Today we're taking the next step toward our vision for a more open computing platform for the metaverse. We're opening up the operating system powering our Meta Quest devices to third-party hardware makers, giving more choice to consumers and a larger ecosystem for developers to build for. We're working with leading global technology companies to bring this new ecosystem to life and making it even easier for developers to build apps and reach their audiences on the platform.

Introducing Meta Horizon OS
This new hardware ecosystem will run on Meta Horizon OS, the mixed reality operating system that powers our Meta Quest headsets. We chose this name to reflect our vision of a computing platform built around people and connection—and the shared social fabric that makes this possible. Meta Horizon OS combines the core technologies powering today's mixed reality experiences with a suite of features that put social presence at the center of the platform.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced two new spatial computing platforms - Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 and Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 - that will enable the next generation of mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR) devices and smart glasses. Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 Platform: The platform brings premium MR and VR technology into a single chip architecture to unlock next level immersive experiences in thinner and more comfortable headsets, that don't require an external battery pack.

Engineered to deliver a lag free experience with breathtaking visuals and fully immersive sound, the platform allows users to blend virtual content with their physical surroundings and transition seamlessly between MR and VR experiences.

Big news from the Connect stage: Meta Quest 3 hits shelves October 10, and pre-orders are open now! The world's first mass-market mixed reality headset starts at $499.99 USD for the 128 GB version and $649.99 USD for those who want a larger storage capacity at 512 GB. But wait, there's more! For a limited time, your Meta Quest 3 purchase comes bundled with Asgard's Wrath 2 - a $59.99 USD value. And for the 512 GB SKU, we'll also kick in a six-month trial of Meta Quest+ for a combined value of over $100 USD.

Mixed Reality: Explore Like Never Before
Immersive experiences can transport you to fantastical worlds that defy the laws of physics, but the physical world—and the connections you've made there—are pretty important, too. That's why Meta Quest 3 features breakthrough mixed reality that enables a spectrum of experiences. You can watch immersive NBA games courtside or open a portal to another dimension right from the comfort of your living room - all while high-fidelity, full-color Passthrough keeps your physical surroundings in sight with over 10 times more pixels compared to Meta Quest 2.

Meta has announced a price cut for its Quest 2 256 GB and Quest Pro VR headsets, reducing the price by $80 and $500, respectively. The latest price cut puts the Meta Quest 2 256 GB at $429 and the Quest Pro at $999.99.

Unfortunately, Meta is still keeping the price of the Quest 2 128 GB VR headset at $399.99, which now puts it in a rather difficult position. Bear in mind that the Meta Quest 2 VR headset does not feature support for microSD cards, so $30 gets you double the storage, making the slightly more expensive model a better deal.

PICO, a leading VR brand with independent innovation and R&D creation capabilities, has today announced the launch of the PICO 4, a next-generation, all-in-one VR headset that aims to make VR accessible to everyone by combining comfort and performance.

Equipped with the Snapdragon XR2 platform, the PICO 4 features a super lightweight body, Pancake Optics, 4K+ resolution display, and an intuitive user experience. Pioneering the next generation of VR hardware design, PICO's new headset makes the unreal real, with a more vivid, and immersive VR experience. The PICO 4 will be available on October 18th in thirteen European countries, with plans to launch in Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia this year.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced another milestone in making extended reality (XR) the next computing platform with the Wireless AR Smart Viewer Reference Design, powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Platform. The cord-free reference design helps OEMs and ODMs more seamlessly and cost-efficiently prototype and bring to market lightweight, premium AR glasses to enable immersive experiences that unlock the metaverse.

Greater Performance, Sleeker Device: The purpose-built, premium Snapdragon XR2 Platform now packs powerful performance into a slim, smaller AR glass form factor. The AR reference design hardware, developed by Goertek, has a 40% thinner profile and a more ergonomically balanced weight distribution for increased comfort. SeeYA provides the dual micro-OLED binocular display enabling 1920 x 1080 per eye and frame rates up to 90 Hz and a no-motion-blur feature to deliver a seamless AR experience. Dual monochrome cameras and one RGB camera on the smart viewer enable six-degrees of freedom (6DoF) head tracking and hand tracking with gesture recognition to achieve AR precision.

HTC VIVE, the global leader in premium virtual reality (VR), today set a new benchmark for business and consumer VR, bringing 5K resolution and a 120-degree field of view as standard to the two new VR headsets announced today at VIVECON 2021, HTC's global VR conference. VIVE Pro 2 pushes the boundaries of PC VR for incredible gaming, creating, and experiences, while VIVE Focus 3 redefines business VR with a purpose-built All-in-One with no compromises. HTC also announced VIVE Business, its comprehensive range of tools designed to support businesses of any size to get the most out of VR.

"Today's launch marks a major milestone in our strategy to create the very best immersive experiences. We have listened to our customers, from well-known global companies to smaller firms and professional users, and have designed these premium headsets from the ground up to meet the challenges they face, adding a professional range of software, platform and services to make implementation as smooth and effective as possible," said Cher Wang, HTC Chairwoman and CEO. "In line with our mission, we've combined the very latest technology with the needs and aspirations of our customers, enabling them to unleash their imagination to improve people's lives and solve problems for business and society."

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, is powering better-than-ever virtual reality (VR) gameplay and experiences with the launch of Oculus Quest 2, the first-to-launch VR device powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform. Oculus Quest 2 is a culmination of years of collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies and Facebook to create the most advanced and immersive gaming VR experiences for consumers to-date.

Purpose-built for extended reality (XR), the Snapdragon XR2 Platform unlocks staggering improvements including twice the CPU and GPU performance compared to its predecessor which powers the original Oculus Quest headset. The Snapdragon XR2 Platform delivers significant performance enhancements in Oculus Quest 2 including:

In a recent video accidentally published on the Facebook Blueprint developer site and officially confirmed by the vice president of Facebook Labs details all the new features and changes found on the Oculus Quest 2. The leak confirms many of the existing rumors about the upcoming headset which is set to be announced later this week at Facebook Connect. The Oculus Quest 2 will feature the Snapdragon XR2 processor which has been specifically designed for AR/VR devices and should provide a significant performance increase over the Snapdragon 835 found in the original quest.

The Oculus Quest 2 will feature "nearly 2K Resolution per eye" which would put the total resolution at just under 4K possibly 3,840 x 2,160. The video did not mention if the display refresh rate would be increased from the 72Hz found on the original Quest but the XR2 platform can support up to 90Hz screens. The ram has been increased to 6 GB from the 4 GB found on the original and max storage has been expanded to 256 GB.

Lynx the enterprise Mixed Reality headset startup has recently revealed the redesign of their first headset the Lynx-R1. The Lynx-R1 is an enterprise-focused headset with a planned retail price of 1499 USD which claims to be the world's first AR + VR standalone headset. This means the headset can be used both as a traditional VR headset and as a AR headset with video pass-through. This new redesign reduces the overall size of the headset with new "light folding" optics which reduce the distance between the lenses and the display while hiding the eye-tracking camera in the center of the lens. The headset is expected to ship late September.