Images of Meta’s ‘Project Phoenix’ mixed reality headset appear to have leaked ahead of its anticipated unveiling at Connect later this month.
The News
Serial leaker ‘Luna’ appears to have found video within Quest’s Horizon OS showing off the headset’s prescription lenses, which are apparently set to be released in partnership by Meta’s official prescription lens provider, Zenni Optical.
It also gives us our first look at Phoenix following the leak of a setup video in July/ Although conveniently blurred, it’s unmistakably Meta’s forthcoming slim and light standalone mixed reality headset.
Interestingly, the new images appear to reveal that Phoenix will have both sideways and downward-facing sensors, present on the outer and underside of the headset’s temple. It’s uncertain what the downward-facing sensors could be used for, although some suggest it may be used in face tracking.
As previously seen in the July leaks, Phoenix also features independent lens spacing, removable nose clips for individual user comfort, and built-in hand and eye-tracking, which all but confirms there will also be front-facing sensors and sensors embedded close to the user’s eyes as well.
Another tacit confirmation: although Phoenix still lacks an official name, price and release date, the images confirm we’re dealing with Meta’s next-gen follow-up to Quest 3/3S; the headset offers a hybrid design, presenting a near glasses-like profile by offloading compute to a cable-tethered unit—still to be revealed.
Notably, an image near the end of the recent video shows the tether trailing off the left temple (the QR code seen below appears to be a mock-up).
If the cadence of leaks is any indication, we’re hoping to learn more at Meta Connect later this month, which is set to kick off on September 23–24, 2026.
There, Meta is also likely to show off a new pair of smart glasses in addition to “the latest in VR, wearables, metaverse, and AI.”
My Take
I don’t expect to see Phoenix get the big ‘Quest 4’ naming badge when it launches, primarily because everything I’ve seen up to this point indicates the company is pivoting away from the its metaverse ambitions and game-focused consumer segment, and looking towards prosumers and enterprise.
To boot, Meta has shuttered internal XR game studios, cancelled several AAA VR games in progress, and positioned its Reality Labs XR division to work primarily on AI wearables, including Meta Glasses.
And while Phoenix may even come along with Touch controller support, giving it de facto access to Quest’s library of VR games and apps, I feel the company is finally attempting to make a general computing platform that will rival Apple Vision Pro—if not in specs, at least in its intended ethos.
As it is, Meta appears to be reducing the main friction points for XR users looking to replace their traditional monitors, which will undoubtedly come at a price well beyond the cheap and cheerful Quest 3S. Meta’s also likely to make overtures to developers looking to use Phoenix as a developer kit for the creation of augmented reality apps, as Phoenix is surely set to front run any such dedicated AR device from Meta.
We’re of course looking to confirm this (and a lot more) at Connect from September 22-23rd, as we’ll have boots on the ground at Meta’s Menlo Park HQ where the event will take place.
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