The Redmond firm would have abandoned the development of its future mixed reality headset to focus on other projects.
According to an investigation, Microsoft dropped the development of the HoloLens 3 over the past year to focus on other augmented reality and virtual reality projects. This information has nevertheless been refuted by Alex Kipman, who leads the project known by the code name is Calypso.
Alex Kipman says HoloLens 3 is still relevant
” In very clear terms, Calypso has been canceled,” a source familiar with the matter told Business Insider. This also ensures that, according to Microsoft employees who wished to remain anonymous, confusion and uncertainty reign within the division led by Alex Kipman as to the future of the HoloLens. This corroborates reports that nearly seventy people working on the development of Microsoft’s next mixed reality headset have left the company to join the ranks of Meta, which is currently busy making a reality headset. increased.
On Twitter, Alex Kipman was quick to contradict the Business Insider article: “ Don’t believe what you read on the internet. #HoloLens is doing great and if you search the internet they also said we’ve canceled #HoloLens2…which last I heard has shipped successfully .”
Other projects are in development
However, the American media persists and signs. In a second paper published on Monday, February 7, he confirms that the HoloLens 3 will not see the light of day, but also revealed more about Microsoft’s roadmap in the fields of augmented reality and reality. Virtual.
It is now known that the Redmond firm is developing a HoloLens helmet specially dedicated to the American army. The code name for this project is Atlas, but the device will not be available for sale to civilians. Also, the company is working in collaboration with Samsung on the design of an augmented reality headset equipped with several screens and powered by a smartphone from the Japanese manufacturer, which will therefore probably run on Android.
Finally, Microsoft would also be studying the making of a helmet on which the operating system and the data would be broadcast from the cloud directly on the device. This project would still be very premature and could never see the light of day, insisted on specifying the media.
What strategy for Microsoft?
If these different pieces of information were to be confirmed, it would completely upset what was expected of the company; we were indeed expecting the marketing of the HoloLens 3 to compete with the next devices from Meta, but also from Apple and probably from Google.
It also raises questions about Microsoft’s strategy for rolling out the metaverse; it is obvious that the firm is very interested in it, it has already taken a step in it with Mesh. However, the cancellation of the design of a Windows-powered mixed reality headset, which could serve as a support for him to achieve this, seems curious.