Recent Developments
Just three months after establishing the joint venture, LG is apparently ending its collaboration with Meta to create an extended reality (XR) gadget that will compete with Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
Unconfirmed Reports
According to several Korean news sources, the companies’ lack of “synergy” is the reason the alliance has collapsed. LG, though, disputes calling off the agreement. “LG Electronics continues the XR partnership with Meta forged in February but is controlling its pace,” the company said in a statement to Korea JoongAng Daily.
Timetable of the Project and Possible Modifications
Originally planned to debut next year, the partnership’s products combined LG’s TV content and services with Meta’s Horizon Worlds mixed reality platform. Utilising Meta’s massive language models, the research also looked at on-device AI integration. Seoul Economic Daily does note that although the partnership is still continuing strong, a 2027 delivery date is now the goal. According to some reports, LG may be seeking a new XR headset collaboration with Amazon, taking use of the 200 million members and extensive streaming content of Amazon Prime.
LG’s Communication Plan
With LG’s track record of confirming rumors after first discounting them, it becomes sense to be skeptical about the future of the Meta collaboration. I’ve gotten in touch with LG and Meta to ask about the project’s progress.
Money Problems for Meta
This possible failure occurs as Meta battles to manage losses in its VR and AR divisions. GamesIndustry.biz claimed that since June 2022, Meta’s Reality Labs has been losing a billion dollars every month. Meta intends to keep spending extensively in product development and ecosystem expansion in spite of these losses.
Professional Background
Wider issues confronting the VR/AR sector include declining customer enthusiasm. Unsold inventory has apparently caused Sony to stop making its PSVR 2 headset. Bloomberg also notes that Apple’s Vision Pro headset is not being adopted quickly; some Apple outlets are only selling two units a week.
Last Thought
The project is beset by financial difficulties and contradicting reports, thus the future of the Meta and LG collaboration is still unknown. The larger XR sector still has a long way to go before it can start to attract consumers as both businesses work through these challenges.