Meta reportedly pushes the release of new mixed-reality glasses to 2027

What you need to know

• Meta has reportedly delayed the launch window for its new mixed-reality smart glasses to 2027.
• In a series of internal memos viewed by Business Insider, Meta leadership wrote about needing to "get the details right."
• The memos also reveal a new wearable and the next-generation Quest headset.

Meta is shaking up its product roadmap for wearables and mixed-reality headsets, according to a report from Business Insider. The report cites an internal memo from Maher Saba, who is the vice president of Meta's Reality Labs Foundation. It reveals that Meta's next-generation pair of mixed-reality glasses will now release in 2027 instead of 2026. Plus, there's reportedly a prototype wearable and a new Quest headset in the works.

The company originally planned to launch the mixed-reality glasses, code-named "Phoenix," in the second half of 2026. Now, the glasses are positioned for a release in the first half of 2027. The minor delay is intended to give Meta "a lot more breathing room to get the details right," according to a separate memo seen by Business Insider.

"There's a lot coming in hot with tight bring-up schedules and big changes to our core UX, and we won't compromise on landing a fully polished and reliable experience," wrote Metaverse leaders Gabriel Aul and Ryan Cairns, per the report.

Separately, the memo penned by Saba references a "limited edition" wearable variant code-named "Malibu 2" in 2026. The next Meta Quest headset will also be a "large upgrade" that will "significantly improve unit economics," according to Aul and Cairns.

While the memos don't reference the situation specifically, it sounds like these delays may be in relation to Meta's design leadership change announced this week. Apple designers Alan Dye and Billy Sorrentino are joining Meta to work under Reality Labs. Dye, the designer who led Apple's human interface design efforts for a decade, is creating a new design lab at Meta.

Dye will work under Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, who said he is "joining Meta to help build the future of computing at the intersection of AI, wearables and spatial computing."

The two Apple designers are moving over to Meta after spending time working on Liquid Glass, the Apple Watch, visionOS, and Apple Vision Pro. The memos mentioned "big changes to our core UX," which Meta's newly-acquired design leads may want to be part of.

The delays come at a time when Meta is set to face fierce competition in the smart glasses and virtual reality spaces. New Android XR hardware is expected next year to challenge Meta glasses and Meta Quest headsets, and Google is sharing more in a livestream this Monday, Dec. 8.