- By Vikas Yadav
- Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:47 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Meta has been betting big on the future of its Quest devices to further its metaverse mission. In this series, the company is opening up the software powering these Quest devices to third-party entities, including hardware manufacturers. This will allow developers to build on the experience to offer more choices to customers, ultimately leading to its expansion.
The social media giant is also working with leading tech companies to build an ecosystem of MR devices and apps to take on Apple and offer more choices to people. This hardware ecosystem will be powered by Meta Horizon OS, which already powers the Quest devices.
Meta Horizon OS ships with inside-out-tracking, self-tracked controllers, high-res Passthrough, Scene Understanding and Spatial Anchors, among other technologies. Built on the foundation of the Android Open Source Project, developers can use these technologies to create MR experiences.
Today, we’re opening @MetaQuestVR's operating system to third-party hardware makers and making it easier for developers to build mixed reality apps that reach a wide audience.https://t.co/PtMNpycypD
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) April 22, 2024
These creators can take advantage of the content discovery and monetisation platforms to expand their business. "The social layer of Meta Horizon OS means people's identities, avatars, social graphs and friend groups can move with them across virtual spaces, and developers can integrate these social features into their apps," Meta said.
This social layer will work across MR headsets, smartphones and desktop PCs. Meta also said it will rename the companion app to Meta Horizon and the Quest Store to Meta Horizon Store. It stated that ASUS' ROG will develop a gaming headset, and Lenovo will build MR devices catering to productivity, learning, and entertainment use cases built on Meta Horizon OS. The company also stated it will launch a special edition Quest in partnership with Xbox.
All these devices will likely run on a Qualcomm chipset. It also noted that developers who meet basic technical and content requirements would be able to release software for Quest. These App Lab titles will appear in a dedicated section on the Meta Horizon Store. Meta noted a new spatial app framework will let developers use similar tools used for creating mobile apps to bring the apps to mixed reality.