These are the Meta Quest alternatives we could get soon with Horizon OS, according to Mark Zuckerberg
Meta is making its Horizon OS – the operating system the Quest headsets run on – available for third-party XR devices (XR is an umbrella term for virtual, augmented and mixed reality), and it might be the biggest VR announcement anyone has made this decade. do .
The first batch will include headsets from Asus, Lenovo, and Xbox, and while we have an idea of what these gadgets have to offer, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg may have given us some more details, or outlined other non-Quest hardware we could possibly use. see how you can use Horizon OS in the future.
To get you up to speed, the three devices teased in the Horizon OS sharing announcement are a “performance gaming headset” from Asus, “mixed reality devices for productivity” from Lenovo, and a more Quest-like headset from Xbox.
And in Meta’s Earnings figures for the first quarter of 2024Zuckerberg discussed the recent announcement by explaining the types of diverse XR hardware we might encounter by giving some pretty specific examples.
One was a ‘work-oriented headset’ that is ‘lighter’ and ‘less designed for movement’; you plug it into a laptop to use it, and this could be something we see on laptop manufacturer Lenovo’s device. Another Zuckerberg description was for a “gaming-focused headset” that prioritizes “peripherals and haptics,” which could be the Asus headset.
Then there was a device that would come pre-built with “Xbox controllers and a Game Pass subscription” – with Zuckerberg specifically connecting it to the announced Xbox device.
Will there be more Horizon OS headsets coming in?
He also described two devices that haven’t yet been teased: “An entertainment-focused headset” designed with the “highest resolution screens” at the expense of the other specs, and “a fitness-focused headset” that’s “lighter with sweat ”. -removing materials.”
It’s possible that these suggestions were simply Zuckerberg talking about potential Horizon OS devices rather than gadgets currently in the works. But we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that these gadgets are coming, considering how plausible they sound – with the partners not yet ready to reveal that they’re working on anything.
There is also the question of other already announced XR devices, such as the Samsung XR headset, and whether they will run Horizon OS. Since Samsung has collaborated with Google on the upcoming headset – which we assume is for software support – we’re guessing this won’t be the case. But we’ll have to wait and see what’s announced when the device is unveiled (hopefully later this year).
All we can say is that Meta’s approach already seems to be paving the way for more diverse hardware than we’ve seen before in VR, finally giving us some fantastic options that aren’t just the Meta Quest 3 or whatever comes next comes. It.
Speaking of which, Zuckerberg added in the investor call that he thinks Meta’s “first-party Quest devices will remain the most popular headsets we see today” and that the company plans to update its state-of- the-art headsets to continue making VR technology accessible to everyone. So if you want to wait for the next Quest – perhaps the rumored Meta Quest 3 Lite or Meta Quest Pro 2 – just know that it’s probably still on its way.