Meta Abandons Its Plans for AR/VR Systems

After all, Meta will continue to utilize a customized version of Android. Internally known as XROS, the project had been in the works for years and “included hundreds of personnel.”

Only a few months ago, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was extolling its virtues. The reasons behind Meta’s choice to turn off from XROS are yet unknown.

From the outside, the decision looks to be a big blow in Meta’s, Apple’s, and maybe other tech companies’ growing mixed reality conflict. Apple’s future VR and AR headsets will almost certainly run a proprietary operating system built to take advantage of the hardware’s close integration for high performance and a reliable experience. Without its ground-up software, Facebook may find it impossible to compete. However, Facebook and Apple may wind up pursuing completely different use cases for AR and VR; most people are unsure of their eventual plans.

Facebook vs. Meta

Facebook was dubbed “Meta” as part of a larger push by the corporation to build more immersive experiences—the term is a reference to science fiction’s metaverse. The shift implied that Meta saw mixed reality, or XR (a term encompassing AR and VR technology), as the company’s future. As a result, Meta most probably will stop working on XROS. However, it’s also conceivable that the project may be revived in the future in a different form.

According to analysts and reporters, Apple’s first mixed reality headset might enter the market as soon as this year. However, it’s unlikely to be a mass-market consumer item. Because it acquires Oculus and the resounding success of the Oculus Quest, Meta is already on the market. However, this seeming setback implies that Apple may be ahead of the curve in several technology areas.

However, there are claims that Apple’s AR business has been losing talent to other startups, including Meta, for reasons that we still don’t know. If there’s one conclusion from all of this, it’s that the much-anticipated mixed reality revolution is still in its early stages.