Wagner James Au / New World Notes

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Meta Horizon OS Seems More a Move Against AndroidXR, Than Encouraging an Open XR Ecosystem

Meta Horizon OS Android XR

Meta just announced Meta Horizon OS, which despite the name is not specifically about its metaverse platform Horizon Worlds, but actually its mixed reality operating system for Quest devices which is now running on other upcoming XR headsets:

Developers and creators can take advantage of all these technologies using the custom frameworks and tooling we’ve built for creating mixed reality experiences, and they can reach their communities and grow their businesses through the content discovery and monetization platforms built into the OS… 

Leading global technology companies are already working on new devices built on Meta Horizon OS:

ASUS’s Republic of Gamers will use its expertise as a leader in gaming solutions to develop an all-new performance gaming headset.

Lenovo will draw on its experience co-designing Oculus Rift S, as well as deep expertise in engineering leading devices like the ThinkPad laptop series, to develop mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment.

Xbox and Meta teamed up last year to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) to Meta Quest, letting people play Xbox games on a large 2D virtual screen in mixed reality. Now, we’re working together again to create a limited-edition Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox.

The announcement seems like a good deal for Xbox, Lenovo, and ASUS, but it seemed rather nothingburger for everyone else. So I checked with XR expert Avi Bar-Zeev. Unsurprisingly, he'd already posted an apropos rant on LinkedIn:

 

So does this mean we can buy a Quest and then load any OS we want? Or edit the 'open' Meta OS source code to disable any non-local data collection? Is that what ‘open’ means for Meta? Apparently not. Because for PCs, I recall that we could load any OS. Alas, Microsoft never open-sourced Windows but did license it and also works fairly well as far as I know with open source Linux. Basically, what Mark Zuckerberg is saying is they want to compete with a potential AndroidXR, because Meta missed or sank the boat at least twice on phones and OSes.

By AndroidXR, he's referring to this news from only last month:

A report from The Information last week alleged Meta and Google held talks in effort to bring Android XR to Quest. Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth has now confirmed this report, stating further that not only were Google’s terms too restrictive, but Google is actively planning to fragment the ecosystem with its Android-based XR operating system.

The thing is, Avi tells me, Meta Horizon OS is also restrictive, especially for developers who want to avoid giving user data to Meta:

"That would be negotiated between the thrid party headset manufacturer and Meta," he explains. "But consider both options:

  1. Third party HMD maker doesn't want Meta to monetize its customers. e.g., business use cases. They will likely have to sell their HMD at a higher price than Meta does and pay more to Meta for the license of the OS because Meta makes less off each such user.
  2. Third party wants the same ad-tech subsidy Meta applies, therefore must allow the same data collection."

Seen that way, Meta's move to keep AndroidXR off Quest devices makes sense from the company's perspective:

"The nightmare scenario for Meta is that they discover a real free and open source OS being installed on subsidized Quest devices," as Avi puts it, "but can't make the money back on the app store or user data."

So unless I'm missing something, Meta Horizon OS is Meta's blocking move against Google, while promoting its partners like Lenovo and Microsoft. While also introducing further brand confusion. (See below.)

Instead of all this, what I’d really love to see Meta foster is a cost-effective HMD for medical use, as in therapy for the millions of patients who could benefit from it — but which would have to be HIPAA compliant, meaning Meta couldn’t collect personal data. Sadly this move doesn't get us any closer to that.


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More on this move from Avi on his LinkedIn.

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One response to “Meta Horizon OS Seems More a Move Against AndroidXR, Than Encouraging an Open XR Ecosystem”

  1. Martin K. Avatar
    Martin K.

    To me, it looks like this is part of Meta changing their focus from VR headsets to AR glasses; it’s similar to what happened when they changed focus from PC-VR headsets to standalone VR headsets and let Lenovo produce the Oculus Rift S.
    If that’s correct, Meta might not produce any new VR headsets after the cheap version of Meta Quest 3 rumoured to be released later this year. That one is supposedly going to undercut all these other headsets in price. The current sales numbers of Meta Quest 2 vs. Meta Quest 3 (about 2:1) might provide an idea of how this dynamic might play out next year – which might result in those other companies dropping the product category about as quickly as they did with Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
    And guess who wouldn’t care much? Meta; because they are likely to be laser-focused on AR glasses in the future.

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