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Facebook launches virtual-reality work app

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Posted at 12:37 PM, Aug 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-19 12:37:13-04

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook is trying to pull in workplace users with a new virtual-reality app called Horizon Workrooms.

Workrooms lets people meet remotely in a virtual space populated by avatars. It’s an app for Facebook’s headset, Oculus Quest 2, which costs at least $300 and weighs a pound.

Facebook says Workrooms is designed to improve a team’s ability to collaborate, communicate, and connect remotely, whether that’s getting together to brainstorm an idea, work on a document, provide updates, or socialize.

People without a headset can join with a video call.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects the “metaverse,” a vague concept tied to augmented and virtual reality, to be the next stage of how people experience the internet.

Virtual reality has never really taken off, even during the pandemic, when remote work has become the norm.