Meta Aims to Launch A 'Lightweight' MR Headset By 2027

Meta plans to launch an extremely lightweight mixed-reality headset by 2027.

The product, codenamed "Puffin", is distinguished by its lightweight design, addressing the bulkiness of existing products, and is expected to be released in 2027.

Less than a week ago, it was reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew Bosworth canceled the high-end headset originally planned for 2027, codenamed La Jolla, which was intended to compete with Apple's Vision Pro.

At that time, Meta employees claimed that after a product roadmap review meeting last week, the company's management suddenly asked employees of the Reality Labs division to stop developing this high-end mixed reality headset.

However, according to the latest report on Wednesday, it was at the same product review meeting that they approved another headset, codenamed Puffin, also expected to launch in 2027.

Reports suggest that Puffin will resemble a pair of thick glasses, weighing less than 110 grams, equipped with wafer-thin lenses and see-through cameras. Its lightness is achieved by externalizing the battery and computing hardware, with Meta envisioning this external device to be small enough to fit directly into a user's pocket.

Additionally, Puffin will not come with handheld controllers but will use more advanced gesture and eye-tracking technology.

If the report is accurate, it means Puffin will be significantly lighter than any other full-featured headset to date. In contrast, the Meta Quest 3 (without the carrying strap and facial interface) weighs about 400 grams, and the Quest 3 (with the carrying strap and facial interface) weighs about 515 grams, with the battery accounting for approximately 70 grams of that weight.

There have also been reports that Meta plans to launch two Quest 4 models in 2026, which may imply that Puffin will be an entirely new product line, possibly focusing on media consumption and productivity enhancement, and competing directly with Apple's Vision Pro at a lower price point.