A leak reveals Meta's slim 'Project Phoenix' headset design, which appears to be mixed reality glasses with cameras and a wired compute puck, potentially competing with devices from Xreal and Viture and expected to launch next year.
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<img alt="A leaked image seemingly showing Meta’s Project Phoenix headset via UploadVR" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: <em><a href="https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-project-phoenix-headset-first-clear-visuals/">UploadVR</a></em>" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rx_attach_thumb.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Just a couple of weeks before <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/928795/metas-connect-conference-is-scheduled-for-september-23rd-and-24th">Meta Connect</a> starts on September 23rd, <a href="https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-project-phoenix-headset-first-clear-visuals/"><em>UploadVR</em></a> posted images seemingly revealing the design for Meta's "Project Phoenix" headset. The images, which <em>UploadVR</em> says were "found in the HorizonOS Prescription Lens firmware package," suggest Meta may be looking to compete with devices like those from <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/963465/xreal-a01-plus-xbx-ar-glasses-hands-on">Xreal</a> or <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/975870/viture-pro-2-video-ar-smart-glasses-hands-on">Viture</a>. These companies' mixed reality glasses are a bit bulkier than something like Meta's Ray-Ban AI smart glasses, but a step down from a full VR headset like Meta's Quest 3. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This leak shows something that's almost in between larger headsets and smart glasses, with lenses set into a slim, glasses-style fram …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/994055/meta-project-phoenix-headset-leak">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Meta may have leaked the first look at its slim ‘Project Phoenix’ headset
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/994055/meta-project-phoenix-headset-leak](https://www.theverge.com/tech/994055/meta-project-phoenix-headset-leak)
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/stevie-bonifield)
Stevie Bonifield
is a news writer covering all things consumer tech\. Stevie started out at Laptop Mag writing news and reviews on hardware, gaming, and AI\.
Just a couple of weeks before[Meta Connect](https://www.theverge.com/tech/928795/metas-connect-conference-is-scheduled-for-september-23rd-and-24th)starts on September 23rd,[*UploadVR*](https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-project-phoenix-headset-first-clear-visuals/)posted images seemingly revealing the design for Meta’s “Project Phoenix” headset\. The images, which*UploadVR*says were “found in the HorizonOS Prescription Lens firmware package,” suggest Meta may be looking to compete with devices like those from[Xreal](https://www.theverge.com/tech/963465/xreal-a01-plus-xbx-ar-glasses-hands-on)or[Viture](https://www.theverge.com/tech/975870/viture-pro-2-video-ar-smart-glasses-hands-on)\. These companies’ mixed reality glasses are a bit bulkier than something like Meta’s Ray\-Ban AI smart glasses, but a step down from a full VR headset like Meta’s Quest 3\.
This leak shows something that’s almost in between larger headsets and smart glasses, with lenses set into a slim, glasses\-style frame\. A shot from behind shows a wire extending from one of the earpieces, possibly for a battery or compute puck\. There also appear to be outward\- and downward\-facing cameras in the earpieces\.
Project Phoenix has been in the works for a while now, and isn’t expected to launch[until next year](https://www.theverge.com/news/839728/meta-delaying-phoenix-mixed-reality-glasses)\. Google is also working on a pair of[Project Aura XR glasses](https://www.theverge.com/tech/933125/android-xr-samsung-warby-parker-gentle-monster-project-aura-xreal-google-io-2026)in a similar vein, with an external compute puck that’s wired to the frames\.
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- Stevie Bonifield
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