Quest’s Home Environment May Soon Get The Social Capabilities We’ve Been Waiting For

Back in October, Meta announced that it would eventually transition its home environment to ‘Horizon Home’, giving it a fuller set of social features like being able to invite party members to visit, hang out, or launch into VR apps together. It seems we’re getting a step closer to the release of those features, as Quest 2’s recent v37 firmware is hiding a few things.

Developer Luboš V released a video showing off some of the hidden features that lurk within v37 of the Quest firmware.

Apparently itinerant firmware sleuth ‘Basti564’ also had a part in uncovering the hidden features, who is known for leaking images and models of Project Cambria, the company’s in-development mixed reality headset, and for having uncovered videos of the Quest 2’s Space Sense room guardian in action before its official launch.

Check out the video below:

The v37 update is now available on the Public Test Channel for Quest 2, however the features seen above aren’t accessible. In the video we get a glimpse at:

• Tutorial on how to use Horizon Home
• Room capture: letting you virtually integrate your playspace by mapping walls and ceiling
• Apple keyboard support
• Voice assistant history menu
• What appears to be a work-in-progress social network integration, which is likely either be a portal to its Horizon social VR apps or more Facebook integration

The revelation of these hidden features comes on the heels of an interview with Digiday where Meta’s VP of Horizon, Vivek Sharma, hinted that the company hopes to eventually bring all of its social VR apps social VR apps—Horizon Worlds, Horizon Venues, and Horizon Workroom—together in a more seamless way.

There’s no telling how soon we’ll see any of that stuff though. Closer integration with its Horizon social apps, representing a substantial overhaul, certainly sounds like one of those flashy monolithic updates Meta typically reserves for events.

Meta previously said it was hosting a Gaming Showcase in early 2022, although it’s not certain when that’s taking place. Last year’s was in April, although GDC 2022 in March may be a better bet. In any case, we’ll have our eyes peeled on the Oculus blog in the meantime.

Source: https://www.roadtovr.com/meta-quest-2-horizon-home-v37-update/