Meta Reveals Big Plans for Its Horizon OS 635x1h Will Expand It to Third-Party Mixed-Reality Headset Makers

Meta is also renaming Meta Quest Store to Meta Horizon Store, as a part of the expansion. 1e466i

Written by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 23 April 2024 13:24 IST

Meta Reveals Big Plans for Its Horizon OS, Will Expand It to Third-Party Mixed-Reality Headset Makers

Photo Credit: Meta 1a3g49

Meta is developing a spatial app framework for developers to create mixed-reality experiences

Highlights

Horizon OS will be used by brands such as Asus ROG and Lenovo
Meta is also unifying its Horizon Store and App Lab
It is also inviting Google Play 2D app store to the ecosystem

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Meta Quest series, but now other companies can also use the OS for their headsets and similar devices. The company is also renaming its app marketplace Meta Quest Store to Meta Horizon Store as a part of its third-party OS expansion plans.

Making the announcement via a blog post, Meta said, “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.”

The social media giant also revealed that it is already working with brands such as Xbox games on a 2D virtual screen in mixed reality.

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Opening up its OS ecosystem, Meta is also helping developers build apps for the ecosystem seamlessly. For this, the mixed-reality headset maker is removing the barriers between Meta Horizon Store and its App Lab. App Lab titles will now be featured in a dedicated section within the former marketplace.

The company is also developing a new spatial app framework that will enable mobile app developers to implement mixed-reality experiences within it and bring it to the Horizon Store. It further announced that Horizon OS will be an open ecosystem. It already hosts third-party gaming services such as Xbox Game Ultimate and Steam Link, and has formally invited Google Play 2D app store to the Horizon Store.

Based on the announcement, Meta's OS ecosystem ambition is a major one, and is comparable to what Google did with Windows and Android operating systems. With its open source approach and experience of creating cohesive experience for mixed-reality environments, the company could create a big impact by bringing more brands under its umbrella.

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Further reading: mixed reality headset

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen ing his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing ionate opinions on food. More