Comment: Metaverse was yesterday, now comes Meta Vision
Meta has revamped its Horizon OS, dropping the unpopular Horizon Worlds. Instead, it's drawing heavily on inspiration – from none other than the Vision Pro.
Comment on the Horizon OS overhaul: Will everything be better now?
(Image: Meta / heise medien)
My Meta Quest 3 and I have a love-hate relationship. The headset from the Facebook parent company is affordable, offers comparatively high-quality image rendering, and a large selection of apps and games that run directly without a PC connection. But when it comes to the software, especially after experiencing Apple's visionOS, you almost want to scream.
It starts with a release strategy that ensures that newly announced features are only activated weeks later in new versions – even for beta testers. Or how about Meta considering it normal to simply close running programs during automatic updates, to update them. Or the fact that in the extremely strange “Metaverse” Horizon Worlds, it felt like only twelve-year-olds were hanging out recently. Or a UI that seems to change every three versions, simply deleting beloved components, only to bring them back at least partially three more versions later.
With all this, one wonders what the strategy behind it is. I often think there simply isn't one. Something is tried out in beautiful Menlo Park, then discontinued and redone. In the meantime, Meta is laying off numerous employees at Reality Labs to please the stock market, after having poured billions into it beforehand. The company probably isn't making any money with its hardware anyway – and probably not with sold services like Horizon+ either.
“I've seen this somewhere before”
Since this spring, Meta has been taking the next step – and I would describe it as follows: With Horizon OS 2, the Metaverse – for which Meta finally changed its name from Facebook! – is becoming a Meta Vision. That is: the headset is trying to emulate, in terms of software, a stripped-down version of what Apple implemented with visionOS without much effort.
This is likely also preparation: After all, there are rumors that Meta is taking a page out of Apple's book and its imitator Samsung (Project Moohan alias Galaxy XR), and is aiming for a more powerful headset with an external battery for the Quest 4. (I had rather hoped that we would finally leave this era behind, which any Vision Pro owner can understand.) And for that, you need “more professional” software, and a kindergarten like Horizon Worlds no longer fits.
And so it came to pass that Meta activated the “Navigator”. The retro term – does anyone still remember Netscape? – stands for an interface that looks like the Vision Pro's home screen. The only difference is that you scroll not from left to right, but from top to bottom. While you used to dive directly into VR scenarios when you put on the Quest 3, Meta is now trying to sell us the somewhat improved, but still blurry, passthrough as a new home. But I put on the headset precisely to *not* see my surroundings! Okay.
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Meta Navigator navigates
The Navigator itself is not new. Meta has been pushing it for a year, but only a few users got it: they simply lacked the option to activate it. Now, this week, the company announced that it is releasing the new interface to everyone. It is described as a “redesigned interface that brings your apps, people, and system settings together in one place.” To familiarize users with it, Meta presents all new Navigator owners with a “Guided Walkthrough” experience that is difficult or impossible to skip.
What emerges in the current Horizon OS versions (including previews up to 2.3) is a strange mixture. There is still the old, fixed window layout, where you can place them next to each other in space. The Navigator overlays all of this, which looks a bit like a graphical glitch. The Navigator is found by clicking on the dot next to the window handle bar, which was copied from visionOS. Alternatively, you can press the Meta button (which is unfortunately only on one of the controllers) or perform a hand gesture. Although as a visionOS user, I am reluctant to use the latter due to its inaccuracy – especially since the switch between hand and controller doesn't always work optimally.
Will people be unhappier with the new Meta Vision than before? Not necessarily. The few Horizon Worlds fans are saddened because they have lost their community; everyone else hopes that Meta will finally adopt a more consistent software strategy. Unless Wall Street chimes in again and says the company should rather invest more money in AI. Then Reality Labs might go belly up entirely. It's baffling to me who would still gladly buy the hardware given these uncertainties.
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