If you're a fan of the idea of a Meta headset, love Horizon OS, but somehow don't want to pick up one from Meta itself, you may be out of luck for a while. Horizon OS-powered headsets from ASUS, Lenovo, and other third-party manufacturers are now becoming a bit of a distant dream, as Meta puts an indefinite pause on the program meant to bring third-party device partnerships forward.
"We have paused the program to focus on building the world-class first-party hardware and software needed to advance the VR market," Meta told Road to VR. "We're committed to this for the long term and will revisit opportunities for 3rd-party device partnerships as the category evolves."
The initial announcement was made over a year and a half ago, and seemed to be a big step forward to having some new major players in the VR space. It seems that even if Meta is retaining its commitment to third-party systems, we're unlikely to see them for a long while yet using Horizon OS.
For the time being, Meta is looking to elevate its own first-party designs, as it finds a new competitor in the VR and AR space thanks to Apple entering the realm of virtual reality. We'll have to wait and see what's next in store for Meta, and if it was worth massively delaying these exciting new headsets.