In February, Meta announced that it will be collaborating with LG, a major South Korean tech company, to develop an XR headset that would presumably take on Apple Vision Pro. However, recent claims from Korean media continue to assert that the collaboration is in jeopardy. According to a source in the Korean Economic Daily, LG is “currently seeking a new partner to provide an operating system and software for XR devices LG wants to launch next year,” further alleging that the agreement between Meta and LG has been fully dissolved. According to the article, Amazon might be a contender.
“There were some differences between LG and Meta while discussing XR devices. I understand LG requested an end to collaboration because it believed there was not much synergy from their XR partnership,” an industry source familiar with the matter told the Korean Economic Daily.
Still, it’s not clear whether it’s a done deal, or the companies are simply pumping the brakes. In a statement to Korea JoongAng Daily, LG says it “continues the XR partnership with Meta forged in February but is controlling its pace.”
In fact, early this year, there was a leak regarding the collaboration itself. Although that does not support this specific report, it does imply that credible information is being leaked by trustworthy sources within or outside of LG. In an effort to “generate major synergies in next-gen XR device development,” the agreement at the time was described as a way to “fuse” LG’s state-of-the-art product and quality skills with Meta’s diversified core technological features. It was also speculated that the two would collaborate to develop an Apple Vision Pro rival, with an anticipated 2025 release date.
Following the announcement that Meta would make its XR operating system available to third-party OEMs for the first time—including ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox—all of these companies are expected to soon launch their own headsets.
