Facebook's Oculus Rift Won't be the iPhone of Virtual Reality

Game available on Oculus Rift. Source: Facebook.

Facebook's time as a hardwaremanufacturermay be short lived.

In March, the social networking giant launched its first piece of hardware: the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift. Although the Oculus Rift won't generate much revenue for Facebook in 2016, itstillrepresents something of a surprising shift in Facebook's core business model. Until last month, Facebook had confined itself to software and services.

More hardware is coming, though. Facebook will launch new controllers for the Oculus Rift later this year, and second- and third-generation models of the headset may eventually follow.

Yet investors shouldn't expect hardware to ever generate more than a modest portion of Facebook's revenue.

Specializing in softwareBack in February, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat for an interview with Germany's Axel Springer (via Business Insider). Zuckerberg touched on a wide range of subjects, but, at least for Facebook investors, his mostpertinentcomments may have centered around virtual reality, and his hopes for Facebook's long-term participation and possible business model.

Facebook is building the Oculus Rift headset itself because virtual reality remains in its infancy. But eventually, like other computing platforms, it will mature. At that point, Facebook won't be interested in providing headsets -- it wants to own the software that powers them.

Going for massive market shareThat stands in notable contrast to the computing model Apple has long championed. Since its inception, the Cupertino tech giant has steadfastly embraced an integrated hardware-software approach throughout its entire product portfolio. Apple designs the iPhone and Mac, and also develops the software that powers them. That approach has allowed it to consistently deliver top-notch user experiences -- ones its competitors have had a difficult time replicating.

Google and Microsoft have embraced a different model, developing operating systems (Android and Windows, respectively) but relying on a procession of hardware partners to build the actual devices. Apple's approach has made it fantastically profitable, but its share of the smartphone and PC markets has long trailed that of its rivals. Apple captured just 15.3% of the worldwide smartphone market last quarter according to research firm IDC -- Android accounted for almost all of the remaining 84.7%. Among traditional PCs, Windows is even more dominant.

Going for an integrated approach could perhaps net Facebook Apple-like hardware profits if the Oculus Rift is a success, but would contrast with the company's core objective -- connecting the world. After nearly a decade, Apple is about to sell its billionth iPhone, but Facebook has more than 1.65 billion people checking its website each day (not to mention Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which collectively add about another 2.3 billion).

Not material in 2016Facebook's management has been clear: Oculus Rift won't be material to the company's financials anytime soon. But for long-term shareholders, Facebook's interest in virtual reality is certainly worth watching. Zuckerberg is a big believer, and thinks it could become the next major computing platform after the smartphone and PC.Through Facebook's dual class stock structure, Zuckerberg has commanding control of the company, and at the age of 31, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

If Facebook is successful, Oculus could one day be the Android or Windows of the virtual reality market, powering hundreds of millions of headsets throughout the globe.

The article Facebook's Oculus Rift Won't be the iPhone of Virtual Reality originally appeared on Fool.com.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fools board of directors. Sam Mattera has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, and Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.