Android XR Poses a Crucial Challenge for Meta’s XR Goals

Meta has openly declared its ambition to become the “Android of XR.” Interestingly enough, Android XR shares that same goal.

The battleground between these tech giants isn’t just about specs or features. The real game-changer in determining whether Meta can maintain its edge against Google and Apple in the XR world is flat apps.

Not exactly groundbreaking on their own, apps like Spotify, TikTok, Snapchat, and Discord play a crucial role in enhancing the XR experience. Vision Pro’s support for a wide range of iPadOS apps has shown how merging familiar apps with XR boosts their value. Now, Android XR is taking a similar path by offering support for all existing Android apps on the Play Store.

Meta’s headsets have carved out a niche in gaming, but XR’s horizons stretch far wider.

Companies that only focus on gaming, like Nintendo, won’t reach the scale of those creating comprehensive computing platforms, like Microsoft. This is reflected in Microsoft’s market value being vastly greater than Nintendo’s. While this comparison isn’t perfect—given Microsoft’s diverse portfolio—the point still stands.

When you stack Meta and Google against each other in the XR arena, here’s the landscape:

Meta’s Horizon OS boasts the richest library of immersive apps.
Google’s Android XR shines with the largest collection of flat apps.

For either to truly dominate XR, they need to integrate both immersive and flat apps. But which one faces the steeper challenge?

Meta appears to be in a more difficult situation.

Developers of immersive apps are eager to expand. If their game can attract 25% more users by launching on Android XR, it’s an easy choice to make.

Conversely, major flat apps like Spotify, TikTok, Snapchat, and Discord gain little by joining Horizon OS. Their growth might not even reach a meager 0.25% of Android’s total user base.

You might assume, “Isn’t Horizon OS based on Android? Porting apps should be a breeze!” Technically, yes—porting might be straightforward. However, for massive apps with extensive user bases and constant updates, the real hurdle lies in ongoing support and maintenance, which is no trivial task.

Consequently, Google seems better poised to lure significant immersive apps to Android XR than Meta does to draw essential flat apps to Horizon OS. Without a solid portfolio of flat apps, Meta risks having its headsets viewed as niche gaming devices rather than comprehensive computing platforms.

And that’s definitely not in line with Meta’s vision. The driving force behind Meta’s entry into XR a decade ago was to secure its place in what they saw as the “next computing platform” before Apple or Google could dominate.

You might not consider flat apps vital to the XR journey, but the platform that successfully merges essential flat and immersive apps will inevitably outshine one that offers only one type.

Even if Meta consistently produces hardware that’s 20% faster, lighter, and cheaper than Android XR headsets, it won’t hold long-term sway if it lacks access to crucial flat apps.

This poses a significant risk to Meta’s XR mission, one with no obvious resolution in sight.