Meta has announced the opening of Horizon OS, the operating system that powers its Meta Quest mixed reality (MR) devices, to other third-party hardware manufacturers; and that Lenovo, Microsoft and Asus will be the first to adopt it in their new products. The result of a decade of work by Meta to build a next-generation computing platform has materialized in Meta Horizon OS, an operating system built “around people,” which will not be exclusive to its MR headsets.
The American technology company has explained that with this measure it seeks to provide more options to consumers and offer a broader ecosystem in which developers can build their applications. It will also reach equipment manufactured by third parties, such as Microsoft, Lenovo, or Asus. Asus’ gaming division Republic of Gamers (ROG), for example, will use its experience to develop MR glasses for “high-performance title” gaming, according to a statement.
Lenovo, for its part, will leverage its expertise in co-designing the Oculus Rift S, as well as its experience engineering devices like the ThinkPad, to develop MRI equipment for productivity, learning and entertainment.
Meta has recalled that it 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 two-dimensional (2D) screen in MR. The company is also working with Xbox to launch a limited edition of the Meta Quest helmet, inspired by this other platform manufactured by Microsoft’s gaming division. All devices that will be part of this new hardware ecosystem powered by Meta Horizon OS will benefit from Snapdragon chips, manufactured by Qualcomm Technologies, just like the Meta Quest 3.
With the opening up of Meta Horizon OS to more original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Meta is expanding the ways app developers can reach their audiences and consumers. It seeks to erase the limits between the official service store for its devices, renamed Meta Horizon Store, and the App Lab collaboration platform. 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 worked on to allow developers to bring mobile applications to Meta Horizon OS or create new experiences for this operating system.