Last weekend, the Meta Quest lineup of headsets, which included VR and MR devices, gained an important productivity tool in new Microsoft Office 365 applications suited for spatial computing environments.
The service marks the first introduction to Meta’s headset portfolio following its highly anticipated announcement at Connect 2022. Microsoft is distributing Office Word, Excel, and Powerpoint services for free on the Quest digital store for all models of Quest headsets, including Quest Pro devices. For businesses.
Microsoft’s applications are ready for use in VR and MR environments, depending on the user’s preferred headset. Additionally, thanks to the cloud-based infrastructure, the free service is minimal in terms of storage space. However, cloud integration means Quest Office users must always be connected to WiFi to take advantage of the service.
Small file sizes and cloud integration allow all Quest headset owners to use all three Microsoft Office applications simultaneously, promoting multitasking across applications similar to a traditional desktop or PC.
Microsoft Immersive Office applications also support hand tracking and tracked virtual keyboard input. Alternatively, users can connect a Bluetooth keyboard to interact with the immersive Office screens.
In social media posts Abhijit Srikanth, Partner Engineer at Meta’s Reality Labs division. famous:
With the addition of these apps to Quest, you’ll have even more possibilities to be productive on the go, with features like a 2D screen all in virtual or mixed reality in an expansive panel of infinite space, options for easy multitasking, and Bluetooth mouse input support. Wide possibilities open up. And the keyboard. We look forward to further improving Quest’s productivity and further collaboration with Microsoft.
Will Microsoft Teams Debut Next?
When Microsoft first announced Office 365 integration for its Quest lineup last year, it said Teams integration was also planned in the future. However, Microsoft has not yet released this application on Meta hardware.
Team integration may be received. Meanwhile, apart from the Quest partnership, Microsoft is adding a number of immersive features to its Teams service next month.
During the Connect 2022 presentation Microsoft CEO Satya NadellaTeams for Quest employees blends an immersive platform with Horizon avatars, allowing them to collaborate “as if you were there in person,” the company said.
Interestingly, in the 2022 keynote address: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEOHe noted that his company will integrate Horizon Workrooms for Teams, allowing people to join Teams meetings directly from the Workrooms Metaverse environment.
However, Meta’s Workrooms product appears to be dormant as the company appears to be backbenching its Horizon platform in lieu of MR headsets and AR smartglasses.
In Workroom’s place could be Microsoft Mesh, an upcoming suite for creating and leveraging immersive environments for enterprise collaboration, a similar vision to Workrooms. Microsoft plans to publicly launch this service in January.