Meta aims for lighter mixed-reality eyewear: report

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is reportedly looking more at a midsize form factor for mixed-reality eyewear, as tech companies search for the right product-market fit when it comes to futuristic headsets.

Meta (META) is working on a project code-named “Puffin” that looks like a bulky pair of glasses, The Information reported. Such a device would be larger than the smart glasses the company offers in partnership with Ray-Ban (OTCPK:ESLOY), but smaller than its flagship Meta Quest virtual-reality headset.

The decision to move forward with the Puffin project comes alongside Meta’s decision to scrap an approach to a high-end headset that would have competed with Apple’s (AAPL) pricey Vision Pro hardware.

Earlier in the summer, Apple reportedly suspended work on the next version of its Vision Pro, with an eye toward making a more affordable version.

The Puffin device has been described internally at Meta as weighing less than 110 grams, according to The Information — about twice as heavy as the Ray-Ban smart glasses, but a fifth the weight of Meta’s Quest 3 headset. That would call for computing power and battery to be offloaded into a second pocket device to lighten the head weight.

Puffin is currently set for a 2027 release, according to the report.