Meta to open Quest’s Horizon OS to Microsoft, others in mixed-reality space

Meta has announced that it is opening up its operating system that powers the Meta Quest mixed-reality headset to third-party hardware makers such as ASUS, Lenovo and Microsoft. In a press note released by the company, Meta said it is working with “leading global technology companies” to bring more options for consumers in the mixed-reality space and a “larger ecosystem for developers to build for.”

Meta Horizon OS

Meta’s indigenously developed Horizon OS features an inside-out tracking ability to detect the user’s body movement for gesture control. Additionally, the operating system offers high-resolution passthrough, scene understanding, and spatial anchors. This operating system powers Meta’s Quest line of mixed-reality headsets. Now, it is set to power headsets from other companies such as Microsoft, Asus, Lenovo, and more.

Meta said it will allow developers to leverage the features available on the operating system to develop new apps and monetise them through the content discovery platforms within the OS. These platforms include the Meta Quest Store, which is getting rebranded to the Meta Horizon Store.

Hardware ecosystem with Horizon OS

Meta said that the social layer currently powering the Meta Quest devices will extend to other devices running on the Horizon OS, from different manufacturers. With the extended ecosystem, users can interact with other identities, avatars, and friend groups irrespective of the device.

All Meta Horizon OS-powered devices will use the same mobile companion app as the Meta Quest devices and the company will soon rename it to Meta Horizon App.

Here are the hardware manufacturers that are working on Meta Horizon OS-powered devices:

ASUS’s Republic of Gamers (ROG): Meta has confirmed that the Taiwanese electronics brand ASUS is currently developing a new performance gaming headset, under its ROG branding, based on Horizon OS.

Lenovo: China’s Lenovo is working on new mixed-reality devices based on Meta Horizon OS for productivity, learning and entertainment.

Microsoft’s Xbox: Meta has extended its partnership with Microsoft to create a limited-edition Meta Quest headset, inspired by the Xbox gaming console. Meta already allows Xbox Cloud Gaming on its Quest headsets.

Meta has confirmed that all of the above-listed devices will be built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform. The current generation Meta Quest 3 headset is also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset, which is specially designed for mixed-reality devices.