Jump to content

Meta Spatial SDK

From VR & AR Wiki
Meta Spatial SDK
Information
Type Software development kit
Industry Mixed reality
Developer Meta Platforms
Written In Kotlin
Operating System Meta Horizon OS
License Meta Platform Technologies SDK license
Supported Devices Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro
Release Date September 25, 2024 (open beta)
Website https://developers.meta.com/horizon/develop/spatial-sdk/


Meta Spatial SDK is a Kotlin-based software development kit from Meta Platforms for building mixed reality and virtual reality apps for Meta Horizon OS, the Android-based operating system of the Meta Quest headsets. It lets mobile developers use Android Studio, Kotlin and standard Android libraries to add 3D and spatial features to an existing 2D app or to build a fully immersive app, without a game engine such as Unity or Unreal Engine.[1][2]

Meta introduced the SDK on September 25, 2024, at Meta Connect 2024, together with the Meta Quest 3S and the opening of the Meta Horizon Store to 2D, web and hybrid apps. The first public build was labelled an open beta.[1][3] The library is published to Maven Central under the coordinates com.meta.spatial:meta-spatial-sdk; the first version, 0.5.0, appeared there on September 25, 2024, and the current version as of September 2026 is 0.14.0, released on September 11, 2026.[4][5]

The SDK is one of Meta's answers to the gap between the Quest catalog, which is dominated by games built in Unity, and the productivity and utility apps that mobile developers write with ordinary Android tooling. UploadVR compared the approach to Apple's native development path for visionOS on the Apple Vision Pro, which lets iOS developers reuse their existing skills, and Road to VR noted that Quest headsets had lagged the Vision Pro for basic desktop productivity.[6][2]

Reviewed 20 September 2026. Announcement dates, Maven Central release dates, release-note contents, documented features, requirements, licenses and every cited source. About review dates.

History

Announcement

On April 22, 2024, when Meta renamed the Quest operating system to Meta Horizon OS and announced that it would license the platform to other hardware makers, the company also said it was "developing a new spatial app framework that helps mobile developers create mixed reality experiences," so that developers "will be able to use the tools they're already familiar with to bring their mobile apps to Meta Horizon OS or to create entirely new mixed reality apps."[7] UploadVR reported at the time that building even a simple spatial app for Quest required a game engine, and that Meta was taking sign-ups for access to the framework, which it then called only a "spatial app framework", once it became available.[8]

The framework was given its name at Meta Connect 2024. In a developer session titled "Introducing Meta Spatial SDK" on September 25, 2024, Meta software engineer Mike Armstrong presented it as a spatial app framework that lets developers extend existing mobile apps to spatial experiences or build fully immersive apps for Quest using "mobile development languages, tools and libraries you already know."[9] Meta's developer blog post from the same day described the SDK as "a Kotlin-based set of accessible APIs," said it was released as an open beta, and introduced Meta Spatial Editor, a desktop tool for composing 3D scenes, alongside three open-source showcase apps: Focus, Geo Voyage and Media View.[1] In an October 15, 2024 post tied to the Quest 3S launch, Meta described Focus as a productivity app that demonstrates panel and object management, Geo Voyage as a learning app that integrates Llama 3 as an AI learning agent, and Media View as a spatialized media viewer.[10]

MIXED reported that Meta justified the push into 2D and spatialized apps with usage data: according to the company, more than 60 percent of Quest 3 owners used the browser and panel features, and the Vision Pro could already run more than 1.5 million iOS and iPad apps.[3] Road to VR framed the SDK as part of Meta's effort to make Quest "more flexible" than a gaming machine and to catch up with the Vision Pro on basic desktop productivity.[6]

2025 updates

Through the first half of 2025 the SDK moved from the 0.5.x series to 0.6.0 (April 22, 2025) and 0.7.0 (June 25, 2025).[4] In June 2025 Meta announced a batch of upgrades: the Meta Horizon OS UI Set, a set of interface components that match the Quest system design; a beta of the Interaction SDK for Spatial SDK apps; runtime performance work that Meta said lets apps hold 90 frames per second more consistently, with faster entity component system queries and new filtering; passthrough camera access with an open-source Spatial Scanner sample; a Meta Horizon plugin for Android Studio with project templates and a data model inspector; Spatial Editor 2.0, which defines components in XML and generates the matching Kotlin code; and a Premium Media Sample that shows how to stream 180-degree, 3D and DRM-protected video.[11][12] Meta's June 2025 guide also said that developers had used the SDK for media, education, training and productivity apps as well as robotics and AI projects.[11]

Version 0.8.0 followed on September 17, 2025, during Meta Connect 2025.[4] In its Connect 2025 developer round-up, published September 18, 2025, Meta listed the Android Studio plugin, Spatial Editor 2.0 with hot asset reloading, passthrough camera access and the Premium Media Sample as features added since the previous Connect, and said that one-click testing with a Spatial Simulator, Meta Video Extensions (an ExoPlayer plugin), support for 3D and 360-degree media with Dolby Atmos audio, Gaussian splat (GSplat) rendering and a Horizon OS MCP integration for AI workflows were coming soon.[13] The same post introduced a separate Immersive Web SDK, built on Three.js, for browser-based experiences.[13]

2026

Releases continued at roughly monthly intervals in 2026: 0.10.0 in February, 0.11.0 in March, 0.12.0 in April, 0.13.0 in May and 0.14.0 in September.[4] Meta's release notes for 0.13.0 (May 14, 2026) list a Canvas Panel API for stereo rendering, a Lighting API with panel-driven projection lights, pak-based asset packaging and localized asset resolution; 0.13.1 (June 2026) added EntityPath for path-based entity lookup and VisibilityState for hierarchical visibility control; 0.13.2 (July 16, 2026) added in-place panel resizing and spot lights that cast shadows; and 0.14.0 (September 11, 2026) added hands-only locomotion, mesh-node parenting and audio controls, and cut compiled shader storage by 60 percent.[5][14] Meta Spatial Editor reached version 16.0 on April 20, 2026, with AI-powered scene manipulation, faster project opening and multi-project support, and 16.1 on April 24, 2026, with a command-line batch mode for macOS, Windows and Linux.[5]

Features

Architecture

Spatial SDK apps are organized around an entity component system (ECS): components are data containers that describe properties such as position, size or color, and systems hold the logic that runs over entities with particular components. Meta's documentation describes a dual-activity structure that separates the 3D environment from the app's Android UI logic.[15] The SDK renders glTF models with physically based rendering, image-based lighting and skeletal animation, and includes rigid body physics.[16] Meta's download page calls it "a native Android framework" for mixed reality.[14]

Panels and hybrid apps

The central idea of the SDK is that a Quest headset is another Android form factor. Android UI built with any Android UI framework, including Jetpack Compose, is placed in 3D space as a panel, so an existing 2D app can keep its interface and add spatial content around it.[15][16][17] Meta calls apps that switch between a flat panel and a fully immersive scene "hybrid apps"; the user can multitask with the panel or enter the immersive mode.[11] UploadVR quoted Meta's pitch that "with Spatial SDK, Meta Quest devices become another form factor in your mobile development process, rather than a completely new technology stack," and listed likely uses such as 2D apps with floating 3D models, 360-degree photo viewers and multi-window immersive apps.[2] Since version 0.13.0 the Canvas Panel API allows stereo rendering inside a panel.[5]

Mixed reality

The SDK exposes the same mixed reality building blocks that Meta offers to game-engine developers: passthrough, scene understanding, spatial anchors and the Mixed Reality Utility Kit (MRUK), which scans the room so virtual objects can be placed on real surfaces.[16][15] A passthrough camera access API, added in 2025, gives Spatial SDK apps the raw camera feed through the standard Android Camera2 API. It is limited to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S, requires Horizon OS v76 or later and a minimum Android SDK level of 34, and needs both the Horizon OS permission horizonos.permission.HEADSET_CAMERA and the normal Android camera permission.[18] Meta's Spatial Scanner sample uses that feed for QR code scanning, board-game detection, object recognition and visual queries to a large language model.[12]

Input, interaction and UI

Input covers controller buttons, hand tracking and gaze.[15] The Interaction SDK, which Meta had offered for Unity since 2022 and later for Unreal, came to Spatial SDK as a beta in June 2025.[12] Meta's documentation describes it as a device-agnostic input system that turns raw controller and hand input into generic pointer events, supporting ray, pinch and direct-touch interaction with 3D objects and panels; as of version 0.8.0 it replaced the older InputSystem as the default and is enabled automatically when an app registers VRFeature, while still being labelled experimental.[19] The Meta Horizon OS UI Set supplies buttons, cards, checkboxes, radio buttons, switches, dialogs, dropdowns, text fields, search bars, side navigation, sliders and tooltips in the Horizon OS visual style; it does not depend on Spatial SDK and can be used in any Android app on Horizon OS.[20]

Media and audio

The SDK supports flat and immersive media playback and spatial audio alongside standard audio.[2][15] The Premium Media Sample on GitHub demonstrates DRM-protected streaming and spatial reflections, and separate samples cover immersive video with custom shaders and video with spatialized audio.[21]

Tools

Meta Spatial Editor

Meta Spatial Editor is the desktop companion to the SDK. Meta describes it as "a spatial composition tool for Spatial SDK" that lets developers import, organize and transform assets into visual compositions, lay out 2D and 3D objects without code, and assign Spatial SDK components inside the tool. A project holds assets (models, materials, textures and compositions), compositions (hierarchies of Spatial SDK content) and objects (3D models with attached data).[22] Spatial Editor 2.0, announced in June 2025, introduced XML-based component definitions from which Kotlin code is generated.[11] Version 16.0 (April 20, 2026) added AI-powered scene manipulation, and a command-line tool, mse-agent, lets AI agents create and edit scenes.[5][22] Meta's release notes list builds for Windows and Mac plus a command-line version for Linux.[5]

Android Studio plugin

The Meta Horizon Android Studio plugin, distributed through the JetBrains Marketplace, adds Spatial SDK project templates, component and system file templates, and a Data Model Inspector for examining entities and components on a running headset. It can open scene files directly in Spatial Editor, flags Google Mobile Services libraries and permissions that Horizon OS does not support, includes the Meta Spatial Simulator, and bundles the Meta VR command-line tools.[23] Hot reload pushes code changes to the headset without a full rebuild, and input forwarding lets a developer drive the app with a PC keyboard and mouse.[15]

Samples and templates

Meta maintains two GitHub repositories. Meta-Spatial-SDK-Samples lists 14 sample projects: StarterSample, HybridSample (switching between a 2D panel and an immersive scene), MixedRealitySample, MrukSample, PhysicsSample, AnimationsSample, BodyTrackingSample, Object3DSample, CustomComponentsSample, FeatureDevSample, MediaPlayerSample, SpatialVideoSample, PremiumMediaSample and UISetSample, plus a CustomComponentsStarter codelab project. The sample code is under the MIT License, while the SDK binaries and bundled assets are covered by the Meta Platform Technologies SDK license.[21] Meta-Spatial-SDK-Templates holds the starter projects used by the Android Studio plugin; its code is under the Zero-Clause BSD License with the same SDK license for the Meta components.[24]

Supported devices and requirements

The sample repositories list the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S and Meta Quest Pro running Horizon OS build v69.0 or newer as supported headsets. Development requires a Mac or Windows computer, Android Studio Narwhal (2025.1.1) or newer, JDK 17 and, for most samples, Meta Spatial Editor. As of September 2026 the sample toolchain uses Kotlin 2.1.0, Gradle 9.4.1 and Android Gradle Plugin 8.11.1.[21][24] Passthrough camera access is the main feature with a narrower device list (Quest 3 and Quest 3S only).[18]

Version history

The table lists releases of the com.meta.spatial:meta-spatial-sdk artifact by the date each was published to Maven Central, with headline changes where Meta's release notes give them.[4][5]

Version Published Notes
0.5.0 2024-09-25 First public build, released as an open beta at Meta Connect 2024[1]
0.5.1 to 0.5.5 2024-10-22 to 2025-02-18 Five maintenance releases
0.6.0 2025-04-22
0.6.1 2025-05-14
0.7.0 2025-06-25
0.7.1, 0.7.2 2025-08-14, 2025-08-26
0.8.0 2025-09-17 Interaction SDK becomes the default input system[19]
0.8.1 2025-10-24
0.9.0 to 0.9.2 2025-11-20 to 2025-12-18
0.10.0, 0.10.1 2026-02-12, 2026-02-18
0.11.0, 0.11.1 2026-03-12, 2026-03-23
0.12.0 2026-04-16
0.13.0 2026-05-14 Canvas Panel API (stereo rendering), Lighting API, pak-based asset packaging, localized asset resolution
0.13.1 2026-06-15 EntityPath lookup, VisibilityState (release notes dated June 11, 2026)
0.13.2 2026-07-16 In-place panel resizing, shadow-casting spot lights, collider scaling fixes
0.14.0 2026-09-11 Hands-only locomotion, mesh-node parenting, audio controls, 60 percent smaller compiled shader storage

Reception

Launch coverage concentrated on what the SDK meant for Meta's platform strategy. Road to VR wrote that it reflected Meta's push to bring spatial computing to Quest and to close the productivity gap with the Vision Pro.[6] UploadVR called it a way to build Quest apps "without a game engine" and noted the parallel with Apple's visionOS approach; in June 2025 the same outlet described the first year of updates as "significant upgrades" for engine-free Quest development.[2][12] MIXED placed the SDK alongside the opening of the Horizon Store to 2D apps, progressive web apps and native Android apps as part of one effort to make Quest useful beyond gaming.[3]

Meta has not published adoption figures for the SDK. Its own developer materials say that Spatial SDK apps have been built in media, education, training, productivity, robotics and AI.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Explore Meta Spatial SDK and New Ways to Optimize and Grow on Meta Horizon OS". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. 2024-09-25. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/meta-connect-ecosystem-horizon-spatial-sdk-2d-apps-developers/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 David Heaney (2024-09-26). "Meta Spatial SDK Lets Developers Build Quest Apps Without A Game Engine". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-spatial-sdk/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2024-09-27). "Meta paves the way for more 2D and spatial apps on Quest". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/meta-quest-2d-apps-horizon-store-meta-spatial-sdk/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "com/meta/spatial/meta-spatial-sdk". Maven Central Repository. Sonatype. https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/com/meta/spatial/meta-spatial-sdk/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Release notes: Spatial SDK". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/release-notes/spatial-sdk/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ben Lang (2024-09-26). "New Spatial SDK Reflects Meta's Push to Bring 'Spatial Computing' to Quest". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/meta-spatial-sdk-announcement/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  7. ↑ "Introducing Our Open Mixed Reality Ecosystem". About Meta. Meta Platforms. 2024-04-22. https://about.fb.com/news/2024/04/introducing-our-open-mixed-reality-ecosystem/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  8. ↑ David Heaney (2024-04-23). "Meta Is Working On A Horizon OS "Spatial App Framework" For Porting Apps & Building New Ones". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-spatial-framework-mobile-apps-horizon-os/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  9. ↑ "Introducing Meta Spatial SDK - Meta Connect 2024". Meta for Developers. Meta Platforms. 2024-09-25. https://developers.facebook.com/m/meta-connect-developer-sessions/meta-spatial-sdk/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  10. ↑ "Start Building with Meta Quest 3 and 3S". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. 2024-10-15. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/start-building-meta-quest-3s-3-launch-spatial-sdk-2D-mixed-reality/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "From Mobile to Mixed Reality: A Guide to Meta Spatial SDK for Android Developers". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. 2025-06-05. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/guide-meta-spatial-sdk-android-developers-mixed-reality-mobile/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 David Heaney (2025-06-17). "Meta's Spatial SDK For Engine-Free Quest Development Got Significant Upgrades". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-spatial-sdk-mid-2025-upgrades/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Meta Connect 2025: Fueling the Future of VR". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. 2025-09-18. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/meta-connect-2025-fueling-the-future-of-vr/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Meta Spatial SDK". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/downloads/package/meta-spatial-sdk/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 "Developing with Spatial SDK". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-development/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Spatial SDK overview". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-explainer/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  17. ↑ "Jetpack Compose in panels". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-2dpanel-compose/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Passthrough Camera Access with Spatial SDK". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-pca-kotlin-api/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Interaction SDK feature overview". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-isdk-overview/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  20. ↑ "Meta Horizon OS UI Set overview". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-ui-overview/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Meta-Spatial-SDK-Samples". GitHub. Meta Platforms. https://github.com/meta-quest/Meta-Spatial-SDK-Samples. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Spatial Editor overview". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-editor-overview/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  23. ↑ "Meta Horizon Android Studio Plugin". Meta Horizon OS Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/spatial-sdk-android-studio-plugin/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Meta-Spatial-SDK-Templates". GitHub. Meta Platforms. https://github.com/meta-quest/Meta-Spatial-SDK-Templates. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
Retrieved from "https://vrarwiki.com/index.php?title=Meta_Spatial_SDK&oldid=42182"