The problem for Meta is that it's almost certainly not going to look like what they're selling with their Metaverse which is some kind of Second Life knockoff. They went all in on a failed plan.
Well if all the end up with is the best hardware that's definitely going to be worth something. But what they really want is the app that people spend all their time on.
What they really want is to be the iOS and the App Store. They don't want to live under Apple and Google's roofs anymore. They want control. And they want to be the one taxing apps 30% instead of Apple and Google.
Maybe, they do have their own store for VR apps but they also allow you to connect the headset to a gaming PC and use Steam games. They also support OpenXR. So they don't seem to be building a walled garden, more like a garden with a fence you can step over. Maybe that'll change in the future but if it does they'll piss off a lot of their customers and force them to switch to other hardware.
I think Apple will come out with the best hardware.
Why?
1. Best mobile SoC designs by far. Not even close.
2. Hardware company at heart. Their culture is built for hardware.
3. Way more supply chain and mass manufacturing experience which means cheaper manufacturing.
4. Hardware designed for iPhone, iPad, Mac can be reused for VR/AR which means lower costs and more economy of scale. IE. M2 is used on both iPad and Macs. M2 cores are derived from A15 from iPhone 13.
Does Valve have a great track record with hardware? The Steam Machines, Steam Controller and the Steam link aren't really talked about or mentioned in gaming circles anymore.
No, I think Valve doesn't want to be bought, whether it's through an acquisition or by IPO.
Valve was bootstrapped by Gaben. It doesn't have any investors that want an exit, doesn't need to raise funds, and Gaben is already a billionaire. They have no incentive to sell themselves.
the rebranding was to skirt antitrust and regulatory scrutiny. They’re trying to convince regulators and the jury they are a AR/VR company, even though their entire business is (and will be) all funded by ads and data mining.