Trusted Leaker Suggests Meta’s Horizon OS to Launch on High-End ASUS Headset

Back in April of last year, Meta shook things up by announcing that Horizon OS, which is exclusively available on their Quest devices, would soon be coming to third-party headsets. Notably, leading companies like ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox were in line to showcase XR devices powered by this operating system, but details have been sparse since then. However, we’re now seeing fresh insights from the well-connected tipster, Luna, suggesting that ASUS might be the first to hit the market.

Luna has been a reliable source for inside information on upcoming VR innovations. They’re known for sharing previews of Meta’s projects before official releases, including tipping off on the name Quest 3S ahead of its announcement and the addition of an Action Button to the headset.

Through skillful datamining, Luna also unearthed a setup video for room scanning on the Quest 3 prior to its 2023 launch. Plus, Luna has shared details of several Quest software features before they were officially announced, such as when Meta was experimenting with letting users pin apps to the Universal Menu dock for easy access.

Thanks to an anonymous insider source, Luna reports that the Asus Republic of Gamers headset is apparently lined up to be one of the first third-party devices to feature the Horizon OS.

Allegedly code-named ‘Tarius’, this new headset is expected to boast state-of-the-art features like eye-tracking and face-tracking, making it comparable to the Quest Pro’s current tech. It’s also rumored to have impressive display technology, featuring either quantum dot LCD displays with local dimming or micro-OLED.

Should these reports hold true, it indicates that ASUS isn’t merely rolling out a cosmetically different version of the Quest 3S with flashy RGB lights. Instead, they’re poised to introduce something genuinely innovative, setting it apart from Quest’s existing options, which range from the $500 Quest 3 (512GB) to the more budget-friendly $300 Quest 3S (128GB).

Of course, while we should approach these leaks with a bit of skepticism, it’s evident that Meta is gearing up to make strategic moves, especially with Google ready to launch Android XR on Samsung’s upcoming XR headset, known internally as Project Moohan, slated for release later this year.