Meta’s promise of the highly anticipated Augments feature for Quest 3, aimed at delivering persistent mini AR apps in the user’s physical space, seems to be facing unexpected delays. The feature, initially announced as a framework for developers to create mini AR apps that could live persistently in the space around users, has yet to ship eight months after the headset was released. Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, sheds light on the reasons behind the setback.
Bosworth confirmed in a recent AMA on Instagram that the original technical architecture for Augments was not up to the mark. While the concept was promising, it was held back by system architecture limitations and felt more like a toy rather than wielding the power needed to fulfill its potential. Bosworth expressed that they were dissatisfied with the original approach and made a tough decision to go back to the drawing board, opting to rebuild the feature from scratch. According to Bosworth, the company is now considering a completely different type of architecture, including a much deeper set of changes to the system to enable their vision for Augments.
The Augments feature was announced at Meta Connect 2023 as a means to create persistent spatially-anchored digital objects in the physical space of users, allowing for concurrent usage alongside each other. The initial approach sought to enable interactive elements within the AR apps, such as playable mini-games and interactive digital objects like calendars and virtual pets. However, with the realization that the original technical architecture fell short of their expectations, Meta decided to revamp the entire feature to ensure it delivers on its promise.
Bosworth admitted that while this decision was tough, it was the right call not to ship a feature that the team was not excited about. However, it has resulted in an unexpected delay in delivering the Augments feature for Quest 3. He emphasized the importance of being able to deliver a feature that lives up to Meta’s vision, even if it means restarting the development process.
Meta’s decision to rebuild the Augments feature from scratch reflects their commitment to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge technology to their users. The setback serves as a reminder of the complexity involved in creating and implementing innovative features in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
As users await the arrival of the revamped Augments feature for Quest 3, Meta assures the community that the resulting AR experience will be worth the delay, as it will be built on a more robust technical foundation, fulfilling the promise of bringing persistent, interactive AR apps to life in the physical space of users.
In conclusion, Meta’s Quest 3 Augments feature, initially met with anticipation and excitement, now faces unexpected delays as the company rethinks and rebuilds the feature from scratch to ensure it lives up to its potential. While this may result in a delayed release, it underscores Meta’s unwavering commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality technology to its users.
