The Complicated Relationship Between LG and Meta in the XR Market

Recent news reports suggest that LG is pausing its partnership with Meta to develop an extended reality (XR) device that was intended to rival Apple’s Vision Pro headset. The joint venture, which was announced just three months ago, appears to have hit a roadblock due to a lack of synergy between the two companies.

While some Korean news outlets claim that the partnership has completely broken down, LG denies that the deal has been terminated. According to a statement from LG to Korea JoongAng Daily, the company is still committed to the XR partnership with Meta but is now controlling the pace of the project. The collaboration was supposed to combine Meta’s Horizon Worlds mixed reality platform with LG’s TV business capabilities, with plans for on-device AI integration using Meta’s language models.

Despite the conflicting reports, there are suggestions that the collaboration between LG and Meta is still ongoing, but with a potential release date pushed back to 2027. On the other hand, rumors are circulating that LG is exploring a new XR headset partnership with Amazon, leveraging Amazon Prime’s extensive library of streaming content and large subscriber base.

The potential slowdown or breakdown of the partnership comes at a challenging time for Meta, as its AR and VR businesses are reportedly hemorrhaging money. Reports indicate that Reality Labs, a division of Meta, has been incurring significant losses every month since June 2022. Despite these financial challenges, Meta remains committed to its product development efforts and ecosystem scaling, with expectations of increasing losses year over year.

The difficulties faced by Meta and the possible complications in the LG-Meta partnership are reflective of broader challenges in the VR/AR product industry. Consumer interest in VR/AR products appears to be declining, making it harder for companies to justify large investments in these technologies.

The uncertain status of the LG-Meta partnership and the financial difficulties faced by Meta underscore the complexity of the XR market. As both companies navigate these challenges, it remains to be seen how the future of XR technology will unfold and whether these setbacks will have long-term implications for the industry as a whole.