Meta has paused its program to share Horizon OS, the mixed-reality operating system powering its Quest headsets, with third-party device makers as part of its metaverse initiative to expand hardware options for VR users.
The pause aims to prioritize development of first-party hardware and software to advance the VR market. A Meta spokesperson stated to TechCrunch, “We have paused the program to focus on building the world‑class first‑party hardware and software needed to advance the VR market.” The spokesperson added, “We’re committed to this for the long term and will revisit opportunities for third‑party device partnerships as the category evolves.” Road to VR first reported the development.
In April, Meta announced it would open Horizon OS to third-party headset makers. The company identified Asus, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Lenovo as partners developing compatible hardware. Meta explained its strategy by drawing parallels to established industries: “As we’ve seen with the PC and smartphone industries, consumers are best served by a broad hardware ecosystem producing both general‑purpose computing devices and more specialized products, all running on a common platform.”
Updates on the partner program remained limited since the April announcement. During Meta’s Connect event in September, a company spokesperson confirmed ongoing collaborations with business partners to integrate Horizon OS into additional devices.
Horizon OS supports mixed-reality experiences and facilitates social presence via technologies including hand tracking, body tracking, eye tracking, and face tracking. The operating system emerged during a period when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg positioned the metaverse as the company’s central future direction.
Meta’s emphasis has since moved toward artificial intelligence. Earlier this month, Bloomberg detailed potential budget reductions of up to 30% for the metaverse group within Reality Labs, Meta’s division handling VR and AR hardware. In response, Meta verified plans to redirect investments: it is “shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward AI glasses and wearables given the momentum there.” This reallocation reflects growing priority on AI-driven wearables over metaverse initiatives.
