Meta just u-turned on the best VR announcement it ever made — and might have handed the win to Android XR

• Meta has confirmed its third-party VR partnerships are “paused”
• That means we won’t see Horizon OS headsets from Asus or Lenovo
• Instead, Meta is focusing on first-party hardware and software

After a year and a half of waiting, we finally know where Meta’s third-party Horizon OS headsets are: in the trash. The Asus and Lenovo headsets could perhaps launch under another partnership, but Meta’s Horizon OS rollout has been “paused” according to a statement from the company.

This is according to reporting from Road to VR, which received a statement from Meta saying, “We have paused the program to focus on building the world-class first-party hardware and software needed to advance the VR market.”

The news is as disappointing as it is expected.

When Meta teased the rollout of Horizon OS to other headsets, it promised us three devices. An Asus headset devoted to gaming, a Lenovo headset for productivity and entertainment, and an Xbox headset – with only that last one ever seeing the light of day as a Limited Edition black and green Meta Quest 3S.

I had hoped we’d see one or both of the remaining headsets at Meta Connect 2025, but when neither materialized, it did occur to me that perhaps they were never coming – something that Meta itself has now essentially confirmed.

Over the Horizon

Third-party partners are an excellent way to grow a platform, especially a software platform as strong as Horizon OS – with its clean interface and incredible range of apps. But as highlighted in the Road to VR reporting, things would have likely been an uphill battle for Asus and Lenovo as Meta does so aggressively undercharge for its Quest hardware. Many experts note that the Quest headsets are likely sold for cost, or even a slight loss, with the hope that Meta could then recuperate expenses on software sales.

Asus and Lenovo would have to charge more than Meta for their headsets to make a profit, even more so because they not only can’t make money through software sales but would also probably be paying to license Horizon OS from Meta.

Android XR, on the other hand (or potentially through a partnership with the upcoming XR-version of SteamOS – Lenovo has previously made a SteamOS handheld), could present a much better opportunity for these brands.

Google is not yet making its own hardware, and so far, Samsung (the only Android XR hardware maker we have a headset price from) doesn’t seem to be pricing its headset overly aggressively. While Valve has yet to tell us the cost of the Steam Frame, comments from its team and speculation from leaks suggest that it too will not be sold at a Meta Quest-level rate, making it easier for potential platform partners to compete.

With these platforms also boasting many of the advantages of Horizon OS (chiefly wide software support) without the Quest-shaped downside, it could be that Asus and Lenovo chose to jump ship.

With that in mind, I’d consider sailing for Android XR or SteamOS too.

Defeat from the jaws of victory

This is an incredible fumble from Meta.

As I discussed in a piece published in the wake of the original third-party partnership announcement, Reality Labs is hemorrhaging cash, and one of the only ways that makes financial sense is if HorizonOS can cement itself as the Android or Windows of XR – the platform everyone turns to to run their hardware.

Alas, it seems Android XR might become the Android of XR. Ignoring the potential mutiny of Asus and Lenovo, it already has Samsung, Xreal, and Gentle Monster, among the brands adopting the operating system.

Perhaps crucially, Google has also configured a unified platform for both glasses and headsets, allowing its partners to easily pursue either avenue of XR. The glasses, especially, are proving themselves as potentially the more lucrative and popular option as successive non-Quest headsets struggle to make a splash (looking at you, Samsung Galaxy XR and Apple Vision Pro).

We’ll have to wait and see if Meta’s go-it-alone strategy works, but this development doesn’t feel like winning – I just hope we see those promised Asus and Lenovo headsets in some other form one day.

The Asus headset has leaked previously, so hopefully it's still on the cards.

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