Meta ‘Opening Up’ Quest Headset Operating System to Rivals
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is “opening up” its Meta Quest headset operating system to other hardware makers, part of an effort to boost its standing in the nascent augmented reality and virtual reality industries.
Most Read from Bloomberg
US Economy Slows and Inflation Jumps, Damping Soft-Landing Hopes
Malaysia in Talks With Tycoons on Casino to Revive $100 Billion Forest City
Biden’s Gains Against Trump Vanish on Deep Economic Pessimism, Poll Shows
Zuckerberg Asks for Patience as Meta’s AI Push Spooks Market
The move means other technology companies will be able to build their own headsets using Meta’s operating system, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg wrote Monday. Meta announced a few select early partners, including Microsoft Corp. and Lenovo Inc.
Zuckerberg has long aspired for Meta to build its own devices and operating system to decrease the company’s reliance on competitors. When it comes to mobile apps like Facebook and Instagram, Meta is beholden to mobile OS creators such as Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Meta has taken particular issue with Apple in recent years, complaining that the iPhone maker’s decisions around privacy and in-app fees for iOS applications have hurt Meta’s business.
Zuckerberg is hoping to avoid that situation with the next wave of devices, including AR and VR headsets, and the company is spending aggressively to make that happen. In 2023, Reality Labs, the division working on all of Meta’s futuristic AR and VR developments, lost $16 billion.
(Updated with Reality Labs loss in last paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
US White-Collar Job Growth Stalls, Even in Pandemic Boomtowns
Caught Between the US and China, a Powerful AI Upstart Chooses Sides
A Hedge Fund Billionaire’s Cash Helped Fund a ‘Predatory’ Lender
Studio Behind Dune Eyes Growth, Even Without a Paramount Merger
Big Junk Food’s Campaign to Get You Eating Doritos and Oreos for Dinner
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.