Apple has been busy working on its new headset, which has been the subject of regular rumors. And now comes the news that Meta, the parent company behind Facebook, has decided to halt plans for their new AR/VR headset.
This would have to do with Apple’s plans. And that is quite striking. Meta is of course also the parent company of Oculus, which has now successfully launched many VR glasses on the market. So you would think that such new glasses would be right up their alley.
Meta stops developing AR/VR Headset
Meta was working on a new operating system for future Oculus headsets and their new augmented-reality headset. But in November of last year, the company reportedly stopped doing so. This even though it had been working on it since 2017 and had around 300 employees working in the division. It is likely that for future Oculus headsets they will continue to work with the current systems. Currently, it all runs on a modified Android system called VROS. So the company wanted to make something of its own, but is now stepping away from that.
The Oculus Go (Image: Oculus)
Apple itself is said to be working with their own operating system though. This is called “rOS” in the corridors. It could be that these plans have caused Meta to adjust its own plans. And that’s quite a blow, since Zuckerberg really wanted to have his own system. Now there is a good chance that they will continue with Android and a modified system. You then have the advantage of knowing what you are working with and it has proven to work well on its own. But you also have less freedom. Something that Apple will soon have, as they can build their system from the ground up and it can easily work together with the company’s other systems.
ARkit
Moreover, Apple has more experience in the AR field than Meta. With ARkit developers can already create various augmented reality apps for the iPhone and iPad. Perhaps that knowledge will soon be included with their own AR/VR headset.
