Businesses choosing an AR headset for their Hololens replacement also need to know how long its hardware and applications will be maintained. Suppliers courting HoloLens customers face questions that extend well beyond the initial purchase.
P&C Solution is offering maintenance and repairs beyond the warranty period as it courts businesses looking for an alternative to HoloLens 2.
Sidney Choi, a business planning manager at the Korean manufacturer, told The XR Beat that prospective customers are cautious about spending money on development for another AR headset after seeing suppliers change course. P&C has been sending sample devices to businesses assessing their options beyond HoloLens.
Choi said P&C’s work with defense customers had prepared it to maintain and repair equipment over longer periods. The company wants to use that experience to reassure businesses considering its METALENSE headsets.
HoloLens Software Still Needs Hardware
Microsoft stopped manufacturing HoloLens devices in December 2024. Its release notes say monthly security servicing updates continue through December 2027, with a separate UK minimum security-update period extending to 28 February 2028 for units purchased by 28 February 2025.
Existing HoloLens 2 fleets can continue operating. Expanding a deployment or replacing worn devices requires a supply of hardware, while moving to a different headset can involve application changes and testing before staff can use it.
The cost can extend to work already completed. In The XR Beat’s reporting on HoloLens replacement planning in medical AR, Sira Medical described health systems’ reluctance to invest in an application tied to a sunsetting device. Moving regulated software to new hardware can also require fresh validation and regulatory work.
An AR application can remain valuable after its original headset stops being manufactured. A supplier hoping to win that customer has to help preserve the software investment and explain how the replacement deployment will be maintained.
Hololens’ Diverse Business Use Cases
In written answers supplied on 25 August, Choi said museum designer AlfaVision in Belgium was already using METALENSE 2 in a live AR tour project.
He distinguished that project from work involving QuaternAR in the Czech Republic and Skyline Software, where deployments were being prepared or discussed. Devices supplied across Europe, North America and APAC include both paid sales and evaluation or loan units.
P&C reported approximately 1,500 cumulative sales across the METALENSE series and a target of around 1,000 sales for 2026. The cumulative total covers the product family; not a METALENSE 2 sales figure.
The current METALENSE 2 specification lists a standalone Android headset with optical see-through displays, a weight of 618g and a replaceable rechargeable battery. P&C quotes approximately three hours of battery life.
Customers can replace an ageing battery without replacing the whole headset, provided compatible batteries remain available. Parts supply belongs in the support agreement alongside the repair service.
Developers Are Adapting HoloLens Apps
P&C is concentrating on AR hardware, firmware and software development kits, with application developers supplying the software customers use to get work done.
Choi said P&C cannot develop the full range of applications itself. Specialist software suppliers are part of its plan for reaching more enterprise customers.
P&C named Sphere, Taqtile, Synergiz and Augmedit as partners for application integration and customer opportunities. It did not describe those relationships as a list of completed commercial rollouts.
Developer Joost van Schaik has already ported his HoloATC application to METALENSE 2. His work offers a public example of an application available on HoloLens being adapted for P&C’s Android-based device. Other applications will need their own assessment of input, tracking and platform dependencies.
In a July assessment of a loan unit, van Schaik praised display clarity and P&C’s responsiveness to feedback. He also reported missed or repeated hand-tracking inputs and blurred imagery during head movement. He disclosed that he received no payment or other compensation for the evaluation.
For an application operated through hand gestures, missed selections or repeated button presses can affect the task itself. Buyers should assess their own software on the current device and firmware before committing to a replacement fleet.
Applications Will Need Updates After Installation
Van Schaik also published an app-update service for METALENSE 2, which has no central app store. His implementation uses Android’s device-owner permissions to let an application download and install its own updates.
A working update mechanism covers one part of maintaining deployed software. Customers also need someone to approve releases, handle failed updates and restore the application when a headset is repaired or replaced.
Support Terms Must Cover the Deployment
P&C’s repair offer addresses the concern about Hololens replacement among customers who have already committed time and money to AR. Keeping a headset physically usable can extend the life of that investment, provided its applications and underlying software remain supported too.
Repair availability, firmware maintenance, security updates and application support can run on different schedules. A post-warranty repair offer does not establish how long each will continue.
Before expanding a METALENSE 2 fleet, a customer should have a minimum support period in writing, prices and a route for overseas repairs, and a named supplier responsible for restoring its applications to working order.
