The shift comes after a significant expansion of the leadership team at Meta’s Reality Labs. Reports indicate that Meta has postponed the launch timeline for its new mixed-reality smart glasses to 2027. In a series of internal communications reviewed by Business Insider, Meta’s leadership expressed the need to “get the details right.” The communications also disclose a new wearable device and the upcoming Quest headset.
Meta is reconfiguring its product roadmap for wearables and mixed-reality headsets, as reported by Business Insider. The report references an internal memo from Maher Saba, the vice president of Meta’s Reality Labs Foundation. It indicates that the next-generation mixed-reality glasses are now slated for a 2027 release rather than 2026. Additionally, a prototype wearable and a new Quest headset are reportedly in development.
Initially, the company aimed to release the mixed-reality glasses, codenamed “Phoenix,” in the latter half of 2026. The release has now shifted to the first half of 2027. This slight delay is meant to provide Meta “a lot more breathing room to get the details right,” according to another memo obtained by Business Insider.
“There’s a considerable amount happening with tight timelines and significant changes to our core UX, and we will not sacrifice delivering a fully refined and dependable experience,” stated Metaverse leaders Gabriel Aul and Ryan Cairns, as reported.
In a different memo authored by Saba, there is mention of a “limited edition” wearable version codenamed “Malibu 2,” expected in 2026. The upcoming Meta Quest headset is also described as a “major upgrade” that will “significantly enhance unit economics,” according to Aul and Cairns.
While the memos do not directly refer to the matter, it seems that these delays may relate to the changes in Meta’s design leadership announced this week. Apple designers Alan Dye and Billy Sorrentino are transitioning to Meta to work under Reality Labs. Dye, who led Apple’s human interface design efforts for ten years, is establishing a new design lab at Meta.
Dye will collaborate with Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth, who commented that he is “joining Meta to assist in crafting the future of computing at the convergence of AI, wearables, and spatial computing.”
The two Apple designers are making the move to Meta after contributing to projects like Liquid Glass, the Apple Watch, visionOS, and Apple Vision Pro. The memos highlighted “significant changes to our core UX,” which the newly recruited design leaders at Meta may wish to influence.
These delays occur as Meta anticipates strong competition in the smart glasses and virtual reality markets. New Android XR hardware is expected to debut next year to compete with Meta’s glasses and Meta Quest headsets, and Google will share further details in a livestream this coming Monday, Dec. 8.
