Meta and LG collaborate to develop cutting-edge XR technologies.

Amid intensifying competition for global headsets, Meta and LG announced a partnership on Tuesday to redouble their efforts in augmented reality (XR) projects.

It’s worth noting that Meta has a rich history of producing both VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed-reality) products in its Meta Quest line of products, with recent successes such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Through this strategic partnership, both companies plan to leverage and integrate their strengths across multiple products, services and platforms.

This announcement follows a recent meeting between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, LG CEO William Cho and LG President Park Hyoing-sei in Seoul, Korea. During this meeting, senior management will reportedly examine Meta’s cutting-edge technology, including Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Meta Quest 3 headphones, and Meta’s Large Language Models (LLM) series.

“LG sees that by combining Meta’s platform with its own content/service capabilities from its TV business, a distinctive ecosystem can be created in the XR area, which is one of the company’s new business areas,” LG said. It added that “the fusion of Meta’s versatile technical core elements with LG’s superior product and quality capabilities promises significant synergies in the development of next-generation XR devices.”

It’s interesting to note that previous reports have hinted at a joint effort between Meta and LG to develop the next-gen Meta Quest Pro headset to better compete with the likes of Apple now that it has launched the Vision Pro headset. South Korean newspaper Maeil Business initially reported that the publication suggests the possibility of seeing LG-made headphones with LG screens, batteries and other LG Innotek components. This potential high-end headset and perhaps a rival to the Vision Pro is expected to launch in 2025, with an estimated price tag of over $2,000.