Meta stopped developing its operating system for augmented-reality and virtual-reality devices, according to The Information.
According to a report published earlier today, Meta stopped development of its operating system for virtual-reality devices and augmented-reality glasses in November of 2021, citing people familiar with the matter. More than 300 Meta employees were involved in the work on the operating system.
Meta was designing a new OS from scratch to support it's ambitions in the augmented and virtual reality space, called "XROS." Existing devices, such as the Quest 2, run a modified version of VROS, but Meta was designing a new OS from scratch to support it's The company could still revive parts of the OS at a later date, even though the project was abandoned.
Meta will focus on modifying an open-sourced version of the OS for use in augmented and virtual reality. The move is expected to save the company money and engineering resources, but it ties Meta's ambitions to the ones of Google.
Meta's long-term goal of being more independent and developing its own hardware appears to have been dealt a blow by the decision. Meta's business model is dependent on the level of control that Apple and Google have over devices that are key to Meta's business model.
Apple is believed to be working on a new operating system called "rOS" that will run on the company's mixed-reality headset and augmented-reality glasses. Apple is expected to launch a mixed-reality headset this year that will compete with Meta.
rOS has been in development for a while. Mark Gurman said that rOS is based on Apple's mobile operating system. It has basic applications and an App Store, as well as technologies for virtual meeting rooms and 360-degree video.
Apple has a strong foothold in augmented reality technologies with the help of the ARKit, which provides developers with tools to create augmented reality apps for its devices, and the company frequently adds new features to its devices, such as the LiDAR scanner on the iPad Pro.
Multiple sources say that Apple's headset will be announced before the end of the year, with the project now said to be "approaching liftoff."
