Despite the growing enthusiasm for VR and AR, and the pioneering role Microsoft played, the company is currently losing expertise.
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Microsoft will no longer make HoloLens 3
The infamous IVAS contract with the American military is also not going well. Microsoft is supposed to develop Hololens glasses for American soldiers as part of a $22 billion contract, but delivery of suitable hardware is failing to materialize.
Time for action
In other words, Microsoft’s AR division is in a slump. A clear new strategy seems essential to retain scarce talent and move forward. If Microsoft wants to ride the hype wave around the metaverse, it best not wait too long to straighten things out.