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Horizon OS features overview

Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Meta Horizon OS is built on the Android Open Source Project, so your Android app works out of the box. But Horizon OS also provides features designed specifically for spatial computing — input from controllers and hands, spatial audio, passthrough mixed reality, and a full platform SDK for social, monetization, and identity.

This page maps the complete feature surface available to your app. Use it to find what you need and jump to the right implementation guide.

Horizon OS SDK

The Horizon OS SDK provides APIs specific to the Quest platform that aren’t available in standard Android. Add the SDK to your project to access platform detection, SDK version checking, and stereo 3D rendering.

Set up the SDK

Declare your Horizon OS SDK version requirements in AndroidManifest.xml:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:horizonos="http://schemas.horizonos/sdk">

    <horizonos:uses-horizonos-sdk
        horizonos:minSdkVersion="81"
        horizonos:targetSdkVersion="201" />
</manifest>

Add the hzos.jar SDK to your project dependencies. See getting started with Android apps on Horizon OS for setup instructions.

Detect Horizon OS

Check whether your app is running on Horizon OS so you can conditionally enable platform-specific features:

import horizonos.content.pm.PackageManagerExt;

boolean isHorizonOs = getPackageManager()
    .hasSystemFeature(PackageManagerExt.FEATURE_HORIZON_OS);

This is useful for apps that run on both mobile Android and Quest — enable Horizon-specific UI and features only when the platform supports them.

Check SDK version

Query the Horizon OS SDK version at runtime to gate features by OS version:

import horizonos.os.Build;

int sdkVersion = Build.HorizonOsSdk.getVersion();

Use this when your app needs features introduced in a specific Horizon OS release. Check minimum OS versions for version requirements by feature.

Stereo 3D composition

For apps that display stereoscopic 3D content (360 video, 3D media players), set the stereo composition mode on a SurfaceView:

import horizonos.view.SurfaceViewExt;

// Side-by-side 3D
SurfaceViewExt.setStereoComposition(surfaceView,
    SurfaceControlExt.STEREO_COMPOSITION_SIDE_BY_SIDE);

// Top-bottom 3D
SurfaceViewExt.setStereoComposition(surfaceView,
    SurfaceControlExt.STEREO_COMPOSITION_TOP_BOTTOM);

// Mono (default)
SurfaceViewExt.setStereoComposition(surfaceView,
    SurfaceControlExt.STEREO_COMPOSITION_MONO);

Important notes for v85+

60Hz refresh rate removed. 60Hz is no longer a valid display refresh rate on any Quest device. Target 72Hz, 90Hz, or 120Hz. When selecting a refresh rate, always request a specific frequency (for example, 90) — do not use array indexing on the available rates list, as the set of available rates may change between OS versions.

android:configChanges required for Spatial SDK activities. Starting in Horizon OS v85, immersive activities using Meta Spatial SDK must declare android:configChanges in their manifest to prevent rapid lifecycle shutdowns. See the Spatial SDK documentation for details.

HzOS version compatibility. When calling Platform SDK APIs, handle the PROVIDER_OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED error code (1003) for features unavailable on the user’s OS version, or declare a minimum SDK version with <horizonos:uses-horizonos-sdk>. See minimum OS versions for details.

Core features

These features are available to all Android apps on Horizon OS. Most use standard Android APIs with Horizon OS-specific behavior.

Panel sizing

Control how your app’s window appears in the virtual environment. Set default dimensions, enable user resizing, and launch multiple panels.

Set default size with <layout> in your manifest

Launch additional panels with FLAG_ACTIVITY_LAUNCH_ADJACENT

No SDK dependency required — standard Android APIs

Guide:Panel sizing

Input

Users interact with your app using controllers, hands, mouse, keyboard, gamepad, and stylus. Targeted input (controllers, hands) sends standard Android motion events when hovering over your panel. Untargeted input (keyboard, gamepad) sends standard input events to the focused panel.

Controller B/Y buttons map to Android back navigation

Joystick input via AXIS_HSCROLL / AXIS_VSCROLL

No SDK dependency required — standard Android input events

Guide:Input

Audio

Play background audio, integrate system media controls, and support Dolby Atmos spatial audio using standard Android Media3 APIs.

Background playback with MediaSession and MediaSessionService

Dolby Atmos with E-AC-3 JOC format detection

Audio focus management via AudioFocusRequest

No SDK dependency required — standard Android Media3

Guide:Audio playback and Dolby Atmos

Authentication

Integrate third-party OAuth 2.0 login or connect to Meta accounts.

Standard OAuth 2.0 via the AppAuth Android library

Device code flow for media apps without keyboards

Meta account linking via Platform Solutions

Guide:Authentication

Share content to and from your app using the system share sheet. Stream your app’s view to other devices with Media Projection.

Receive shares via standard Android SEND_INTENT

Share out via the Android native share sheet

Screen sharing with MediaProjection API (app-level or full display)

Guide:Sharing

DRM

Play protected media content with Widevine L1 and L3 support.

Standard android.media.MediaDrm APIs

Immersive apps can disable screen capture via Developer Dashboard

Guide:DRM support

Cameras

Access the Avatar Selfie camera for avatar-based photos or the passthrough camera for real-world video processing.

Avatar Selfie camera:

Standard Camera2/CameraX APIs, front-facing camera

Requires android.permission.CAMERA or horizonos.permission.AVATAR_CAMERA

Works even when organization disables physical cameras

Guide:Avatar Selfie camera

Passthrough camera:

Real-world camera feed via Camera2 API (Quest 3, Quest 3S, Horizon OS v74+)

Requires android.permission.CAMERA

Supported resolutions include 1280x960, 1280x1080, 1280x1280, and 1024x1024 at 60Hz

Guide:Passthrough camera

Ad attestation and ad ID

If your app displays ads, complete the in-app ads attestation and use the advertising ID for attribution.

Attestation is required during app submission for 2D and hybrid apps containing ads

Ad ID is a resettable, user-scoped identifier for advertising purposes

Review the ads policy before integrating

Guide:Ad attestation and ad ID

Spatial features with Meta Spatial SDK

To add immersive 3D experiences to your Android app — environments, spatial panels, hand interactions, and mixed reality — integrate Meta Spatial SDK. The SDK is a Kotlin-based framework that extends your Android app with spatial computing capabilities.

Get started:Add Spatial SDK to an existing app

Build your first spatial app

Available feature modules:

Module	What it does
Core + Toolkit	Entity-component system, spatial panels, scene loading, app lifecycle
VR	Controller and hand input, head tracking, VR rendering
Physics	Rigid body physics and collision detection
Animation	Skeletal and property animation
Spatial Audio	3D positioned sound, room acoustics, sound propagation
MRUK	Mixed reality utility kit — room setup, scene mesh, passthrough
ISDK	Interaction SDK — grab, poke, ray interactions
Compose	Jetpack Compose integration for spatial UI
Networking	Multiplayer state synchronization
Particles	GPU particle systems
Speech to Text	Voice input transcription

Full documentation:Spatial SDK overview

Platform Solutions

Platform Solutions provide deeper integration with Meta’s ecosystem — user identity, social features, monetization, and content management. These use the Horizon Platform SDK.

Get started:Platform Solutions overview

Platform SDK setup

User management

Feature	What it does	Guide
Entitlement check	Verify the user owns your app	Entitlement check
Account linking	Link Meta accounts to your backend	Account linking
User age category	Age-gated feature control	Age category
Consent	Manage user consent flows	Consent

Feature	What it does	Guide
Group presence	Show what users are doing, enable join-in-progress	Group presence
Rich presence	Display user status across the platform	Rich presence
Achievements	Unlock and display achievements	Achievements
Leaderboards	Competitive rankings	Leaderboards
Challenges	Time-limited competitive events	Challenges
Deep linking	Launch directly into specific app content	Deep linking
Developer posts	Communicate with users from your store listing	Developer posts

Monetization

Feature	What it does	Guide
In-app purchases	Sell digital items and currency	IAP
Horizon Billing SDK	Google Play Billing-compatible API	Billing SDK
Downloadable content	Host and deliver asset files	Asset files
Language packs	Downloadable localization bundles	Language packs

Security

Feature	What it does	Guide
Device integrity	Verify your app runs on a genuine Quest device	Security overview
Abuse reporting	Let users report abusive content or behavior	Platform services
Passkey authentication	Phishing-resistant login via FIDO2/WebAuthn credentials	Authentication

Horizon OS permissions

Horizon OS defines custom permissions beyond standard Android permissions. Declare these in your AndroidManifest.xml when your app needs access to platform-specific capabilities.

Permission	What it grants	Required for
`horizonos.permission.AVATAR_CAMERA`	Access to the Avatar Selfie camera only (not passthrough)	Avatar photos without requesting full camera access

For standard camera access (both avatar and passthrough), use android.permission.CAMERA instead. See the camera guide and passthrough camera guide for details.