What you need to know

• Meta is reportedly pressing pause on the Quest 4, now looking at 2027 for its arrival.
• Instead, the company is said to be hustling to drop a super lightweight headset, codenamed Puffin, by 2026.
• Puffin ditches the bulky all-in-one style, rocking a tiny external puck for processing that fits in your jacket pocket.
• Puffin is going all-in on hand tracking, so it’s cool for casual use but probably not hardcore gaming.

Meta is reportedly switching gears with its VR roadmap. Instead of launching the Quest 4 anytime soon, the company is said to be hustling to get a whole new lightweight headset out by 2026. This one will reportedly have a separate compute pack, ditching the all-in-one style we’re used to.

According to UploadVR’s sources, Meta has pulled the plug on “Pismo Low” and “Pismo High”—the two headsets that were in the running for the next Quest. That pretty much means we’re not seeing a true Quest 4 until at least 2027.

The outlet reports that Meta is betting big on a super lightweight headset for 2026, powered by Horizon OS. Internally called “Puffin,” this new device is shaping up to ditch the bulk of past Quest headsets in favor of something way sleeker and easier to wear.

Compute-on-the-go

Puffin takes a different route—it offloads the processing power to a small external puck instead of cramming everything into the headset. It is said to be small enough to stash in your jacket pocket. While that might sound a bit like Apple Vision Pro’s external battery setup, there’s a key difference here that sets Meta’s take apart.

The scoop first dropped last year via The Information. Instead of the bulky look, Puffin is said to resemble a chunky pair of glasses and reportedly weighs under 100g.

On top of that, the device is supposedly ditching the usual controllers and going all-in on hand tracking. It’s a cool idea, but it probably won’t cut it for serious gaming. That said, Puffin showing up doesn’t rule out a more classic Quest-style headset could still be in the pipeline later on.

Additionally, Puffin is said to focus on virtual screens, letting you set up a whole multi-monitor setup in VR. It’s leaning hard into an experience brought about by the leading AR glasses, aiming to turn your space into a digital playground for both productivity and entertainment.

With Quest 4 supposedly pushed to 2027 at the earliest, Meta’s all eyes on Puffin to lead the next wave of VR.