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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Meta has announced three new features for the Quest headset.
- Horizon TV is a new hub for all your streaming content.
- Also new is a way to make a digital copy of your room.
At today’s Meta Connect 2025 event, we got our expected peek at the company’s upcoming smart glasses (three new versions are on the way), details on upgrades to its existing glasses, and a few other surprises.
While the spotlight was on devices, we also got a glimpse of Meta’s plans for its Quest headsets. The company announced a trio of free features for its VR headsets, two of which are available to all devices and one of which is reserved for the newer Quest and Quest 3S.
Also: Meta Connect 2025 live updates: Reactions to Ray-Ban Display, Oakley Vanguard glasses, more
Here’s a look at the new features now available on your Quest headset.
Horizon TV Hub
Streaming movies and TV shows with your Quest headset is about to get a little easier, as Meta has announced Horizon TV. This new hub will be the home to multiple popular streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, ESPN, Peacock, Hulu, and Disney+. It will support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision (Vision comes later this year), meaning you’ll have high-quality audio and video.
Some Universal Studios shows like M3GAN and The Black Phone will even have immersive 3D special effects.
Also: I biked with the Meta Oakley Vanguard, and they’re easily the best smart glasses for athletes
Meta seems to be investing heavily in TV and movies. James Cameron announced earlier this year that his Lightstorm Vision venture had signed a deal with Meta for 3D entertainment “featuring big-name IP,” including live sports and concerts, movies, and TV shows. (An exclusive 3D clip of Avatar: Fire and Ash is available now, Meta says.)
Horizon Studio
Also on the way is Meta Horizon Studio, a generative AI editor for the Meta Horizon Worlds playground. You can already use Horizon Worlds to create things like textures and audio for your own virtual worlds, but you’ll now have an AI assistant to help you. You can use verbal prompts to create worlds like a UFC octagon ring, a home, or an underwater seascape, or to make changes like a new environment or modify an AI-driven NPC.
Hyperspace capture
Utilizing something called “Gaussian Splatting,” a new Hyperspace Capture feature uses the cameras on your headset to take photos of your environment and then turn them into a digital replica you can visit. (It appears that this feature is only for the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S.) The process takes just a few minutes, Meta explains. The result is static, and nothing moves. Still, the results are apparently pretty impressive, even better than Apple’s spatial photos.
