Meta makes Quest’s Horizon OS available for third-party devices

Meta Horizon OS: Meta Platforms announced on Monday a major development in the virtual and mixed reality industry by sharing its Quest headset's operating system, Meta Horizon OS, with rival device makers for the first time. The move aims to extend Meta's influence in the emerging market by enabling partner companies, including Microsoft, Asus, and Lenovo, to build their own headsets tailored for specific activities.

The rebranded operating system offers advanced capabilities such as gesture recognition, passthrough, scene understanding, and spatial anchors. Partner companies are already leveraging this technology to develop specialised headsets, including gaming devices by ASUS' Republic of Gamers and mixed reality devices for productivity and entertainment by Lenovo.

Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed ambitions to establish Meta Horizon OS as the computational platform powering virtual and mixed reality devices, akin to Google's Android in the smartphone market. The company aims to drive innovation and broaden adoption beyond the gaming community and select enterprises.

While Meta remains a leader in the VR market, it faces increasing competition from rivals such as Apple and Google, who have entered the space with their own offerings. Meta Horizon OS, being Android-based, positions Meta strategically in this evolving landscape.

Zuckerberg also addressed recent tensions with Google, indicating a willingness to collaborate by welcoming Google Play apps on Meta Horizon OS devices. However, Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth had previously criticised Google's approach, citing concerns about potential ecosystem fragmentation.

In addition to sharing the operating system, Meta announced the renaming of the Quest Store to the Horizon Store, underlining its commitment to providing a platform for users to download apps and experiences. The company also introduced the Meta Horizon app as a mobile companion for seamless integration with Meta Horizon OS devices.

(With Reuters inputs)