- Meta and LG confirm collaboration on “extended reality (XR) ventures”
- This could mean a future Meta Quest Pro 2 uses an LG display
- Announcement also hints at team-up for “content/service capabilities”
Following months of speculation and rumors – the most recent of which came literally days ahead of an official announcement – Meta and LG have confirmed that they’ll be collaborating on next-gen XR hardware (with XR standing for ‘extended reality’ and being a catchall for VR, MR and AR). And I couldn’t be more excited to see what their Apple Vision Pro rival looks like.
While they didn’t expressly outline what the collaboration entails, or what hardware they’ll be working on together, it seems all but guaranteed that Meta’s next VR headset – likely the Meta Quest Pro 2, but maybe the Meta Quest 4 or other future models – will use LG’s display tech for its screens. This means Meta might finally release another OLED Quest headset which promises some superb visuals for our favorite VR software.
Unfortunately, there’s also no mention of a timescale so we don’t know when the first LG and Meta headset will be released. But several recent rumors have suggested that the next Quest headset (probably the Pro 2) will launch in 2025; so we could see LG tech in Meta hardware next year if we’re lucky.
We should always take rumors with a pinch of salt, but these same leaks teased the LG collaboration – so there’s a good chance that they’re on the money for the release date, too.
Beyond the potential for OLED Quest headsets, what’s particularly interesting is a line in the press release that mentions the desire for the companies to bring together “Meta’s platform with [LG’s] content/service capabilities.” To me, that hints at more than simply working together on hardware, but also bringing the LG TV software experience to your Meta headset as well.
More than just an OLED screen
Exactly what this means is yet to be seen, but it could result in a whole host of TV apps reimagined for VR. For Meta, this could importantly mean finally getting VR apps for the best streaming services including Disney Plus, Paramount Plus and Apple TV Plus – as well working apps for Netflix, Prime Video and other services that have Quest software that is practically non-functioning.
These kinds of streaming apps are the one massive software area in which Meta has no answer to the Apple Vision Pro.
I’ve previously asked Meta if it had plans to bring more streaming services to Quest and a representative told me it had “no additional information to share at this time.” I hoped this meant it had some kind of reveal on the way in the near future, and it appears this LG announcement has answered my calls.
That said, while the press release certainly teases some interesting collaborations, until we actually see something in action there’s no telling what form Meta and LG’s partnership will take because the announcement is (no doubt intentionally) a little vague.
There’s also a chance the LG-powered TV apps won’t offer the same 3D movie selection or immersive environments found on Vision Pro. Depending on how the apps are implemented, 3D video might not be possible – or perhaps Apple has an exclusive deal for content with these apps on its Vision Pro platform.
Regardless I’m pretty excited by the potential this announcement brings as it appears to answer two of my four biggest Meta Quest Pro 2 feature requests. Here’s hoping the other two features follow suit. If they do (and the device isn’t astronomically pricey) the Meta Quest Pro 2 could be my new favorite VR headset by a landslide.