Meta To Share Its Mixed Reality Operating System With Third-party Hardware Companies

In the last few months, the augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) market garnered big interest from major technology and AI companies, with regards to its hardware, software and the ever-popular virtual world AKA metaverse. 

This included Meta and Apple launching their next generation of VR headsets with advanced capabilities along with other announcements aimed at enhancing the technology’s applications. 

Keeping to this thought, industry leader Meta has come up with another announcement that’s set to enhance virtual spaces the overall functionality of the AR/VR/MR sector. 

So, what did the company reveal and how will it help the industry? Let’s explore!
 

What Did Meta Announce?

 

• “Today, we’re taking a major step toward our vision for a more open computing platform for the metaverse,” read the first line of Meta’s news release announcing the introduction of its move to make an open mixed reality ecosystem.

• Published on its website, the news release revealed that the company was opening its Meta Horizon OS, the operating system that powers its Meta Quest devices, to third-party hardware makers.

• The idea is to provide developers with a larger ecosystem to build and create more choices for consumers.

• The initiative has garnered the interest of leading global technology companies that are already working to build the new ecosystem.

• This includes ASUS’s ROG (Republic of Gamers) developing an all-new performance gaming headset, Lenovo (experienced in Oculus Rift S) developing mixed reality devices for productivity, learning and entertainment and Xbox building on its previous partnership with Meta to co-develop a limited-edition Meta Quest inspired by Xbox.

• Additionally, all the devices will benefit from Meta’s long-term partnership with Qualcomm Technologies, the developer of Snapdragon processors, which are tightly integrated into Meta’s software and hardware stacks.

• As per the release, “To pioneer standalone headsets, we developed technologies like inside-out-tracking and self-tracked controllers. To allow for more natural interaction systems and social presence, we pioneered hand, eye, face and body tracking. And for mixed reality, we built a full stack of technologies for blending the digital and physical worlds, including high-resolution Passthrough, Scene Understanding and Spatial Anchors.”

• Ahead of this, Meta is also making it easier for app developers to reach their audiences by removing the barriers between the Meta Horizon Store and App Lab, while also developing a new spatial app framework allowing mobile developers create mixed reality experiences.

 

What Did Meta Say?

 

• Through the news release, Meta said, “This platform is the product of a decade of investment into the underlying technologies that enable mixed reality, and opening it up means a lot more people will benefit from that investment.”

• “We believe a more open ecosystem is the best way to bring the power of mixed reality to as many people as possible. With more devices, this new ecosystem will offer more choice to consumers and businesses around the world. Developers will have a much larger range of hardware that can run their apps, and more device makers will expand their market to a wider range of users, much like we’ve seen with PCs and smartphones.”

• In a video posted on Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, the Founder and CEO of Meta, said, “In every era of computing, there are always open and closed models. With phones, Apple's closed model basically won out. Phones are tightly controlled, and you’re locked into what they’ll let you do. But it doesn’t have to be this way.”

• “In the PC era, the open model won out. You can do a lot more things, install mods, more diversity of hardware, software and more. So, our goal is to make it so that the open model defines the next generation of computing, again with the metaverse, glasses and headsets.”

Do you think this move by Meta will allow it to take the lead in the AR/VR/MR industry and allow it to hold pole position?

Let us know in the comments below!