Meta, the company behind the virtual reality (VR) platform Oculus, has announced that it is opening up its Horizon OS operating system to third-party hardware manufacturers. This means that Lenovo, Microsoft, and Asus will be able to use Horizon OS in their new products, expanding the possibilities for developers and users alike.
Horizon OS is a next-generation computing platform that was developed by Meta over the course of a decade. It is built around people and not exclusive to its MR headsets, making it more accessible to a wider range of users. By opening up Horizon OS to other manufacturers, Meta is providing more options for consumers and creating a broader ecosystem in which developers can build their applications.
For example, Asus’ gaming division Republic of Gamers (ROG) will develop MR glasses for high-performance title gaming. Lenovo will leverage its expertise in co-designing the Oculus Rift S and engineering devices like the ThinkPad to develop MRI equipment for productivity, learning, and entertainment. Meta is collaborating with Xbox to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming in beta version to its Meta Quest headset so that players can access Xbox video games on a virtual 2D screen in MR.
All devices in the new hardware ecosystem powered by Meta Horizon OS will benefit from Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon chips, just like Meta Quest 3 already does with Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2. This means that users can expect faster performance and smoother experiences across all devices.
As Meta opens up Horizon OS to more original equipment manufacturers, it expands the ways app developers can reach audiences and consumers. App Lab titles will soon appear in a dedicated section in the online store on all devices, making them more visible to a wider audience. A new spatial applications framework is also being developed to allow developers to bring mobile applications to Meta Horizon OS or create new experiences for this operating system. This means that there are even more opportunities for developers to showcase their creativity and build innovative new applications.