Meta has made a strategic move to open up its Metaverse and make it more accessible by partnering with third-party hardware manufacturers. The company’s Meta Horizon OS, which powers its Meta Quest devices, will now be available to companies like Lenovo, Microsoft, and Asus to create their own virtual reality headsets.
This collaboration aims to foster a larger ecosystem for developers, offering them a wider range of hardware to run their applications. Consumers will also benefit from increased choice and innovation in the VR hardware market.
Meta Horizon OS serves as the foundation for Meta’s existing Meta Quest headsets and combines core mixed reality technologies with features centered around social presence. It has been in development for over a decade and incorporates advancements such as inside-out tracking, hand and eye tracking, and high-resolution passthrough.
Through the Meta Horizon Store, developers can leverage these technologies to create immersive mixed reality experiences. Meta’s social layer allows identities, avatars, and social graphs to seamlessly move across virtual spaces, enabling developers to integrate social features into their apps.
Meta Horizon OS will be available to a wider range of device makers, expanding opportunities for app developers. Barriers between the Meta Horizon Store and App Lab will be removed, making it easier for developers to release software on the platform. Meta is also developing a new spatial app framework to assist mobile developers in creating mixed reality experiences.
This move positions Meta as a frontrunner in the OS VR ecosystem, potentially surpassing Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro. Meta’s partnership with Qualcomm Technologies, whose Snapdragon processors are integrated with Meta’s software and hardware, will further enhance the capabilities of these devices.
