Khronos’ OpenXR specification should lead to cross-platform AR and VR apps

The Khronos Group has released the first official version of the OpenXR specification. This should make it easier in the future to develop AR and VR applications that run cross-platform.

The OpenXR 1.0 specification allows developers to build apps that run on a variety of headsets, such as the Microsoft HoloLens, and the Vive and Oculus products. This means that separate versions no longer need to be made for the different AR and VR glasses, collectively referred to as ‘xr platforms’, saving costs and time.

The Khronos Group, a consortium in which numerous hardware and software companies are represented, already made an experimental version of the royalty-free standard available a few months ago, so that developers could give their feedback. The intention is that the specification will gradually be further improved, but will always remain backwards compatible.

Microsoft did not wait for the official standard and already placed the OpenXR for Windows Mixed Reality app in its store last week. This allows users of a Windows Mixed Reality headset or HoloLens 2 to easily get started with OpenXR applications. Facebook, the company behind the Oculus Rift and Quest, and Vive makers HTC and Valve have also promised to support OpenXR 1.0. Valve also wants to integrate the standard in the SteamVR platform in the long term.