Windows 11 24H2 removes mixed reality support
Microsoft has finally removed Mixed Reality from Windows 11 with the 24H2 release without any further information.
(Image: Bild erstellt mit KI in Bing Image Creator durch heise online / dmk)
Microsoft has removed Mixed Reality from Windows 11 with the 24H2 update without further notice to users. The Mixed Reality portal is no longer on board, and SteamVR can no longer be used with the special Microsoft hardware and software.
The Mixed portal was the first to notice this. If you want or need to continue using Windows Mixed Reality, you will have to do without the 24H2 update or even remain on Windows 10.
Microsoft's VR dialect "Mixed Reality"
"Mixed Reality (MR) was Microsoft's own interpretation of what is known as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). The 3D glasses keep the outside world visible, but overlay their own virtual elements on top of it. Microsoft has deliberately not positioned Mixed Reality more precisely, but wanted to cover all the "nuances" between AR and VR, which are regarded as fixed poles – It is primarily a marketing term. Unlike the competition, MR headsets are not capable of true "passthrough AR", but instead rely on a simple video view of the surroundings recorded with cameras.
Videos by heise
Competitors have also developed headsets for MR, including the HP Reverb and Samsung's Odyssey. The HP Reverb G2 was even quite popular. To use the glasses, the Windows Mixed Reality software (WMR) must first be installed and started, even if you want to use them with SteamVR, for example. This works in a similar way with the Oculus Rift, where the Rift software must be running in addition to SteamVR. The WMR systems can no longer be used with the latest Windows 11 release.
Microsoft's plans to remove Mixed Reality from Windows were announced shortly before last Christmas. At the beginning of the month, around the release of the 24H2 update for Windows 11, it also came to light that Microsoft was phasing out Hololens 2 and would no longer be developing a successor. It will be interesting to see what happens next – After all, Microsoft has contracts with the US military for the Hololens. A collaboration with the VR armaments company Anduril, owned by Oculus founder Palmer Lucky, could be imminent. However, Lucky has apparently reconciled with Meta after falling out and praised the Orion prototype. Rumors are swirling that the US Army could award the contract for combat goggles to companies other than Microsoft in the future.
(dmk)
