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As impressive as the Meta Quest’s hardware is, equally as surprising is just how much Meta has been supporting the device’s software – constantly updating and improving the OS with new and interesting functionality. In a surprising move, Meta is now allowing other VR hardware makers to use their Quest OS; now rebranded as ‘Meta Horizon OS’.
Making the announcement on their blog, the team at Meta announced “A New Era for Mixed Reality” saying: “Today we’re taking the next step toward our vision for a more open computing platform for the metaverse. We’re opening up the operating system powering our Meta Quest devices to third-party hardware makers, giving more choice to consumers and a larger ecosystem for developers to build for. We’re working with leading global technology companies to bring this new ecosystem to life and making it even easier for developers to build apps and reach their audiences on the platform.”
The full blog post goes in-depth on all the changes coming, but some of the biggest bullet points include the aforementioned rebranding of its OS and other software systems with the ‘Horizon’ moniker. The store has also been refreshed with a similar rebrand alongside the merging of its experimental ‘App Labs’ titles into the main store.
In terms of hardware, Lenovo and ASUS/ROG have already confirmed that they are working on their own devices which will make use of Meta’s Horizon OS. Interestingly, Meta will also be partnering with Microsoft to make a limited edition Meta Quest, “inspired by Xbox” – a curious choice given Xbox/Game Pass’ lack of any VR support.
Regardless, it is exciting to see more hardware makers being able to enter the VR hardware market without having to worry about the software side of things.
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KitGuru says: What do you think of the announcement? Will this create new competition in the market? What do you think the Xbox branded headset will be all about? Let us know down below.
