With Meta Connect 2025 officially behind us, we've now seen everything Meta had to offer at its annual showcase — and smart glasses stole the show. While no VR headsets were in sight, it appears Meta isn't giving up on its plans to deliver third-party devices with Horizon OS.
Meta has confirmed that partner VR headsets are still on the way, as Road to VR reports. This should include new mixed reality devices built on Meta Horizon OS from Asus and Lenovo, as the company had previously announced its partnership back in April 2024.
However, it still isn't certain when these new headsets will be revealed. While many (including myself) had hoped to see the rumored Asus ROG "Tarius" VR headset during Meta's Connect this year, no such device was on show despite leaks indicating it would be one of the first third-party headsets to run Horizon OS.
Meta has detailed what Asus and Lenovo are planning. The Asus ROG is expected to be an "all-new performance gaming headset," while Lenovo aims to develop "mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment."
Interestingly, as noted by Meta, these devices will "benefit" from the tech giant's collaboration with Qualcomm, suggesting these headsets will be powered by Snapdragon processors. While the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S use a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, perhaps these third-party headsets are waiting for rumored chips to be announced during Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon Summit this September — such as the Snapdragon X2 Series.
Hopefully, it won't be much longer until we see Meta's partnership with Asus and Lenovo pay off. Road to VR states that a Meta spokesperson gave word that the company is "actively working with partners to bring Horizon OS to more devices," but at least we've already seen one partnership come to fruition.
One down, two to go
Meta had also announced a partnership with Microsoft to deliver a limited edition Meta Quest headset inspired by Xbox, and we got just that in the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition headset.
Despite coming with an Xbox controller, an Elite Strap and three months of Game Pass Ultimate for cloud gaming on the headset, this wasn't a whole new VR headset. Plus, Xbox Cloud Gaming also works on Meta's current VR headsets, along with the Quest 2.
Still, that's one partnership for a promised limited edition VR headset fulfilled, which means Meta's plans with other companies, namely Asus and Lenovo, should deliver.
We already may have an idea of what the Asus ROG VR headset will bring to the table. As leaked by known VR tipsters Luna, the Asus ROG "Tarius" is expected to come with eye-tracking and face-tracking, and either QD-LCD or micro-OLED displays. It already looks to be a premium VR headset, considering it may have visuals as with the PSVR 2, but only time will tell.
What we do know is that these upcoming third-party VR headsets will run on Horizon OS, as Meta plans to expand its mixed reality operating system to more devices (similar to how the Lenovo Legion Go S comes with Valve's SteamOS).
As for when these headsets will be revealed? Hopefully not as long as the rumored wait for the Meta Quest 4, which is now tipped to arrive in 2027. With Meta shadow dropping its Quest 3S Xbox Edition, we may see devices from Asus and Lenovo follow suit.
In the meantime, we have Meta's other devices to look forward to, including the Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses and Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) specs. And who knows, we may see a "Steam Frame" VR headset arrive soon.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
More from Tom's Guide
- Meta Quest headsets are getting a big upgrade for watching TVs and movies — what you need to know
- Meta's Ray-Ban Display smart glasses have a mind-blowing feature — and it's all because of its wrist strap
- Meta’s Hyperspace lets you scan the real world and turn it into the Metaverse — and create anything you want with new AI tools
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
