Meta's CTO Explains the Hurdles to Android App Support on Quest
When it comes to swift app development for VR, users expect seamless access to their favorite apps. Unfortunately, this isn't the case with Meta Quest. Despite running on a modified Android operating system, Quest only supports a handful of Android apps. But why is this the case? According to Andrew Bosworth, Meta's CTO, it's not entirely Meta's fault.
To support 2D apps, Meta introduced Progressive Web Apps (PWA) standard with its v34 system update in November 2021. This allowed developers to easily bring their smartphone apps to the Quest platform. The first Android apps to be released on the Quest Store were Facebook, Instagram, Smartsheet, and Spike. However, two years later, little has changed.
One major missing link is integration with popular services like Discord, Spotify, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit. These platforms have millions of daily users, making it essential for Meta Quest to establish a connection to the Android ecosystem.
In an AMA on Instagram, Bosworth shed light on the situation, suggesting that Meta doesn't control the fate of 2D apps on Quest. Instead, he urges VR users to reach out to app developers and encourage them to bring their apps to the platform: "I want to call out that the developers of those Android apps are welcome to bring them to our store as APKs. It's a pretty straightforward process if they wanted to just build an app that came in in that way."
Bosworth also highlighted the importance of Google's involvement in making it easier for developers to port their apps to Quest: "We would love for Google to bring their Play Store of apps to VR. We've asked them, they don't want to do it. And so it's kind of up to the developers to do that."
Until Quest reaches a significant user base and service providers see the benefits of releasing and maintaining their apps on the platform, the situation is unlikely to change significantly.
Target Keyword: Swift app development