Facebook is working on its own operating system for AR glasses

Facebook is working on its own operating system for AR glasses, so that it does not have to rely less on Google for Android. To that end, it has hired Windows NT co-developer Mark Lucovsky, among others, to take the lead in developing it.

Vice President Andrew Bosworth says he can’t trust the competition to create enough space for Facebook’s services “in the future,” according to Techcrunch. Now the company is dependent on the services of, for example, Google, Facebook would use a modified Android version on the current AR and VR glasses. To counter that dependence, Facebook would like to develop an operating system itself. The site specifically talks about VR and AR, Facebook doesn’t seem to have any plans for a phone operating system.

The idea of ​​this new OS, according to the news site, is that Facebook would have more freedom to integrate social interaction and privacy into the company’s devices. For the time being, the focus would be on what is needed for AR glasses. Incidentally, Facebook is still keeping its options open; the company could also partner with another company to develop an operating system.

According to the site, hardware must become an important part of Facebook: almost 25 kilometers away from the headquarters, work is now underway on a new office for Facebook’s AR and VR team. The first employees should start working there in the second half of next year, eventually there will be room for 4,000 employees. At the moment Facebook sells hardware such as the Portal TV and the VR glasses from Oculus.