New Delhi: Meta, formerly Facebook, is launching its first physical store soon. Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Meta, announced on Facebook Monday that the tech giant's first store is opening in Burlingame, California, on May 9.
Zuckerberg wrote that people can experience Quest 2 and project what they are experiencing onto a big wall for their friends. He added that it is a great way to see how Meta's products connect people today and get a sense for what is coming as the company builds towards the metaverse.
What Is Quest 2?
The Meta Quest 2 is a virtual reality headset developed by Reality Labs, and is the successor to the company's previous headset, the Oculus Quest. The Quest 2, officially unveiled on September 16, 2020, during the annual Facebook Connect event, is an updated version of Oculus Quest with a similar design, but with a lighter weight, updated internal specifications, and updated Oculus Touch controllers. Quest 2 replaced the black, cloth-covered exterior of its predecessor with white-coloured plastic and a black face pad.
What Is Metaverse?
Zuckerberg had announced in last year's Connect Event that Facebook is changing its name to Meta in order to reflect focus on building the metaverse. The CEO had said that he wants the company to be identified as a metaverse company.
The metaverse is a space in which the real world and the virtual world come together. It appears to be turning into a reality — bringing together virtual and augmented reality, the internet, and real life.
The metaverse can refer to digital spaces that appear more lifelike due to the use of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).
The term is also used to describe gaming worlds, where users can walk around interacting with other gamers.
What Can One Expect From Facebook’s Metaverse?
During last year’s Facebook Connect event, Zuckerberg revealed some important features that one can experience in the metaverse — presence, avatars, home space, teleporting, interoperability, privacy and safety, virtual goods, and natural interfaces. He had said that the "feeling of presence" will be a defining quality of the metaverse.
New AR and VR product updates were also announced. For instance, people can use the Quest 2 headset to call friends using Messenger, and can invite people to Horizon Homes, which is the social media version of their home. When one puts on Quest 2, Horizon Homes is the first thing he or she will see, the CEO had said.
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One can also play games such as chess and tennis with any person in any corner of the world through the metaverse. Zuckerberg had said that video games such as Beat Saber, Grand Theft Auto, Blade and Sorcery Nomad, and Population One will be launched on Quest.
The "Presence" platform of the metaverse will empower developers to create mixed reality in Quest 2, according to Zuckerberg.
Metaverse is used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet, made up of shared, 3D virtual spaces.
Meta claims that Facebook's metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. It is a collective project that will be created by people all over the world, and is open to everyone.
According to Zuckerberg, the metaverse will allow people to socialise, learn, collaborate, and play in ways that go beyond what is possible today.