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According to the US technology media The Information, Meta has stopped developing a new operating system designed for VR/AR devices.
But then, Meta Communications Manager Sheeva Slovan emailed The Verge a statement saying that the R&D of the new operating system was fine and there were no plans to scale back the research.
▲The Verge related reports
Meanwhile, Gabriel Aul, vice president of Meta, tweeted: "We are still developing a highly specialized operating system for our devices. ”
It is reported that Meta's operating system research and development project has been officially established since 2017, and its internal code name is XROS, which mainly provides services for VR/AR equipment, with more than 300 personnel participating in research and development.
Meta's self-developed operating system has always received great attention, because this is a key step in the "self-contained" pattern of Meta layout from the underlying architecture to the hardware. According to The Information, Meta may choose to use Google's Android system to counter the potential threats apple poses in the VR/AR space.
First, the executives left, the investment was large, the return was small, and the meta development of the new system encountered three major difficulties
In the process of in-depth investigation of Meta's development of new operating systems, we found that the "singing down" Meta may be related to the recent departure of some Meta executives, the difficulty of developing new operating systems and the low rate of return.
1. Dilemma 1: The core executives who develop the operating system leave
In November 2021, mark Lucovsky, a former well-known Microsoft engineer, announced his departure from the company. The engineer spent four years primarily at Meta, primarily as director of operating systems, working on android alternatives.
Mark Lukovsky
Coincidentally, according to The Information, shortly after the big bull left, Meta notified the employees of Reality Labs, the department involved in the development of VR and AR devices, and decided to stop the development of the new operating system. Although it is not known whether it is true or not, Meta did lose a major general.
Mark Lukovsky previously spent 16 years at Microsoft, working as chief architect on the Windows NT operating system. Later, he also worked at Google for 5 years.
This time, after leaving Meta, Mark Lukovsky re-entered the arms of his old owner Google in December as senior director of Google's AR operating system.
Regarding the departure, Mark Lukovsky himself said, "On October 4, after I saw the video of the interview with Facebook whistleblower Frances Hauge on 60 Minutes, and after reading the material (the whistleblower) provided to the SEC, I decided to leave Facebook. ”
2, dilemma two: the new operating system research and development difficulty coefficient
In June 2021, Meta CEO Zuckerberg publicly stated the importance of the new AR/VR operating system and said that his team has made good progress in this direction.
Zuckerberg also said on its social media that Meta began building an operating system for augmented reality to meet the needs of its ar glasses, code-named Project Nazare internally. The glasses can not only present the information of the virtual world in the real world, but also serve as one of the entrance hardware to enter the "metaverse".
▲Meta hopes to present the picture presented by AR glasses code-named Project Nazare
Zuckerberg said: "If you want to build a smart glasses that look ordinary like this, you may need to optimize the system more comprehensively so that you can get the same computing performance as a computer." ”
He also said that because such smart glasses need to maintain a battery life of at least one day and will be affected by human body temperature for a long time, it is challenging to build the operating system required for such a "computer".
3, dilemma three: R & D operating system return rate is low
In addition to the computational performance requirements, rebuilding a new operating system specifically for VR/AR devices and supporting other third-party applications can be a lengthy and challenging process.
From the perspective of the operating system of mobile phones, more than a decade ago, after the market share of smartphones developed with Android and iOS for operating systems began to surpass Nokia and BlackBerry, Google and Apple had a monopoly position at the operating system level of certain devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Whether it is Microsoft, or other technology giants, many attempts to shake the status of Google and Apple have not been successful.
Therefore, although the development of a qualified operating system does not mean that Meta can shake the status of Google and Apple, how to make other third-party hardware and software willing to adapt to Meta's new system is also very important.
Second, want to lie flat? difficult! Meta in crisis
Developing a new operating system is not only a way for Meta to actively cope with the complex Internet landscape, but also may be a helpless move for Meta to face multiple challenges.
1. Challenge 1: In a passive adjustment state, the adaptation performance is unstable
Some industry insiders believe that although the use of Google's Android operating system can allow Meta to save a certain amount of money and resources in a short period of time, this method will also cause certain hidden dangers.
For example, every time Google releases a new Android version or patches a system security vulnerability, Meta and other software vendors need to spend a lot of time and resources to adjust their software in time according to new changes.
Not only that, but since the Android operating system was originally customized for mobile phones, new problems may arise when adapting with other devices, such as VR/AR hardware.
2. Challenge 2: Limited by various platforms, it is difficult to have decision-making power
More than a decade ago, Zuckerberg had hoped that Meta could be independent and not dependent on any other company. At that time, he was already worried about the risk of banning his own Meta "family bucket" software in the operating systems developed by Google and Apple, especially these software also occupied the top few of various lists.
▲Meta's social "family barrel"
About six years ago, Zuckerberg began preparing for Google to ban all kinds of Android devices from running their own software, The Information reported.
Recently, Meta has been controversial with Apple because of its ad tracking function of social software, which undoubtedly confirms that Zuckerberg's concerns are likely to occur at any time.
3. Challenge 3: Weakening the competitive advantage of the same stage in the VR field
Kirt McMaster, former CEO of Cyanogen, a third-party Android custom ROM company, said that due to the possible competition between Meta and Apple in the VR/AR hardware field in the future, Meta needs to make a more competitive design at the software level, such as the operating system than the adaptation to the Android system.
Previously, Tianfeng Securities analyst Guo Mingji had said that Apple will launch an AR headset in the fourth quarter of 2022, and the Apple AR headset will be equipped with a "desktop-class" chip with performance comparable to M1 and a Sony 4K Mirco OLED display, with the goal of replacing the iPhone within 10 years, and shipments are expected to exceed 1 billion units.
In the face of Apple's menacing momentum, Meta not only needs to increase investment in hardware, but also to ensure that it is not left behind at the software level.
Conclusion: Opportunities and challenges coexist, Meta encounters a dilemma
In the end, whether to do a new operating system, Meta is facing a dilemma, in which there is not only the factor of personnel loss, but also may be Meta's multiple considerations from cost, return and other aspects.
Meta has been working to promote the beautiful vision of the "meta-universe" and attract more players to participate in it, which has also intensified the entire VR/AR market competition pattern.
This time, Meta's research and development progress in the VR/AR operating system has attracted many attention, and it has also revealed that various technology giants are competing to lay out the VR/AR industry, and VR/AR devices may usher in a new outbreak in the next period of time.
Source: The Information