Mixed fortunes in mixed reality as global release for Vision Pro confirmed
There is mixed news on the mixed reality news as Apple confirms a wider release for the Vision Pro headset and Microsoft announces job losses in its mixed reality (MR) division.
The UK, Canada and China would be the first countries outside the US where the glasses would go on sale. French-language blog WatchGeneration claims the Vision Pro would go on sale in France as early as the end of June. Apple France has called store personnel on 24 June to discuss a “major innovation.
Apples Stores in the UK are said to have received furniture intended for Vision Pro demos.
MacRumors says Apple may announce the final date during developer conference WWDC on 10 June. There is no word on pricing, though the Vision Pro retails at $3,499 in the US.
However as Apple make its foray into virtual worlds Redmond is stepping back. Microsoft is cutting an unknown number of jobs in its mixed reality division. The company has been slowly moving away from its MR efforts for a few years now. In August 2023, the company split off development of its Mixed Reality Toolkit software to its own GitHub organization.
In December 2023, Microsoft announced that the Windows Mixed Reality feature launched with Windows 10 will be dropped. Support for consumer Windows editions will end on 1 November 2026. Any Windows Mixed reality headsets still active cannot be used with the current Windows 11 version 24H2.
Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to support its HoloLens 2 headset. Version 24H1 has been released for that purpose.
Jobs are also disappearing at the Azure cloud division, reportedly involving 1,000 positions.
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