Meta VR glasses to debut in first half of 2027 at $1,300

Meta’s long-anticipated lightweight VR glasses, internally known as Project Phoenix, will arrive in the first half of 2027 with a price tag of $1,299.99. The company originally targeted a late 2026 launch but pushed the timeline back to polish the device before putting it in front of consumers.

What Project Phoenix actually is

Project Phoenix is designed as a glasses-style form factor that weighs under 110 grams. To achieve that featherweight profile, Meta is offloading the heavy computing to an external “compute puck,” a separate processing unit tethered to the glasses.

The field of view clocks in at approximately 88 to 91 degrees diagonal. The use cases Meta is targeting include media consumption, social interactions, and fitness, rather than gaming-centric experiences.

The pricing puzzle

Some earlier reports suggested Meta was targeting a price under $1,000, which would have placed the glasses in a more accessible bracket. For context, Meta’s Quest 3 launched at $499.99, and the Quest 3S brought the entry point even lower. Project Phoenix costs more than two and a half times the Quest 3’s launch price.

A broader product roadmap takes shape

Project Phoenix isn’t arriving in isolation. Meta executives, including CTO Andrew Bosworth and CFO Susan Li, have signaled that multiple next-generation headsets are on the 2027 roadmap. Among them is the Quest 4, which would continue Meta’s more affordable, gaming-oriented product line.

Recent firmware leaks from mid-September 2026 gave the public its first detailed look at the headset’s design, confirming the glasses-style form factor that had been rumored for months. Meta is expected to showcase the device at its Connect event before the commercial launch.

What this means for the mixed reality market

Apple’s Vision Pro proved the technology could work in a premium package, priced at $3,499. Meta’s Project Phoenix, at $1,300, sits roughly a third of Apple’s price while attempting a form factor that’s arguably more practical for daily use.

Meta’s Reality Labs division has burned through tens of billions in investment since Meta acquired Oculus in 2014, with the company’s evolution moving from heavier devices like the original Oculus Rift toward ultralight, everyday-wearable mixed-reality devices.