Windows Mixed Reality
The latest Windows Mixed Reality coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Microsoft's Strategic Pruning: WordPad, Cortana, and Windows Mixed Reality Get the Axe
Microsoft has officially confirmed the deprecation of WordPad, Cortana, and Windows Mixed Reality in Windows 11, marking a significant shift in the company's software strategy. These tools, once...
Windows 11 Mixed Reality Link Transforms Quest 3 into Portable VR Workstation
Microsoft and Meta have quietly launched a game-changing integration that transforms the Quest 3 into a fully functional Windows 11 workstation through Mixed Reality Link, creating what amounts to a...
End of an Era: Microsoft Retires Live Tiles, Maps, and 5 Other Windows Features—Here's What’s Next
The July 2025 deadline for Windows Maps is no longer a distant rumor. Microsoft confirmed the app will receive a final update that renders it nonfunctional and yanks it from the Microsoft Store. That...
Forgotten Windows VR Headsets Get a SteamVR Lifeline via Oasis Driver
On August 29, 2025, owners of Windows Mixed Reality headsets got an unexpected reprieve. A new native SteamVR driver called Oasis, developed by former Microsoft mixed reality engineer Matthieu...
Samsung to Supply OLED-on-Silicon Panels for Microsoft’s Gaming-Focused Mixed Reality Headset
Samsung Display has reportedly secured a deal to supply advanced OLED-on-silicon (OLEDoS) microdisplays for a new Microsoft mixed reality device, aiming squarely at gaming and media consumption. The...
Microsoft's 2017 Mixed Reality Blitz: Fall Creators Update, Surface Book 2, and the $399 VR Gamble
Microsoft set out to reshape the personal computing landscape on October 17, 2017, when it launched the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update alongside a coordinated fleet of Windows Mixed Reality headsets...
The End of WordPad: Microsoft’s Windows 11 24H2 Erases 30-Year Legacy, Pushes Forward with Sudo and Smarter Updates
Windows 11 version 24H2 arrives not as a gentle refresh but as a deliberate rebalancing act, jettisoning two long‑running pieces of Windows heritage—WordPad and Windows Mixed Reality—while...
400 Million Devices and a 3D Gamble: What Windows 10 Creators Update Really Delivered
On April 11, 2017, Microsoft began rolling out the Windows 10 Creators Update to a user base that had already swelled to 400 million active devices, according to company figures verified by The...
Microsoft Delivers Fall Creators Update Without Timeline as Mixed Reality Headsets Face Steam Delays
When Microsoft began rolling out the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update in mid-October 2017, it delivered a suite of creative tools and mixed reality magic—but the Timeline feature that had been hyped...
Oasis Project Revives Windows Mixed Reality Headsets Amid Platform Deprecation
Microsoft’s announcement in 2024 that it would deprecate the Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) platform sent shockwaves through the virtual reality community. For years, WMR headsets had provided an...
Reviving Windows Mixed Reality: Can Community and OpenXR Save PC VR?
Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets have long occupied a unique niche in the PC VR landscape, offering an affordable entry point into virtual reality without sacrificing quality. While competitors...
Oasis Project: How an Independent Developer is Saving Windows Mixed Reality Headsets
When Microsoft quietly deprecated Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) support in the Windows 11 24H2 update, it left thousands of VR enthusiasts with expensive paperweights. Enter the Oasis project - an...