Meta Responds to Claims of Outsourcing XR Headset Designs

In a recent turn of events, The Information shared that Meta is reportedly looking to outsource some design aspects for their upcoming headsets while planning to relocate part of its manufacturing operations from China. Despite this, Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, insists that the design of these headsets will remain an in-house affair.

The publication, as relayed by SeekingAlpha, suggests that Meta is moving to produce half of its Quest headsets in Vietnam rather than China. This strategy seems to be a proactive measure against the expected sharp import tariffs anticipated to be enforced by US President-elect Donald Trump on Chinese imports.

In the midst of these developments, Meta is also reported to be considering shifting a significant portion of its component design—impacting lenses and displays—to Goertek. This Chinese firm is well-known for producing reference designs and manufacturing devices within the extended reality (XR) industry.

Looking further ahead, it appears Meta has enlisted Goertek’s expertise, among others, with the aim of developing its headsets by 2030. The move aligns with Meta’s broader strategy to pivot towards its software business. The alleged partnership would apparently involve Meta setting design goals for Goertek, which would then provide several design options from which Meta could choose.

Andrew Bosworth, who leads Meta’s XR-centered Reality Labs, has publicly disputed these outsourcing design claims on a recent X post. According to Bosworth, “someone is aggressively pushing these design rumors across multiple platforms, and it’s simply not true.” He emphasized, “We’re still committed to designing our headsets internally and have no intention of shifting this responsibility. Though we collaborate with our manufacturing partners to an extent, the core strategy remains unchanged.”

In a follow-up note, Bosworth also highlighted that their ongoing work with Goertek remains business as usual. “To clarify,” he noted, “Goertek has been a fantastic partner. As our technology matures across different headset generations, it makes sense for them to handle some design aspects. But this has always been our approach, even as we expand our scale.”

Moreover, The Information also mentions insights from a Meta employee indicating that Goertek has commenced crafting the external casing for future editions of Meta’s mixed reality headsets. Additionally, the company is said to be playing a more integral role in the R&D of other Meta offerings, such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Earlier this year, Goertek made a significant investment of $280 million into its Vietnamese subsidiary. According to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, this investment aims to boost the production of consumer electronics like headphones, smartwatches, and both VR and AR devices.