Meta Connect 2026 takes place September 23 and 24. Here’s a rundown of what it might bring.
Connect is Meta’s annual XR conference, its primary event since the last F8 in 2021. Originally called Oculus Connect, from the first in 2014 until the sixth in 2019, the event sees the company announce VR, AR, and smart glasses hardware, software, and new developer tools, as well as show off some of its research towards the future of XR.
“Come join us at Connect September 23–24 at our campus in Menlo Park, California, and get the first glimpse of what’s coming to the next computing platform. We’ll have an evening keynote and developer sessions where we’ll share the latest in VR, wearables, metaverse, and AI.”
When teasing the event last month, Meta pointed to the fact that its smart glasses are “one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics categories in history”, with over 7 million units sold in 2025 and daily usage tripling year-over-year, and that it “pushing VR forward as the biggest investor in the industry”.
So what might we expect at Connect 2026?
On the VR/MR side, it’s likely that Meta will at least tease, if not formally announce, the ultralight headset with an open periphery design and tethered compute puck that leaked internal memos from December revealed is set to launch in the first half of 2027.
Graphics Depicting Meta’s Next Headset Found In Quest Firmware
Graphics depicting Meta’s upcoming ultralight headset with a tethered compute puck, codenamed Phoenix, have been found in Quest firmware.
On the smart glasses side, The Information recently reported that Meta plans to launch four new models this year, codenamed “Modelo”, “Luna”, “RBM2 Refresh”, and “Mojito VIP”.
It’s unclear what “Modelo”, “Luna”, or “Mojito VIP” are, though one of them may be the Prada Meta Glasses that CNBC reported last year were in the works. Meanwhile, “RBM2 Refresh” almost certainly refers to a refreshed version of generation 2 of the regular Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which launched at Connect 2025.
The Information also reports that Meta will start testing Artemis, the codename for its first consumer true AR glasses. Previous reports have suggested Artemis will be sleeker than the Orion prototype but with a narrower field of view. And it seems as if Meta will be beaten to the punch by Snap.
We’ll bring you full coverage of Meta Connect 2026 in September.
I’m actively writing on UploadVR again, and this article is one in a series of “catch-up” pieces where I report on some of the interesting things that have been happening in the industry in recent months. And yes, VR Download is coming back soon!
