HoloLens News is Just the Latest Evidence of Microsoft’s Real Focus (Premium)

While Microsoft enthusiasts continue to react poorly to the software giant's new strategy, I see a clarity here that should be celebrated. Microsoft is doing the right thing.

Yesterday, Brad reported on a story he's been working on for a while now: Multiple sources have now confirmed that Microsoft has halted development of a second-generation HoloLens headset.

To this news, specifically, I say only the following: Whoo-de-doo. Yes, that's the professional term.

Folks, HoloLens is, was always, and will always be, a niche device. It is nothing more and nothing less than a proof point, a way of Microsoft showing to the world that, yes, you can realistically root holographic objects into a real-world viewport and, in doing so, create compelling merged reality experiences that can be productive or entertaining. (Or both.)

There are other things about HoloLens that Microsoft likes to promote---it is, Microsoft never tires of telling anyone who will listen, "the world’s first untethered holographic computer"---but those are distractions. The central point of HoloLens is its underlying technology. Which is excellent.

But Microsoft is Microsoft. And its real go-to-market strategy with HoloLens was revealed last year. And that strategy does not involve selling $3000 vertically-integrated, niche market headsets to individuals or mainstream businesses. It involves something very familiar instead: Microsoft is partnering with hardware makers to bring this technology to the masses at a variety of price points and capability levels. Just as it first did with PCs. And has done many, many times since.

But as with Windows phone---now Microsoft's worst product failure by far---Microsoft enthusiasts dream of a miracle weapon that will set things right. With HoloLens, they imagine some v2 version of the product that has both a wider field of view and a much lower cost, something that will blow would-be competitors like Apple and Google out of the water. And, more important, reestablish Microsoft as the platform maker to be reckoned with.

Folks. Come on. The United Kingdom is still pretty great, but the days of Pax Britannica are over. Microsoft is in the same position: Time has simply moved on, and the days of a single monopoly in personal computing are likewise over.

But that doesn't mean Microsoft doesn't have a future, a grand future. And that's what the phrase "mobile first, cloud first" is really all about. A compact way to describe what is a massive consolidated effort to pivot Microsoft around its new future, its new strategy.

Now, I am among those who have pointed out that "mobile first, cloud first" should more rightly be named "cloud first, mobile second." Back in 2014, I wrote that "mobile [seems like] the weak link" for Microsoft here, if you take this phrase literally. But Satya Nadella and company never meant this literally. They were referring to mobile more broadly. "Nadella is including---even emphasizing---mobile ...

Gain unlimited access to Premium articles.

With technology shaping our everyday lives, how could we not dig deeper?

Thurrott Premium delivers an honest and thorough perspective about the technologies we use and rely on everyday. Discover deeper content as a Premium member.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC