Microsoft shelves Windows ‘mixed reality’ feature

Microsoft (MSFT.O) on Thursday discontinued the “mixed reality” feature for Windows through which some hardware devices and software could tap into augmented and virtual reality technologies. The company launched the feature in a Windows 10 update in 2017, and the mixed reality portal app allowed users to access the technology on their personal computers with the use of compatible VR headsets. Microsoft uses mixed reality to describe software that blends both augmented and virtual reality. Augmented reality overlays text, sounds, graphics and video on real-world images that users see in front of them, while virtual reality immerses the users in an artificial world by creating computer-generated experiences. “Windows mixed reality is deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Windows,” Microsoft said. Business Insider reported last year the company scrapped plans for HoloLens 3, in a move that could spell the end of the augmented reality headset line in that form.