Quest headsets have long been excellent for immersive gaming, but they weren't that great in terms of basic 'desktop productivity', where Apple's Vision Pro excels. Now Meta hopes to introduce more “spatial computing” with the Meta Spatial SDK, which aims to make it easier for Android developers to port and develop their apps into Quest's Horizon OS.
It's been almost two decades since the iPhone was introduced. Since then, numerous mobile app designs and best practices have been formulated, resulting in millions of mobile apps available today from the convenience of our phones.
This is supported by a multitude of tools that developers rely on to build, iterate, distribute and update these applications; All of these are made to develop flat screen applications.
But when it comes to the Quest running Horizon OS, the vast majority of apps are built using Unity, a relatively resource-intensive game engine that's great at real-time graphics but not so great for making the basic flat-screen apps we like. on our phones.
So the tools and capabilities needed to make a VR game are very different from those needed to make, say, a video streaming app.
Meta wants to move away from the Quest being just a gaming machine. To do this, the company wants to make it easier for Android developers around the world to bring their apps to the platform and develop them in ways that make sense for the environment.
This week, the company introduced the Meta Spatial SDK, which aims to allow Android developers to use their existing tools and capabilities to make apps that will benefit the Quest even more. The company introduced the tool in a presentation during Connect 2024:
To help developers get started and model what can be done with these new tools, Meta has developed three sample apps that anyone can download today:
- Focus
- Immerse yourself in Focus, a spatial brainstorming tool designed to improve your productivity and creativity. Experience a new way of working by creating mind maps, prioritizing tasks, jotting down ideas, and interacting with the help of AI. Transform your workspace with virtual stickers, arrows and post-its that let you visualize and organize your thoughts like never before. Focus rethinks the traditional brainstorming process, allowing you to fully engage with your projects in a dynamic, spatial environment.
- Geographic Journey
- Geo Voyage invites you to an extraordinary journey around the world. With a visually stunning 3D globe and interactive features, this app puts the world at your fingertips.
- Media View
- Experience your photos and videos in a mixed reality environment. Whether for personal projects, professional use, or exploring media in a new way, Media View provides an intuitive experience, offering a new perspective on an essential utility application in a spatial environment.
The hope is that streamlining the process will lead to more 'spatial computing' applications making their way onto the Quest, transforming the platform from being mostly a gaming console to something more flexible.