Meta will open its Horizon OS operating system to other technology companies.

Meta is opening its Meta Horizon OS operating system, which powers its Meta Quest devices, to third-party hardware manufacturers, the company announced in a blog post. With this, Meta aims to give developers a larger ecosystem to build on and create more choice for consumers. Meta joins forces with hardware manufacturers such as Lenovo, Asus and Xbox. What Microsoft was for PCs, Meta now wants to be for headsets.

Meta Horizon OS

Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta Horizon OS on his Instagram page. Here he explains how Meta will work with other technology companies to support the development of mixed reality headsets for various purposes. Thanks to the opening of the Meta Horizon OS operating system, mixed reality can therefore be widely used and rapidly developed. This system also includes a social layer where users using Horizon OS devices from different manufacturers can continue to stay connected through the operating system’s social layer.

Collaboration with hardware manufacturers

In the announcement, Meta talks about companies like Asus, Lenovo and Xbox that want to bring this ecosystem to life with new devices based on Meta Horizon OS. For example, ASUS’ Republic of Gamers will leverage its expertise in gaming solutions to develop a new performance gaming headset.

Lenovo will leverage its expertise to develop mixed reality devices for productivity, learning and entertainment. Finally, Meta would like to collaborate with Xbox again to create a limited edition Xbox-inspired Meta Quest.

These new devices will benefit from Meta’s partnership with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., which builds the Snapdragon processors that are tightly integrated into Meta’s software and hardware stacks. Pricing or release dates for the new devices have not yet been announced, although Zuckerberg noted in his Instagram post that it will “probably be a few years away.”