Meta continues to go all-in with its plans to make mixed-reality headsets and software for the mass market. Today, the company announced it will open up the operating system that it uses for its own Meta Quest headsets to third-party device makers.
In a blog post, Meta announced that these third-party headsets will run on Meta Horizon OS. This operating system was built from the foundation of the Android Open Source Project. Meta stated:
Developers and creators can take advantage of all these technologies using the custom frameworks and tooling we’ve built for creating mixed reality experiences, and they can reach their communities and grow their businesses through the content discovery and monetization platforms built into the OS.
Meta is also renaming the Meta Quest Store, the digital storefront for its VR and MR apps, to the Meta Horizon Store. The Meta Quest mobile app will also be renamed as the Meta Horizon app.
Asus will develop a gaming-oriented MR headset under its ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand with Meta Horizon OS. Lenovo will also make a headset with Meta Horizon OS, which will be about "productivity, learning, and entertainment."
The most interesting product may come from a collaboration between Meta and Microsoft. The blog post states that the two companies will work together to release a "limited-edition Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox." The Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro headset models all added support for Xbox Cloud Gaming via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate back In December 2023.
Any company that wants to make headsets based on Meta Horizon OS will also be able to access Qualcomm"s chips, such as the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2, which launched with the release of the Meta Quest 3. So far, we have no info on when any of these new headsets will actually go on sale.