WhatsApp, one of the world’s most popular social media apps, will integrate with the Meta Quest via a future update, reports revealed on Saturday.
In the app’s Google Play Beta Programme, WhatsApp will provide Meta Quest integrations on linked devices, WABetaInfo reported at the time. It is currently under development and not open for beta testing.
Previously, Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive and Founder, Meta revealed hands-free controls via Ray-Ban stories. Many features offered on the glasses include reading messages, private calling, and message encryption.
📝 WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.13.6: what’s new?
WhatsApp is working on adding official Meta Quest compatibility as a linked device, and it will be available in a future update of the app!https://t.co/NcubKNa7cw pic.twitter.com/XJZ74JGpsh
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) June 16, 2023
News of the Menlo Park-based firm’s 2.23.13.6 update offered several Easter eggs linked to future Meta Quest compatibility. According to the company, users can link their WhatsApp accounts to Quest 2 headsets with officially linked device integrations on the app.
However, the report also states that the update does not officially connect to the Meta Quest as it is still under development.
The news comes ahead of Zuckerberg’s upcoming Connect event in September and weeks after the executive teased audiences with the Meta Quest 3. Meta’s shock statement also arrived just days before the Apple WWDC 2023 event, unveiling Apple’s groundbreaking Vision Pro headset.
Meta Quest 3 Revealed
According to Zuckerberg’s Quest 3 announcement, Meta Platforms aims to launch the novel consumer-focused headset by the year’s end. The new headset will compete with industry-shaping devices such as the Apple Reality Pro, HTC VIVE Elite Pro, and Pico 4.
Zuckerberg revealed the information in a recent Instagram post, where he teased social media followers on the features of the upcoming mixed reality headset. In the post, he stated the Quest 3 would offer higher resolutions, smaller form factors, and massive upgrades to the headset’s Meta Reality technology, among others.
Additional upgrades include a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ chipset and full backwards compatibility with over 500 titles from the Meta Quest store.
Reality Platform Brings Quest 3 to Life
Furthermore, Meta also revealed further updates after the Meta Quest Pro reveal in October last year. At the time, he stated that the Meta Reality Platform would power the consumer-focused Quest 3 device, leading to seamless transitions from virtual and augmented reality.
Zuckerberg explained that the company hoped to “deliver better social experiences than what’s possible on phones.”
He said the new mixed reality ecosystem was “relatively new,” but would continue to grow rapidly over the next few years. Zuckerberg concluded the Quest 3 would “establish this technology as the baseline for all headsets [and] for AR glasses as well.”
The news comes as Meta aims to create the next stage of its immersive hardware lineup amid increasing competition from rival firms. Meta has faced significant headwinds in its metaverse ambitions but remains dedicated to continued research and development (R&D).
Reality Labs, Meta’s XR division, has seen significant funds added to its projects in recent events but has scaled back due to ongoing crises across the tech community.
The company has been forced to cut back its workforce by 21,000 employees while focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and its family of apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger.
