Meta has put a large focus on smart glasses this year, with the release of its Meta Ray-Ban Display and Ray-Ban Meta (gen 2) glasses, leaving its rumored Meta Quest 4 on the sidelines. But now, it's reportedly finally in the works.
Meta is now working on a next-gen Quest VR headset made for immersive gaming, as seen in leaked memos via Business Insider. According to the head of Metaverse Gabriel Aul and the head of Horizon OS Ryan Cairns, the next Quest will be a "large upgrade" compared to the Quest 3, and it will "significantly improve unit economics."
Previous leaks indicated the Quest 4 would be delayed until 2027, with the two planned prototype headsets, codenamed "Pismo Low" (similar to the Quest 3S) and "Pismo High" (a high-end successor to the Quest 3), being canceled. Now, Meta looks to be back on track with its next-gen VR headset.
While there's no word on when the Quest 4 will officially release, it's still expected to at least be revealed sometime in 2027 or 2028. This is due to another headset that Meta is working on: the rumored "Phoenix" mixed reality headset with a puck.
Meta's ultralight headset gets delayed
Earlier this year, Meta was tipped to be shifting gears by pushing back work on the Quest 4 and focusing on a lightweight mixed-reality device that runs Horizon OS for 2026, which has been codenamed "Puffin" and "Phoenix."
Now, the schedule is changing yet again, as the tech giant is reportedly delaying this ultralight headset to the first half of 2027, as noted by VP of Reality Labs Foundation Maher Saba.
"Many teams in RL (Reality Labs) will need to adjust their plans and timelines," Saba said. "Extending timelines is not an opportunity for us to add more features or take on additional work."
What's more, Meta is looking to release a wearable device codenamed "Malibu 2" in 2026, although little is known about what this device will deliver.
The "Phoenix" headset is expected to come with the previously rumored tethered puck for the battery (as with the Apple Vision Pro) and to keep the headset lighter, and will resemble VR goggles rather than a headset. It's expected to have less of a focus on gaming and be more for virtual screens. So, not unlike the best AR glasses.
As Aul and Cairns state in the memos, the delay will give the lightweight mixed reality device "a lot more breathing room to get the details right" to deliver a "fully polished" headset.
Of course, with Meta continuing to shift its plans, we'll have to wait and see if the company sticks with this roadmap. In any case, while Meta is still going full throttle for its lineup of mixed-reality devices to compete with others, including the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, it's still making time for its upcoming next-gen Quest 4 headset. Hopefully, we'll see it sooner rather than later.
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