Microsoft may have ditched its plans for Hololens 3, its mixed reality headset, as per a report by Business Insider. One of the probable reasons behind the move could be Microsoft’s partnership with Samsung for a new mixed reality device, which has reportedly caused internal rift inside the mixed reality division of the company.
As per the report, teams within the mixed reality division of the company are divided about which area to focus on. While some reportedly are in favour of paying more attention to the hardware-related aspects of the future Hololens 3 device, others are more inclined towards honing the software capabilities of the device, keeping the metaverse in mind. Those are not the only viewpoints. Views and opinions reportedly range around the questions of whether to build a product for the enterprise customers or consumers, whether it would be better if the mixed reality team should fulfill military contracts, etc. All this comes on the back of the company losing 25 employees from the mixed reality team to Meta last year, to which a few Apple employees have also defected to in recent times.
It may not be true that the company has said goodbye to its plans for its future mixed reality headset. Perhaps the plans have been put on hold till the reported clouds of debate over which area to focus are clear. The company recently acquired Activision Blizzard in the biggest deal in the history of gaming and it is certainly looking forward to its share in the pie that is the metaverse. Considering this, there are all the right reasons for Microsoft to invest in another, much improved device fit for the future in metaverse. We will have to wait for the official word to get more clarity.
