This is EVERYTHING Microsoft killed in 2024 — from handy apps to failed devices

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Every year, Microsoft deprecates, removes, and kills various apps, services, and devices. Here's what hit the chopping block in 2024.

Microsoft Surface devices and logo
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino | Windows Central)

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

Surface Duo 2 Notifications

The Surface Duo 2 will never receive an update again. (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

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+

Surface Studio

Production ending on a device before its successor is announced is never a good sign... (Image credit: Windows Central)

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

HP Reverb G2

This poor man will no longer be able to use his HP Reverb on the latest version of Windows 11. (Image credit: Future)

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

Man wearing HoloLens 2

The HoloLens 2 is no more, and with no HoloLens 3 in the works... (Image credit: Future)

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 app 2024

Paint 3D is no more as of 2024. (Image credit: Windows Central)

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

Windows 11 suggested actions menu

This handy context menu is disappearing. (Image credit: Future)

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

Mail deprecated

The lightweight and beautiful Mail & Calendar apps are dead now. (Image credit: Windows Central)

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 Start app

Microsoft Start? More like Microsoft End because Start is dead. (Image credit: Future)

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.

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Zac Bowden
Zac Bowden
Senior Editor

Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows on PCs, tablets, phones, and more. Also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch on Twitter and Threads

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Gabe Szabo
    Also retired Azure Media Services, and Azure Lab Services announced to be sunset in 2027, among others. Mostly compute-heavy or GPU-heavy workloads.
    Reply
  • K Shan
    This is why I get nervous about Microsoft's "This is an Xbox" strategy.
    Reply
  • taynjack
    batmanandrobin said:
    Some of these were DOA thats to Microsoft's incapability to execute anything successfully. The Studio has so much potential but almost outdated technology isn't for anyone. They should make it a touch external monitor.
    So many people have been clamoring for a stand alone monitor only because Microsoft won't give the studio the specs it deserves. Do one or the other Microsoft! Why does Microsoft refuse to listen to their users!!! We keep telling them what we want, and they give us 3/4 of our request. Then they wonder why people are reluctant to buy their stuff. This is why Apple does so well. Apple gives everything asked for or nothing at all. Microsoft can't finish anything!
    Reply
  • naddy69
    "Why does Microsoft refuse to listen to their users!!!"

    But Microsoft DOES listen to their users. Their users are businesses. No business is asking for an expensive MS monitor.

    Businesses are asking for Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange Server and SQL Server. That's it. You know, software. MicroSOFT.

    Not phones. Not music streaming services. Not watches. Not movies. Not monitors. Not PCs.

    "This is why Apple does so well."

    Because Apple IS a consumer-focused company. MS is not and never will be. Spend millions of dollars a year with MS and MS will listen to you. BTW, MS is also doing very well.

    "Then they wonder why people are reluctant to buy their stuff. "

    MS does not care about "people". Only businesses. Why is this so hard to understand?

    You might as well demand that Oracle sell phones and monitors. Or IBM. Or ADP. Or Cisco. Or SAP.
    Reply
  • Arun Topez
    taynjack said:
    So many people have been clamoring for a stand alone monitor only because Microsoft won't give the studio the specs it deserves. Do one or the other Microsoft! Why does Microsoft refuse to listen to their users!!! We keep telling them what we want, and they give us 3/4 of our request. Then they wonder why people are reluctant to buy their stuff. This is why Apple does so well. Apple gives everything asked for or nothing at all. Microsoft can't finish anything!
    Exactly a touch monitor (the Surface Studio minus the PC) would have sold so well. Even the Surface team acknowledged in one of their Q&A's there was a lot of asks for that. But just like why Panos left, Satya pretty much restricts them from doing anything innovative or takes the brand forward.

    naddy69 said:
    "Why does Microsoft refuse to listen to their users!!!"

    But Microsoft DOES listen to their users. Their users are businesses. No business is asking for an expensive MS monitor.

    Businesses are asking for Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange Server and SQL Server. That's it. You know, software. MicroSOFT.

    Not phones. Not music streaming services. Not watches. Not movies. Not monitors. Not PCs.

    "This is why Apple does so well."

    Because Apple IS a consumer-focused company. MS is not and never will be.
    Microsoft does NOT listen to their customers, not even their business customers. That's why they have been increasingly facing competitors like AWS, Google, and others. Guess what, what are businesses consisted of? CONSUMERS. That's why they did so well in the past with both markets when they were a consumer focused company, because when consumers love them, they will get their businesses to use them too. That's why Apple is consistently quickly growing in the business space. Regarding a monitor, yes there is demand for it. In one of the Surface Q&A's the team even acknowledged a lot of agencies/customers have been asking for one. Satya pretty much prevents anything innovative anymore unless it's AI/Copilot/Azure related. They need a new leader than recognizes that.
    Reply
  • taynjack
    naddy69 said:
    "Why does Microsoft refuse to listen to their users!!!"

    But Microsoft DOES listen to their users. Their users are businesses. No business is asking for an expensive MS monitor.

    Businesses are asking for Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange Server and SQL Server. That's it. You know, software. MicroSOFT.

    Not phones. Not music streaming services. Not watches. Not movies. Not monitors. Not PCs.

    "This is why Apple does so well."

    Because Apple IS a consumer-focused company. MS is not and never will be. Spend millions of dollars a year with MS and MS will listen to you. BTW, MS is also doing very well.

    "Then they wonder why people are reluctant to buy their stuff. "

    MS does not care about "people". Only businesses. Why is this so hard to understand?

    You might as well demand that Oracle sell phones and monitors. Or IBM. Or ADP. Or Cisco. Or SAP.
    No business is asking for expensive monitors? Tell me you aren't a designer without telling me you aren't a designer. Designers, architects, and artists are businesses? That's the target market for the Surface Studio! DESIGN BUSINESSES! Those are the people that rejoiced when the SS came out. That machine transformed where I worked from paper to digital design. That machine eliminated expensive large format scanners from my business, and nearly eliminated our large format printers. The price of the SS surely wasn't meant for consumers. Yet my company bought 3 of them. I know one architecture firm that bought ten Surface Studios when they first came out. That machine didn't sell very well though, not because business people didn't want it, but because it was terribly under powered for other digital work that creative businesses do. Microsoft forced people to choose between their high powered custom built computers that are necessary to get things like Maya 3D design done, and a sweet digital drafting table that was terribly under powered. A standalone monitor would have fixed this conflict.

    People are business! Consumers are business people! College kids are people that use computers with Windows! SAHM's are people that use computers with Windows! Kids build computers to play games using Windows! Business people use computers after hours that use Windows! Why can't you and Microsoft understand this! This is why Microsoft failed in phones. What, they thought business people didn't want a phone when they clocked out and went home? They left their business phone in their work locker and grabbed their personal phone? They put their business fitness tracker in that locker and donned their personal fitness watch upon leaving work? I do agree with you that businesses aren't interested in music, movies or other streaming services. But if Microsoft is only interested in business, why do they have Xbox?
    Reply
  • Laura Knotek
    taynjack said:
    No business is asking for expensive monitors? Tell me you aren't a designer without telling me you aren't a designer. Designers, architects, and artists are businesses? That's the target market for the Surface Studio! DESIGN BUSINESSES! Those are the people that rejoiced when the SS came out. That machine transformed where I worked from paper to digital design. That machine eliminated expensive large format scanners from my business, and nearly eliminated our large format printers. The price of the SS surely wasn't meant for consumers. Yet my company bought 3 of them. I know one architecture firm that bought ten Surface Studios when they first came out. That machine didn't sell very well though, not because business people didn't want it, but because it was terribly under powered for other digital work that creative businesses do. Microsoft forced people to choose between their high powered custom built computers that are necessary to get things like Maya 3D design done, and a sweet digital drafting table that was terribly under powered. A standalone monitor would have fixed this conflict.

    People are business! Consumers are business people! College kids are people that use computers with Windows! SAHM's are people that use computers with Windows! Kids build computers to play games using Windows! Business people use computers after hours that use Windows! Why can't you and Microsoft understand this! This is why Microsoft failed in phones. What, they thought business people didn't want a phone when they clocked out and went home? They left their business phone in their work locker and grabbed their personal phone? They put their business fitness tracker in that locker and donned their personal fitness watch upon leaving work? I do agree with you that businesses aren't interested in music, movies or other streaming services. But if Microsoft is only interested in business, why do they have Xbox?
    Designers, artists and other creative people prefer Apple products.
    Reply
  • taynjack
    Laura Knotek said:
    Designers, artists and other creative people prefer Apple products.
    And why would this be? Could it be that Apple actually supports artists, designers, architects and other creative people? Microsoft only supports business according to Naddy69. I guess creatives aren't business people according to him.
    Reply