Meta Pushes Again on Reported Outsourcing of XR Headset Designs

A latest report from The Data maintains Meta has began outsourcing some design for upcoming headsets amid a shift to maneuver a part of its manufacturing out of China. Now, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth refutes these particular design claims, saying headsets will proceed to be designed “in home.”

In response to The Data (non-paywalled through SeekingAlpha) Meta is reportedly planning to maneuver half of its Quest headset manufacturing from China to Vietnam, a step performed to keep away from upcoming steep import tariffs quickly to be levied on that nation by US President-elect Donald Trump.

The report moreover alleges Meta is ready to shift extra of its part design, together with lenses and shows, to Goertek, the Chinese language unique design manufacture (ODM) identified for creating each reference designs and manufacturing gadgets for firms throughout the XR business.

Moreover, Meta has reportedly tapped Goertek and different producers to finally develop its headsets by 2030, as the corporate is claimed to transition to focus extra on its profitable software program enterprise. Such a joint design manufacturing relationship would allegedly embody Meta outlining targets to Goertek, which then proposes a number of choices for Meta to select from.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta CTO and head of the corporate’s XR-focused Actuality Labs, has nonetheless refuted these particular design claims in a latest X publish.

“[S]omeone is pushing the design rumor onerous to a number of shops, and that side stays false,” Bosworth says. “We proceed to design our headsets in home as we’ve and don’t have any plans to alter that. We all the time associate with our producers to a point however nothing materials is altering there.”

In a follow-up publish, Bosworth underlines its work with Goertek will likely be enterprise as typical.

“To be clear, Goertek is a good associate and as components of our stack are extra mature and used from headset to headset we’re glad to have them carry the designs throughout which has all the time been true. However this isn’t a change from how we’ve performed enterprise with them at the same time as we scale it up.”

Citing a Meta worker, The Data moreover stories Goertek has begun designing the outer shell for future variations of Meta’s MR headsets, and is now taking part in a bigger position in R&D for different Meta merchandise, together with its Ray-Ban Meta sensible glasses.

Earlier this yr Goertek injected $280 million into its Vietnamese subsidiary, which in line with the Shenzhen Inventory Trade submitting is claimed to focus on manufacturing client electronics merchandise, resembling headphones, smartwatches, and VR and AR gadgets.