After being announced only a couple of months ago, the future of LG and Meta’s XR partnership is in limbo. Conflicting reports from the Korean media have indicated the partnership may be altered, or even called off completely. Seoul Economic Daily has reported that the partnerships’ product release has been pushed back to 2027, while other publications have written that the deal has been called off completely, with LG now targeting Amazon as a prospective partner for its XR venture.
LG Display looks to sell final LCD manufacturing plant to focus on OLED
LG, meanwhile, has indicated that the deal is still on, though some murky language has called a timeframe into question. “LG Electronics continues the XR partnership with Meta forged in February but is controlling its pace,” the company commented to Korea JoongAng Daily.
The following was originally published March 4, 2024:
LG and Meta have officially announced a partnership to strengthen the XR businesses of both companies. The news follows a meeting between Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and LG’s top management, including CEO William Cho and President of Home Entertainment Company, Park Hyoung-sei. Initial reports of the meeting referenced both parties’ interest in integrating LG’s webOS system into Meta’s Quest line of XR headsets.
The announcement stated that LG is looking to leverage its own content network to carve out a niche in the XR space. “LG envisions that by bringing together Meta’s platform with its own content/service capabilities from its TV business, a distinctive ecosystem can be forged in the XR domain, which is one of the company’s new business areas,” reads LG’s press release. “Moreover, the fusion of Meta’s diverse core technological elements with LG’s cutting-edge product and quality capabilities promises significant synergies in next-gen XR device development.”
In describing the new partnership, LG referenced its recently-announced “Future Vision 2030,” which outlines the company’s intention to transform into a “Smart Life Solution Company” by 2030. LG’s states its objective is to restructure into a company that “can seamlessly connect and expand customer experiences across various domains, including home, commercial, mobility and virtual spaces.”
