Microsoft Pulls Plug on Mixed Reality in New Windows 11 Update
(Thursday October 03, 2024 @05:25PM (msmash)
from the reality-check dept.)
- Reference: 0175186533
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/10/03/1955209/microsoft-pulls-plug-on-mixed-reality-in-new-windows-11-update
- Source link:
Microsoft has [1]discontinued Windows Mixed Reality support in its [2]latest Windows 11 update , rendering a number of VR headsets obsolete. The move, reported by UploadVR, affects devices from major manufacturers. An estimated 80,000 users will lose access to their headsets upon upgrading to Windows 11 24H2. UploadVR adds:
> Despite the name, all Windows MR headsets were actually VR-only, and are compatible with most SteamVR content via Microsoft's SteamVR driver. The first Windows MR headsets arrived in late 2017 from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, aiming to compete with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that had launched a year earlier. They were the first consumer VR products to deliver inside-out positional tracking, for both the headset and controllers.
>
> All the original Windows MR OEMs except Samsung used the same cheap fixed panels LCD design with fixed lenses, while the Samsung Odyssey had IPD adjustment and OLED panels - the same OLED panels that would be featured in HTC Vive Pro and Oculus Quest a year and a half later. Even though the LCD headsets were sold for as low as $200 at times, and even though Samsung offered (for the time) high-resolution OLED panels, Windows MR headsets failed to ever reach widespread adoption amongst PC VR gamers. On the Steam Hardware Survey Windows MR peaked at around 10% of SteamVR usage share in 2019, and now sits around 3.5%.
The move follows Microsoft recently [3]discontinuing the HoloLens 2 .
[1] https://www.uploadvr.com/windows-11-24h2-kills-windows-mr-support/
[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/10/01/1834231/windows-11-24h2-the-biggest-update-in-two-years-starts-rolling-out
[3] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/10/01/1716229/microsoft-is-discontinuing-hololens-2-with-no-replacement
> Despite the name, all Windows MR headsets were actually VR-only, and are compatible with most SteamVR content via Microsoft's SteamVR driver. The first Windows MR headsets arrived in late 2017 from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, aiming to compete with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that had launched a year earlier. They were the first consumer VR products to deliver inside-out positional tracking, for both the headset and controllers.
>
> All the original Windows MR OEMs except Samsung used the same cheap fixed panels LCD design with fixed lenses, while the Samsung Odyssey had IPD adjustment and OLED panels - the same OLED panels that would be featured in HTC Vive Pro and Oculus Quest a year and a half later. Even though the LCD headsets were sold for as low as $200 at times, and even though Samsung offered (for the time) high-resolution OLED panels, Windows MR headsets failed to ever reach widespread adoption amongst PC VR gamers. On the Steam Hardware Survey Windows MR peaked at around 10% of SteamVR usage share in 2019, and now sits around 3.5%.
The move follows Microsoft recently [3]discontinuing the HoloLens 2 .
[1] https://www.uploadvr.com/windows-11-24h2-kills-windows-mr-support/
[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/10/01/1834231/windows-11-24h2-the-biggest-update-in-two-years-starts-rolling-out
[3] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/10/01/1716229/microsoft-is-discontinuing-hololens-2-with-no-replacement
I have one and still use it. (Score:2)
by Shane A Leslie ( 923938 )
I guess I'm going to be explicitly preventing my windows 11 computer from updating.
People in general (not /.ers) STILL (Score:2)
by jddj ( 1085169 )
...don't want to wear shit on their face.
VR/AR will eventually take flight when it's Black Mirror-like, no shit on your face.
Might require a neural connection. Hope I'm dead by then.
From one bandwagon to the next... (Score:3)
Great, now all those resources that were wasted on the last hype train can be reassigned to the current hype train (AI). Can't wait till the next "big thing" comes out and we start seeing articles like this talking about AI services being discontinued.
Re: (Score:2)
When share price pumping is the main driver of wealth, fads are the only thing left that can achieve the goal. It's not like running a profitable business is going to satisfy Wall Street.
Re:From one bandwagon to the next... (Score:4, Funny)
When it comes to Wall Street, success is any failure that you can then sell to someone else.
Re: (Score:2)
Stock price doesn't represent wealth, merely what people value an ownership stake in a company at. The wealth is entirely in what a company actually produces and the valuation of that can be wildly off or entirely speculative. Anyone who just wants a good place to park money for retirement or isn't a degenerate gambler chasing the high of a big payday should just invest in an index fund. The individual companies may be up or down, but collectively they're up.
Businesses that would prefer avoiding some blu
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, if you work at a company where the compensation is at least partially in stock, the stock price does indeed translate to wealth for the individual.
Startups definitely fall into this category, as do companies such as Microsoft.
Re: (Score:2)
> Stock price doesn't represent wealth, merely what people value an ownership stake in a company at. The wealth is entirely in what a company actually produces and the valuation of that can be wildly off or entirely speculative. Anyone who just wants a good place to park money for retirement or isn't a degenerate gambler chasing the high of a big payday should just invest in an index fund. The individual companies may be up or down, but collectively they're up. Businesses that would prefer avoiding some blue blood breathing down their neck about quarterly profits should just stay privately owned. Cancel the IPO and don't sell your soul to the devil. The existence of hustlers, pumps, etc. in the public market shouldn't be surprising. Someone will always try to be the one to part the fool from his money.
The amount of resources we pour into making sure Wall Street is happy in this country is absolutely astounding to me. If we see society turn half that much enthusiasm into solving some of the very real problems we face we probably wouldn't have that many problems left. But? The owners make the rules. The rest of society somehow gets stuck propping them up for it. Makes zero sense to me, but money and greed are the only motivation that our society runs on. We have no other motives, and zero other aspirations