There are comparatively few 2D Android apps out there on the Quest Retailer, which appears odd because the Quest {hardware} runs a modified model of Android. In keeping with Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, Google merely isn’t excited about bringing the complete Play Retailer of apps to Quest.

“There’s nothing stopping Android builders who’ve an APK operating on Android telephones in the present day from bringing that into VR,” Bosworth mentioned in a latest AMA by way of Instragram. “They only have to ship the APK to us, and possibly they should do some gentle modification relying on how the management scheme would work, however not essentially a lot after that.”

A lot is obvious in the case of publishing the app on to the Quest Retailer, which is the case for apps corresponding to Peacock, Pluto TV, WhatsApp, and Instagram. However what concerning the tens of millions of apps on Google’s official Play Retailer?

“We don’t have a approach of robotically ingesting these [APKs],” Bosworth continues. “We might love for Google to deliver their Play Retailer of apps to VR. We’ve requested them. They don’t need to do it, so it’s form of as much as the builders to do this.”

Whereas Google’s Play Retailer is chock-full of helpful, oftentimes free apps, what Bosworth doesn’t point out in his AMA are a number of the problems that may naturally come up from having the Play Retailer on Quest. Not solely may it open up a bunch of hypothetical points with how income is break up, but additionally how builders may select to publish their apps.

For non-subscription-based apps, Google takes a 30% income reduce from builders, whereas Meta does the identical for each the Quest Retailer and App Lab. However why would Meta need Google sneaking away income, or vice versa? It appears uncertain that two such outstanding digital storefronts may coexist on a single machine.

There’s additionally the matter of the Samsung-Google-Qualcomm partnership we heard about earlier this yr, which is about to deliver an Android-powered XR headset to market, suggesting that Google hasn’t given up on headsets regardless of having fully shelved each its Daydream VR platform and AR glasses Undertaking Iris.

Regardless of the case, Quest headsets are essentially Android units, so enterprising customers can fortunately sideload APKs pretty simply by way of the ever-useful SideQuest software program. Granted, the onus is on the person to supply the APK within the first place, however with no different method to take heed to Spotify whereas searching the online while not having to tether to a pc, or utilizing a Netflix app that’s really up to date, it’s fortunately possible.

Should you’re excited about giving it a go, try our information on How and Why to Sideload Video games on Quest, which takes you step-by-step on the method of getting each 2D and VR-native apps in your Quest headset, but additionally (if it isn’t obvious by now) why you’d need to do it within the first place.