A lighter mixed-reality headset and camera-free glasses feature in the reports ahead of next week’s event, whilst leaked images of the mysterious ‘Project Phoenix’ have got the industry talking. Meta has already published its plans for developer sessions.
Meta Connect could bring a lighter headset, more convincing virtual calls and glasses that leave out the camera. Each could appeal to people who have struggled to find a reason to wear the company’s devices at work.
Project Phoenix is the hardware I’m most curious about. A headset that is comfortable enough for a longer meeting, with faces that look like the people wearing it, could make remote collaboration more appealing. The reported camera-free glasses could attract a different audience, including people uncomfortable bringing a camera into a meeting.
Both remain unannounced. Here’s what Meta has confirmed, what’s being reported and what our Even Realities interview tells us about glasses at work.
Confirmed: Apps, Glasses and VR on the Agenda
Meta Connect takes place on 23–24 September, with Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote followed the next day by the developer state of the union and technical sessions.
The published agenda includes building web apps for Meta Ray-Ban Display, connecting mobile applications to AI glasses through the Wearables Device Access Toolkit, and bringing Android apps into VR. Other sessions cover WebXR and interaction without controllers.
These are confirmed subjects for the event. They don’t establish which new hardware will launch, or when every capability discussed will be available.
For a software company with an existing mobile or web application, reusing some of that work could reduce the cost of trying glasses. Developers will still need to design around a small display, short interactions and people who are trying to do something else at the same time. An application that works well on a phone may need considerable changes before someone wants it in their field of view.
Rumoured: Project Phoenix and More Realistic Virtual Calls
Phoenix is reported to be a lighter mixed-reality headset with a separate, tethered computing unit. Footage posted by Luna on 10 September, reportedly found in a Horizon OS prescription-lens package, appears to show a slim device with a cable extending from one side. Meta hasn’t confirmed its final design, name, price or release date.
View Luna’s 10 September post showing footage attributed to Project Phoenix.
Luna posted this footage on 10 September, saying it came from a Horizon OS prescription-lens package.
Separating some of the computing hardware from the headset could make longer sessions more comfortable, although fit, heat and the cable would all need assessing in use. A design review or training session can run well beyond the few minutes someone spends trying a device at an event.
Reporting ahead of Connect also suggests Meta will demonstrate realistic avatar calls using its Codec Avatars research. Whether that would accompany a product launch remains unclear.
Recognisable faces could help people read a colleague’s reaction during a discussion. I’d also want to see how quickly someone can create their avatar and join a call, and what happens when another participant is using a laptop. A team won’t necessarily buy matching headsets for everyone it needs to speak to.
If Meta can make the hardware easier to wear and the calls easier to join, collaboration developers would have more to offer customers. Access to the avatar technology would be part of that: developers need to know whether they can use it in their own applications.
Rumoured: Camera-Free Glasses
The Information has reported plans for camera-free Meta glasses. The model, reportedly codenamed Luna, would focus on audio and AI assistance. Meta hasn’t announced it.
A camera-free model could appeal to people who want assistance during the day but don’t want to wear a recording camera around colleagues or customers. The available applications would determine whether they had enough reason to keep the glasses on.
Even Realities has already found professional interest in its camera-free G2 display glasses. In our interview with co-founder and COO Li Wang, the company estimated that 30–40% of its customers worked in sales-related roles. Wang described users asking their teams and employers to buy more pairs.
Discussing potential enterprise sales, she said “we already have a lot of inquiries from the enterprise.”
G2’s display can provide prompts, translation and prepared information during a meeting. The reported Meta device would offer a different experience through audio; removing the camera would not make the two products interchangeable.
Wang explained that Even’s privacy decisions considered the people around the wearer as well as the wearer themselves. She described its approach as “collect only what is necessary and minimize everything else.”
Microphones and transcription still require decisions about consent, storage and access. Even’s professional interest also remains ahead of its published enterprise evidence: the company told us it did not yet have solid metrics demonstrating improved sales performance.
For Meta, a camera-free product could widen the audience beyond people interested in photography or visual AI. Even’s experience suggests some customers may bring such devices to work themselves before an employer considers buying them for a team.
What Will Businesses Be Able to Buy and Build?
Snap has just named Salesforce, AWS, NVIDIA, Trifork and Hololight as partners for Specs. Its announcement describes applications employers can investigate, although release dates, complete pricing and deployment arrangements still need explaining.
Meta’s scale could attract developers across several types of device. A supplier building for a headset, display glasses or an audio assistant would still need to know which capabilities it can access and how its application reaches a customer.
I’ll be looking for a path from the Connect demonstrations to products people can try: dates for hardware and developer access, supported applications, and a way for businesses to buy and manage the devices. Our recent discussion with ArborXR about AI glasses at work covered just how fast enterprise realities (like managing accounts, paired phones, shared devices etc) can take center stage in these buying decisions.
If Connect delivers test hardware and a clear release schedule, developers selling training or collaboration tools can actually start pitching paid projects. Without a firm timeline, they’re left guessing how much longer they can bankroll their own R&D
