Horizon OS Architecture & Interaction Design

Horizon OS Architecture & Interaction Design

Horizon OS is the operating system for Quest headsets. As the platform expanded from virtual reality into mixed reality, it needed new interaction patterns: anchoring windows to a space, content that transitions between realities, and a foundation for integrating Meta AI.

Role

Senior Product Designer (IC)

Challenge

Evolve a panel-based operating system into a spatial platform with a focus on mixed reality, and repurpose a legacy voice system to bring Meta AI interaction to the platform.

Contribution

Led interaction designs for spatial window management, anchoring content to physical spaces, and surface-aware placement. Built prototypes and led cross-functional reviews to align on novel interaction patterns across the OS. Led the first phase of Meta AI interaction on the Quest platform, designing the end-to-end voice experience from activation through response display while navigating legacy architecture constraints.

Impact

Established design patterns for spatial computing that defined the long-term direction of Horizon OS. Previewed at Meta Connect 2024 [1], shipped in 2025 [2]. Meta AI on Quest launched with v68 [3].

Anchoring actions — how users can anchor apps to surfaces and release them back into free space.
Anchoring actions — how users can anchor apps to surfaces and release them back into free space.

Spatial memory — the OS remembers where an app was last anchored and returns it there, saving users from re-positioning apps in three dimensions.

Overview of window capabilities — navigating between anchored and floating content.

Meta AI on Quest — bringing multimodal AI to a spatial OS under a compressed timeline and executive visibility.

Meta AI on Quest — example of interaction flow from prompt to contextual response in a mixed-reality context.