Meta’s leaked Project Phoenix images suggest a slim mixed reality headset

Images posted by UploadVR appear to show the design of Meta’s “Project Phoenix” headset ahead of Meta Connect, which starts on September 23. UploadVR says the images were found in the HorizonOS Prescription Lens firmware package.

The images suggest Meta may be targeting a space between smart glasses and larger virtual reality headsets. Project Phoenix appears to use lenses set into a slim, glasses-style frame, potentially placing it near products from Xreal and Viture. Those companies’ mixed reality glasses are bulkier than Meta’s Ray-Ban AI smart glasses but smaller than a full VR headset such as Meta’s Quest 3.

A rear view appears to show a wire extending from one earpiece, possibly connecting to a battery or compute puck. The earpieces also appear to include cameras facing outward and downward.

Project Phoenix has reportedly been in development for some time and is not expected to launch until next year. Google is also working on Project Aura XR glasses with a similar design approach, including an external compute puck connected to the frames by a wire.