In April of last year, Meta revealed some intriguing news: it planned to extend its Quest-exclusive operating system, Horizon OS, to third-party headsets for the first time. Partnerships were brewing with big names like ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox. Yet, since that announcement, Meta has remained rather quiet about specifics regarding the headsets. Recently, a report from a well-known leaker, ‘Luna’, suggests that ASUS might just be the first to step into the spotlight.
Luna, a reliable source for leaks related to upcoming virtual reality hardware and software, has a history of accurately revealing Meta projects. For example, Luna leaked the name “Quest 3S” before its official unveiling and hinted at the headset featuring an Action Button.
In addition to these revelations, Luna’s data mining unearthed a room-scanning setup video for the Quest 3 well before its 2023 launch, along with various Quest software features before any official announcements. One such feature included Meta’s experiment with allowing apps to stay pinned to the Universal Menu dock.
Drawing insights from an undisclosed insider, Luna now hints that the Asus Republic of Gamers headset might be among the first Horizon OS-compatible headsets to ship. The device, reportedly codenamed ‘Tarius’, is said to boast advanced features like eye and face-tracking, aligning it with the cutting-edge capabilities of the Quest Pro. The display technology being talked about includes quantum dot LCD displays with local dimming, or possibly micro-OLED.
If these reports hold true, it suggests that Asus is aiming for more than just a rebranded Quest 3S with a dash of RBG lighting. Instead, they’re shaping up to deliver a product that breaks away from Quest’s mainstream appeal. The current Quest lineup offers the $500 Quest 3 (512GB) and the $300 Quest 3S (128GB).
Though we should approach these reports with a degree of skepticism, it’s evident that Meta is gearing up to respond to Google’s recent advancements. Google is set to introduce Android XR with Samsung’s upcoming XR headset, known by its code name, Project Moohan, which is expected to reach consumers later this year.
