Microsoft brings Windows apps for Meta Quest Pro and Quest 2
Microsoft brings its own Office software to Meta hardware. Satya Nadella does the honors in person during the meta keynote - and probably also sets an example for Microsoft's hardware plans in VR and AR.
Among other things, Microsoft announces native team and office apps for Quest Pro and Quest 2 at Meta Connect. Windows 11 and 10 can be streamed to the headset via a cloud desktop. The Microsoft Quest apps are scheduled for release in 2023. The exact launch date is not known.
Meta avatars in Teams VR
With the Teams app, Quest users will be able to use their avatars in a new immersive Microsoft Teams environment - that includes regular Teams video meetings (and Zoom meetings), where you can tune in as an avatar from a Horizon Workrooms environment. Workrooms is Meta's VR office software.
Microsoft's Meta offerings as of 2023:
- Immersive meeting experiences with Microsoft Teams for Meta Quest.
- Microsoft Windows 365: Windows 11 and Windows 10 desktop streaming for Quest Pro and Quest 2
- Microsoft 365 Apps: Sharepoint, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and more coming natively for Quest Pro and Quest 2
- Microsoft Teams/Workrooms integration - Teams meeting from Workrooms.
- Meta avatars in Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory for Quest Pro and Quest 2 (comes with a "Meta Quest for Business" subscription bundle)
Meta and Microsoft collaboration for an XR office is a compromise for both sides
If you interpret Nadella's appearance and announcements in the Meta keynote in the context of the latest rumors surrounding Microsoft's XR hardware plans, they confirm Microsoft's focus on XR software and suggest a possible move away from corresponding hardware. Microsoft will also offer 2D Xbox games for Meta Quest devices.
Meta gets a chance through Microsoft to market Quest Pro as a full-fledged office device, which it probably couldn't do without the Microsoft software. So far, Meta's promised browser-based office solutions have remained just that - promised. Meta first announced the "Infinite Office" in September 2022, but there have been no significant updates since the announcement.
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