It's the end of the year, which means it's time to look back on all the things that Microsoft makes that it now (or intends to soon) no longer make. Every year, Microsoft deprecates or kills a number of apps, services, brands, and devices, and 2024 was no different.
While this year wasn't as savage as 2023, there were still a whole bunch of things that Microsoft decided to end support for this year. Everything from the Surface Duo 2 and HoloLens 2 to Microsoft Start and Windows 11's Suggested Actions. Here's the rundown of all the Microsoft products that won't see the light of day in 2025.
Surface Duo 2
This year, Microsoft ended support for the Surface Duo 2, its second dual-screen Android smartphone. The device launched in 2021, but the entire product line was scrapped in 2023 after Microsoft made cuts to the Surface portfolio. That means Surface Duo 2 will likely be the last, and with Microsoft now ending support, the company is back to having zero smartphone presence in the market.
Surface Studio 2+
Microsoft recently announced that it had ended production on the Surface Studio 2+, the company's premiere all-in-one desktop PC. Originally announced in 2016, the Surface Studio line was never updated frequently, and when it was it almost always with last-gen specs. With no successor imminent, and no more Surface Studio 2+ stock available worldwide, it's the end of Surface Studio, at least for now.
Windows Mixed Reality
Microsoft announced last year that it would be deprecating Windows Mixed Reality in 2024, and with the Windows 11 version 24H2 update, that finally happened. With the latest version of Windows 11, thousands of Mixed Reality headsets are now rendered useless. The Windows Mixed Reality portal, as well as Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR has been removed from Windows 11.
HoloLens 2
Microsoft's dedicated Mixed Reality headset, the HoloLens 2, has also reached the end of the line this year. The company announced in October that it had ended production on HoloLens 2, and with no successor seemingly imminent, that means Microsoft's line of AR headsets is now dead. Microsoft will support HoloLens 2 with security and bug fix updates until 2028, but beyond that, it seems Microsoft is set to no longer be part of the Mixed Reality market.
Paint 3D
Paint 3D was once poised to replace the classic Windows Paint app, but in a weird turn of the events the opposite has ended up happening. Microsoft has refocused its efforts on classic Paint, giving it a fresh new interface and modern features, including AI capabilities. Paint 3D on the other hand has been abandoned by Microsoft, and is no longer available to download.
Suggested Actions
A late entry for 2024, but Microsoft has announced that its handy Suggested Actions feature in Windows 11 is being deprecated and will be removed soon. Suggested Actions is the little context menu that appears whenever you copy a date or phone number, which provides quick actions for creating an event or making a call. It was handy, but it'll be gone soon.
Mail & Calendar
Windows 10 and Windows 11's built-in Mail & Calendar apps were finally put to rest in 2024. Microsoft has been switching users to the new Outlook for Windows app throughout the year, and has said that Mail & Calendar will no longer be available for use as of the end of the year. Starting January 1, the Mail & Calendar apps will no longer be able to send or receive emails, forcing users to switch to the new Outlook.
Microsoft Start
Microsoft announced this year that it was retiring the Microsoft Start branding and instead returning to the more familiar and classic MSN brand for its online news congregation service. The Microsoft Start website, as well as Start content displayed in Microsoft Edge, Windows 11 Widgets, and the Start apps on iOS and Android, have been rebranded back to MSN.
Other removed and deprecated features
Microsoft killed even more apps, services, APIs, and more in 2024. Here's the rest:
- Test Base for Microsoft 365, an Azure cloud service for application testing, is deprecated.
- Support for certificates using RSA keys with key lengths shorter than 2048 bits will be deprecated.
- All versions of NTLM, including LANMAN, NTLMv1, and NTLMv2, are no longer under active feature development and are deprecated.
- DirectAccess is deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Windows.
- Adobe PostScript Type1 fonts are deprecated and support will be removed in a future release of Windows.
- Legacy DRM services, used by either Windows Media Player, Silverlight clients, Windows 7, or Windows 8 clients are deprecated.
Microsoft slashed a lot of hardware this year, including its entire Windows Mixed Reality platform and AR device. As Apple and Google focus its attention on the future of AR and VR, it's very strange to see Microsoft backing away, especially considering it was one of the first to this market.
