In a major move for the mixed reality industry, Meta announced today By opening Quest’s operating system to third-party companies, it allows them to create their own headsets. Think of it as moving Quest’s ecosystem from the Apple model, where one company builds both hardware and software, to a free-for-all like Android. Quest OS is being rebranded as “Meta Horizon OS” and at this point it has found two early adopters. ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand is working on new “performance gaming” headsets, while Lenovo is working on devices for “productivity, learning and entertainment.” (Remember, Lenovo also built poorly received ones Oculus Rift S.)
As part of the news, Meta said it’s also working on a limited-edition Xbox “inspired” Quest headset. (Microsoft and Meta recently worked together Bring Xbox cloud gaming to Quest.) Meta is also calling on Google to port the Google Play 2D app store to Meta Horizon OS. And to bring more content to the Horizon ecosystem, software developed through the Quest App Lab will be featured in the Horizon Store. The company too development of a new spatial framework allowing mobile developers to create mixed reality applications.
“Mixed reality is transforming the way people interact with computers by combining digital experiences and physical spaces,” Lenovo chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang said in a statement. Lenovo brings together Meta Horizon OS with our leadership and innovation in personal computing to accelerate the adoption of new user scenarios in mixed reality such as virtual displays, remote presence, content consumption and immersive learning.”
