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Meta continue to field criticism over how it handles younger consumers using its platforms , but the company is also planning new products that will cater to them . On Monday , the companyannouncedin a web log Charles William Post that later on this year it will be launch a new education mathematical product for Quest to place its VR headset as a go - to twist for teaching in classroom .
The product is yet to be name , but in the web log post describe it , Nick Clegg , the companionship ’s president of global affairs — the ex-wife - politician who has become ’s Meta ’s executive most potential to be delivering messaging around more controversial and divisive topic — enjoin that it will let in a hub for Department of Education - specific apps and lineament , as well as the power to contend multiple headset at once without having to update each twist individually .
Business fashion model for hardware and services also have yet to be spell out . With nothing on the table , the company is framing it as a long - term bet .
“ We accept that it ’s going to take a long clip , and we ’re not lead to be stool any money on this anytime soon , ” Clegg said in an interview withAxios .
On the plus side , a get-up-and-go into educational activity could intend more diversified subject for Quest user , along with a across-the-board ecosystem of developers work up for the weapons platform — not the sea wolf appcritics say is still missing from VR , but at least more natural process .
On more baffling undercoat , the news is coming on the heels of a few other developments at the company that are less positive . Meta ’s instant electronic messaging serviceWhatsApphas been getting a lot of heat over lowering the minimal age for users to 13 in the U.K. and EU ( it had antecedently been 16 ) .
Monday ’s proclamation arrives on the heel ofMeta remind Quest users to confirm their ageso it can leave teens and preteenager with appropriate experiences .
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The novel initiative will roll out later this yr and will only be available to institutions with scholarly person 13 years old and up . Meta aver it will launch it first in the 20 markets where it already support Quest for Business , Meta ’s work - focused $ 14.99 / calendar month subscription . That leaning includes the U.S. , Canada , the United Kingdom and several other English - speaking grocery , along with Japan and much of western Europe .
There are a identification number of company already in the grocery store exploring the approximation of VR in the classroom , with name calling like Immersion VR , ClassVR and ArborXR , not to cite the likes of Microsoft , which has been pushing itsHoloLensas an educational tool for a while now .
It ’s not clear how omnipresent VR use is in school : one provider , ClassVR , claims that 40,000 classrooms worldwide are using its ware .
But all the same , there persist hurdle to mass food market usage . It ’s not clear , for example , whether strapping a headset to someone ’s face is needs a help in a lively , educational environs , think some of the inquiry around young people already gettingtoo much sieve timeas it is .
And another big question mark will relate to the cost of corrupt headsets ( Quest 3 , the latest headset , starts at around $ 500 to each one for basic poser ) , buy apps , and then after support all of that infrastructure . Meta say that it has alreadydonatedQuest headsets to 15 universities in the U.S. , but it ’s not clear how far it will go to subsidise growth longer term .
Meta now ask exploiter to verify their age to practice its Quest VR headsets
