Meta Is ‘Opening Up’ Quest Headset Operating System to Rivals

Kurt Wagner, Bloomberg News

An attendee uses a Meta Platforms Inc. Quest 3 virtual reality (VR) headset during an event in San Francisco, California, US, on Sept. 18, 2023. Meta Platforms Inc. introduced its latest lineup of head-worn devices, staking fresh claim to the virtual- and augmented-reality industry just ahead of Apple Inc. pushing into the market. , Bloomberg

(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.

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.)