Meta reportedly working on ultra-compact MR glasses for 2027
Meta is reportedly working on lightweight mixed reality glasses, codenamed Puffin, which are expected to be released in 2027.
The Information reported last week that Meta had canceled plans for a premium headset codenamed La Jolla, which would have been released in 2027 and could have become a Meta Quest Pro 2.
Now, The Information reports that Meta executives at the same product meeting greenlighted another project, codenamed Puffin, for the same year.
The device is said to resemble "bulky glasses" and weighs less than 110 grams, making it much more compact and lightweight than Quest headsets, which weigh around 500 grams. Meta hopes that Puffin can overcome some of the issues that prevent people from using VR and MR headsets, such as their size and weight, as well as problems with visual disorientation, according to the sources.
To achieve this form factor and weight, the device will have to offload the computing unit and battery to a wired second device that Meta hopes will fit in your pocket. In doing so, Meta would follow in the footsteps of Magic Leap and Apple.
According to the report, the wearable will rely on eye and hand tracking as an input scheme instead of controllers, similar to Apple Vision Pro. The device is said to feature pancake lenses and passthrough, just like the Quest 3 and Vision Pro.
Puffin is scheduled for release in 2027. However, the project is still in its early stages and could be cancelled.
Headsets must become glasses to reach the mainstream
With Puffin, Meta is breaking new ground and trying to solve the biggest problem with VR headsets: that they are headsets.
Meta Quest has sold millions of units, but is still far from conquering the mass market. With its current form factor, it probably won't reach the audience Meta hopes for.
This does not mean that Meta is abandoning Quest. The Information previously reported that two new Quest headsets are planned for 2026: Meta Quest 4 in standard and premium versions (codenamed Pismo Low and Pismo High). But Puffin is likely to become a completely different class of device with a different product philosophy.
The image in the article shows a VR glasses prototype from Reality Labs, which was unveiled back in 2020. The ultra-compact device relies on holographic optics instead of Fresnel or pancake lenses, and matches The Information's description in terms of form factor and weight. It remains to be seen if Puffin will actually achieve this look, as it uses a whole different technology.
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