Meta is reportedly planning to launch ultra-light mixed reality glasses, codenamed “Puffin,” in 2027.
Just one week after Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, confirmed the cancellation of the Quest Pro 2 prototype, new information emerged about Meta’s next move in the high-end VR/AR market—a move that seems a bit different.
According to The Information, in the same meeting where “La Jolla,” the headset intended to be the Quest Pro 2, was canceled, Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Bosworth approved a different device that might not even belong to the Quest Pro line.
Meta is reportedly planning to release a headset in 2027 codenamed “Puffin,” which is described as resembling a “bulky pair of glasses” and weighing less than 110 grams. Interestingly, this device is not intended to be AR glasses—although Meta also plans to release those in 2027—but a full Mixed Reality headset. The company aims to achieve this lightweight design by offloading the computing power and battery into a tethered puck that Meta “hopes” will be small enough to fit into the user’s pocket.
For comparison, current standalone headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro weigh 515g and 650g, respectively, with their facial interfaces attached. In contrast, this new headset is expected to weigh just a fraction of that—around 1/5 to 1/6 as much.
Meta also doesn’t plan to ship controllers with this headset. Instead, the UI/UX will be centered around gaze and pinch interactions, similar to the Apple Vision Pro. This suggests that the headset is designed primarily for media and productivity use. Meta seems to recognize that while headsets like the Apple Vision Pro offer excellent screens and an optimized OS for media consumption, users are deterred by the weight of the device. Meta may want to test the waters to see if there is a demand for headsets that offer the Vision Pro experience but with a fraction of the weight.
It’s unclear whether this device will support any controllers. In fact, it’s uncertain if most Horizon (Quest) apps will even be compatible with it (as it may be quite underpowered because of the offload compute) or if it will be part of the Quest line at all.
This device could be a way for Meta to test the demand for extremely lightweight headsets with experience similar to the Apple Vision Pro. It would help Meta explore whether this path is worth pursuing, given that weight is a major issue often cited by users, preventing them from fully utilizing headsets as productivity tools or for media consumption.
Interestingly, a similar headset might be on the horizon. Immersed is working on a lightweight mixed-reality headset with gaze+pinch interaction, resembling a bulky pair of glasses. It will feature 4K micro-OLED displays and be focused on productivity, running on Immersed’s own productivity-centered OS.
Demonstrations of Immersed Visor are expected to begin in September. While we don’t yet know what Meta’s offering will bring, it’s likely they will aim to lower the price and include high-resolution displays by the time it launches in 2027.
