Meta opens Quest OS to third-party headset makers, taps Lenovo and Xbox as partners

Meta Horizon OS, the mixed reality operating system that powers Meta Quest headsets, can now be used by third-party device makers, the company announced Monday. This strategic move comes at a time when the VR/AR headset war between Meta, Apple and Sony continues to intensify.

Three major players in the virtual reality industry (Asus, Lenovo and Microsoft’s Xbox) are the first companies to confirm that they will develop new devices running the software. Most notably, Microsoft is partnering with Meta to create a “limited edition, Xbox-inspired Meta Quest,” according to the announcement. Asus and Lenovo, on the other hand, make headsets designed for specific use cases. Asus is developing a headset dedicated to gaming while Lenovo wants its device to be aimed at “productivity, learning and entertainment”.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an Instagram video on Monday: “It’ll probably take a few years for some of these new products (metaverses) to start launching, but I’m really excited to start this next chapter and put it in your hands . as soon as possible.”