The ambitions to create the metaverse have skyrocketed in the last day. Now, Facebook will focus on this novelty.
Facebook announced in an unexpected script twist that it would change its name to Meta. When Mark Zuckerberg first shared the news during the company's Connect event, it was unclear how widely he planned to adopt the name in his product portfolio . But now it's much clearer all thanks to a Facebook post from CTO Andrew "Boz" Bosworth. The first twist is that Meta is going to end the Oculus brand to the detriment of Meta itself.
Starting in early 2022, Oculus Quest will be known as Meta Quest. Similarly, the Oculus app will be called the Meta Quest App in the future. According to Bosworth, the intent is to "make it clear" to consumers that Quest is a Meta product. "We all have a strong attachment to the Oculus brand, and this was a very difficult decision to make," Bosworth said. "As we retire the name, I can assure you that the original vision for Oculus remains deeply rooted in how Meta will continue to drive the mass adoption of virtual reality today."
As part of the rebrand, Meta is also backtracking on its unpopular decision to require Facebook logins to use Oculus headsets. The possibility of the Oculus name disappearing is something fans have had on their minds since Facebook acquired the company in 2014. For better and for worse, the company that once existed no longer exists. He is now a cog in Meta's ambitions to create a metaverse.
The Oculus name will no longer exist, it will be replaced by Meta as well, but there is at least good news in Facebook's decision to change its name to Meta. A Facebook account will not be required to use the VR Quest headsets.
"We are working on new ways to log into Quest that will not require a Facebook account, something that will come sometime next year," explained Bosworth, the company's CTO. " This is one of our highest priority areas of work internally."
Meta announced in August 2020 that it would require all Oculus owners to log into their devices with a Facebook account. At the time, the company said it would start urging people to merge their Oculus and Facebook accounts starting in October 2020 . Under that plan, Oculus owners would have had until January 1, 2023 to continue using their headphones without a Facebook account. After that point, Meta ensured that the devices would continue to work, but cautioned that some games and apps would not. Unsurprisingly, the Oculus community immediately attacked that dire decision.
Facebook is already working on a new high-end virtual reality headset codenamed Project Cambria. The company warned of the existence of the device during its recent Connect conference last Thursday. He plans to release this "headset" sometime next year. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it will be a "high-end" product independent of the company's $ 299 Quest 2 headphones. So we can expect a high price.
Cambria will include capabilities that are currently not possible in other virtual reality headsets . New sensors on the device will allow your virtual avatar to maintain eye contact and reflect your facial expressions . The company says it's something that will allow the people you interact with virtually to get a better idea of how you feel.
This will, of course, make the helmet exponentially more expensive than the Oculus range was. However, it is also true that the company is expected to continue to keep Oculus helmets under the "Meta" label.
In the 1990s, a novel called "Snow Crash" warned us that we had to put virtual reality aside if we wanted to escape from real life. This is something they don't look for when creating the Metaverse. As Mark Zuckerberg described to the media before yesterday's Facebook Connect conference, the company is betting that it will be the next major computing platform after the rise of smartphones and the mobile web . Facebook is so confident that, in fact, Zuckerberg announced that it will change its name to "Meta."
After spending the last decade obsessing over our phones and tablets, learning to look down and scroll practically as a reflection, the Facebook founder believes that we will spend more time looking at the 3D objects floating around us in the digital realm . Or maybe you'll follow a friend's avatar as he wanders around your living room like a hologram. It is basically a digital world superimposed on the real world.
Zuckerberg also anticipated criticism about looking to the future at this time when the company is receiving criticism of being very poorly managed. While acknowledging the seriousness of the problems facing the company and noted that it will continue to focus on solving them with investments. "leaders in the industry."
Finally, Zuckerberg has assured that they do not seek to dominate the metaverse, but to be the ones to initiate it, and they hope that many more companies will join in this mission.
Meta, that is, the company formerly known as Facebook, could be developing a smartwatch that can take photos and videos. Thus, some images have been leaked that show a smartwatch with rounded corners similar to the Apple Watch, except that it also has a notch with a front camera. App developer Steve Moser found the image within the company's app that is used to control its sunglasses.
In addition to having rounded corners and a camera, the smartwatch appears to have a stainless steel case and detachable straps . The code within the app indicates that the watch could be called Milan and that it could allow photos and videos captured with it to be downloaded to the phone. Meta hopes to launch a smartwatch from 2022, but nothing has been assured yet, everything remains in the field of rumors. Furthermore, it is reported that Facebook's parent company is already working on three generations of products that will launch at different times in the coming year.. It's unclear if the device pictured is one of those, or if it will even launch. However, The Verge also reported earlier this year that Facebook is working on a smartwatch with a front camera and a 1080p rear camera with autofocus.
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