Reporting by XinZhiyuan
EDIT: Good sleepy peach
【New Wisdom Meta Introduction】The master died before he could die, and the Meta Meta Universe operating system was going to be cool? The team is disbanded and the person in charge jumps ship! The vice president personally tweeted "debunking rumors", but...
Facebook's determination to enter the meta-universe is now going to fail?
Now, after changing its name for less than 2 months, Meta has stopped developing VR and AR operating systems.
He was previously in charge of this project at Meta!
Recently, The Information said that Meta notified the staff of the reality laboratory responsible for VR and AR equipment in November, saying that it would stop XROS-related development work.
It is reported that the XROS project began as early as 2017, with more than 300 people participating. The shelving of the project also marks the end of Meta's efforts to develop an operating system for Oculus VR and possibly AR or MR devices thereafter.
Last June, Zuckerberg said on Instagram that Meta was working on building a so-called reality operating system to meet the unique needs of new platforms, such as its planned AR glasses, known as Project Nazare.
"If you want the device you make to look like ordinary glasses, you need to strictly optimize the system so that you can spend the whole day while doing all the calculations." So it's a very big challenge."
"Face Punch" from the official?
However, shortly after the publication of this article, the vice president of Meta personally went down to "debunk the rumors".
Gabriel Aul said: "We take very seriously and are still developing a highly specialized operating system for these devices, and we will continue to invest the necessary resources to build this work."
In addition, he said: "We are growing this team, not shrinking it. Come and join us."
Sheeva Slovan, Meta's communications manager, also issued a statement saying: "We have not stopped or scaled back the construction of a real-world operating system. The team continues to make progress, and we will continue to invest in future computing platforms, such as AR glasses and wearables, to help realize our meta-universe vision."
However, some netizens found that the wording of these two paragraphs did not directly respond to the dissolution of the "XROS" team.
The real operating system, which system? Expand the team, which team?
Metaverse operating system battle
For the metaverse, the big guys are saying that Metaverse was not built by a large company, but the result of the creativity of millions of people.
However, when it comes to technology, they are secretly engaged in research and development, and are committed to getting rid of the influence of other companies.
For now, the Oculus Quest VR device uses VROS based on Google's Android operating system.
However, Meta was clearly keen to create an operating system for its own device from scratch, and the project was internally known as XROS.
Zuckerberg's desire to develop a standalone operating system dates back more than a decade. He found himself just an app developer, and the giant behind the operating system was in charge.
Even Za began to prepare for what to do if Google kicked Facebook and other social apps out of their Android phones.
However, the reality is always cruel, according to people familiar with the matter, Meta's VR devices may still have to rely on the "magic" Android system in a short period of time.
While using the Android system can save Meta money and engineering resources in the short term, it also comes with risks.
Every time Google updates the core of the Android system or releases software to fix security vulnerabilities, the companies that use the "magic" Android system also have to spend a lot of time to upgrade.
And, since the Android system was originally designed for smartphones, the version for other types of devices, including VR devices, is upgraded, and new technical issues are discovered from time to time.
But building an entirely new operating system for a new type of device is a lengthy and technically challenging process.
At the same time, Apple and Google not only have their own operating systems, but also develop their own VR and AR devices, and even poach people from Meta.
In addition, several other well-funded companies, including Microsoft, have also tried to break the binary monopoly of Google and Apple in recent years and develop their own mobile operating systems, but they have also failed.
It seems that this road is really not easy to walk.
Oculus Christmas Burst, 5 years All In Metaverse
When it comes to metaversities, hardware is the threshold for most people.
As far as the current AR/VR headset market share is concerned, Meta has eaten the largest piece of cake.
In March 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus VR for $2 billion.
At the time, Facebook's huge acquisition was considered to be betting on the future to avoid missing the dividends of the next era.
Zuckerberg has said, "Oculus VR will start with game revolution, and then will completely change the digital social interaction scene and become a part of people's daily lives in the future."
It is also thanks to that acquisition that Meta now dominates the VR/AR headset market.
The data shows that the Oculus app topped the U.S. App Store download charts on Christmas Day, surpassing TikTok in terms of downloads. Meanwhile, the Oculus Quest 2 has also become the most popular gift this Christmas, surpassing xbox and PS.
It can be said that Meta is making a lot of money this holiday season.
In fact, there was neither the term metaverse at the time, nor could anyone have predicted that 2021 would be the year of the metacosm explosion.
However, in this meta-universe year, Meta took advantage of the situation. The hardware of glasses is just a pawn in the layout of the virtual world.
Remember that pair of "pneumatic tactile gloves"?
Some time ago, Meta showed for the first time a project that had been secretly developed for seven years. This pair of haptic gloves allows you to experience the real touch when grasping virtual objects through air bags.
For Meta, this glove and other wearable technologies will both lead us to a future where we can interact in VR and AR.
In addition, Meta has also opened up the virtual world platform Horizon Worlds, where users can build custom worlds and games through 3D avatars.
It also marks the first step towards making metaverses a reality.
In July last year, Xiao Za made a bold statement that he would build Facebook into a meta-universe company in the next five years.
The Connect conference was more like an oath-taking conference, with Facebook changing its name to Meta and announcing the all-In Meta universe.
Meta tone is not small, the future we have to wait and see.
Resources:
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-platforms-halts-vr-and-ar-operating-system-project?rc=epv9gi
https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/5/22868388/meta-xros-vr-ar-os-development-canceled?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4