It appears Oculus is currently testing out Android app integration on Quest, which could bring to the standalone headset everything from Spotify to Among Us.
The news was first reported by YouTuber ‘The Mysticle’, saying that he found a number of non-VR Android apps in the ‘Preview App’ section of the Oculus Store. The Preview App section of the store is where you can find games and experiences that are typically in a prerelease state, often reserved for private beta testing and for press preview.
This was brought up on our discord today and I just had to check it out to make sure it was real. It sure is! These are under preview apps in the store. The developer name in info is “Android Apps For Quest” and the website seems to be Oculus. Are they finally adding popular apps pic.twitter.com/aUuTuTowLz
— TheMysticle (@TheMysticle) May 7, 2021
We weren’t able to reproduce the claim and confirm the news ourselves, however both ‘The Mystical’ and a Discord user have snapped images from within Oculus Home featuring multiple apps in their Preview Apps section. Some of the apps include Among Us, TikTok, Zoom, Spotify, Snap, MS Remote Desktop and MS One Note.
Both Oculus Quest and Quest 2 feature a chipset running the Android operating system; even allowing users to install and run those apps on the headset in ‘flat’ mode could bring a massive new set of apps including different web browsers, video players, games, and utilities.
John Carmack, Oculus Consulting CTO, mentioned late last year that although he was pushing to bring Android apps to Oculus Quest, he was “not winning” the debate internally at Facebook. Provided Oculus isn’t just testing the waters, it seems Carmack may have finally won that debate.
