Meta’s Ambitious Plan to Enter Mixed Reality Headset Market and Challenge Apple Revealed: Key Details

Meta is set to partner with more hardware brands to help them create affordable mixed reality (XR) headsets, giving Apple a tough run in the market. Mark Zuckerberg is set to put Horizon OS on other third-party devices, similar to Microsoft’s approach with Windows OS over the years. Meta realizes that while competing with Apple may increase its revenue, it is unlikely to deliver high volumes.

But a route like Windows might be a better strategy for the company, as we see now. The company isn’t abandoning the XR ecosystem it’s long called Metaverse. And somewhere, its renewed excitement has been fueled by Apple’s entry into the market, giving it more confidence than ever. The meta chief is optimistic that Apple’s launch in this segment will attract more attention and give new life to a stagnant category. In fact, reports say, Zuckerberg hopes the Quest could become the ‘Android of the AR and VR market’, which is an interesting way to look at Apple’s push into the mixed reality segment.

Apple’s Vision Pro is priced at the upper end of the segment, leaving plenty of room in the mass market where Meta wants to double down with the help of other manufacturers. The likes of Lenovo and Asus have already signed up to use Horizon OS on their own Quest-like headsets, which should be seen in the near future. It makes sense for the Meta to adopt an Android/Windows strategy for this segment and impose itself as a solid second option for millions, especially those who don’t or can’t afford to spend more than 2.5 lakh on Apple’s Vision Pro headset.

Zuckerberg also hopes to bring the Play Store to the XR ecosystem on the Quest series for Google, which will help with its reach, developer interest and cost economics as the cost of production will drop drastically. These will be all the perfect ingredients to make it a worthy product in countries like India where the Quest is not officially available. Imagine if a Quest headset could be launched under $200 (approx. Rs. 16,500) that not only gives a renewed focus to the segment but also attracts a wider range of buyers[ad_2]