Meta Just Became the Android of VR

Hot on the heels of its biggest competition in the Apple Vision Pro, Meta has announced that it’s going to be fighting Apple using a tried-and-true strategy: Meta wants to become the Android of VR.

In a press release, the company behind the Quest line of headsets revealed that it’s making the Meta Horizon operating system and Quest ecosystem open to third-party manufacturers. That means you might soon be able to buy a headset made by Dell or Sony and log in to see the Meta UI you already know and Meta apps you already own.

It’s a similar approach to Android or Windows, in that while Google and Microsoft make their own products, the software powering their phones and laptops isn’t limited to Google and Microsoft hardware. This allows these companies to maintain parity with Apple devices without having to directly compete with them on every front, while also offering customers a greater degree of choice.

Is it open source? No. But it does mean that Meta could keep up with the Vision Pro simply by relying on a smaller company to hit that niche premium market for it, something the company behind Facebook has had trouble doing itself in the past.

Meta’s more open VR strategy is starting with a three-pronged approach, with two new headsets on the way from laptop makers Lenovo and Asus, as well as an Xbox-branded Quest headset coming straight from Meta itself.

Each headset should target a different audience, allowing Meta to immediately differentiate itself from Apple by appealing to a multitude of use cases. Asus’ headset is coming from that company’s “Republic of Gamers” branch, meaning it will probably be decked out in RGB lighting and the latest and greatest VR gaming specs. Lenovo’s seems to instead be leveraging that company’s experience with ThinkPad, meaning it might target a more professional audience. The Xbox collaboration is focused entirely on design, looking unique but otherwise being a normal Quest 3.

Alongside these lowered barriers to making Meta-branded hardware, Meta is also “beginning the process of removing the barriers between the Meta Horizon Store and App Lab,” which essentially means that smaller developers will now be able to push their content straight to consumers.

“We believe a more open ecosystem is the best way to bring the power of mixed reality to as many people as possible,” Meta wrote in its announcement. “With more devices, this new ecosystem will offer more choice to consumers and businesses around the world.”

In light of mass returns on the impressive but niche Apple Vision Pro, a greater selection of devices, all with different price points and audiences, and all running Meta’s more mature ecosystem, could be exactly what VR needs to hit a mass market.