A new set of leaked images of Meta's planned mixed-reality headset have emerged, providing us with our best glimpse so far of the company's effort to create a considerably more compact substitute for conventional VR headsets. UploadVR was the first to notice the photographs, which depict a smart glasses-like appearance with a number of intriguing hardware features.

Compared to Meta's current Quest series, the headset is impressively tiny, with a significantly thinner overall profile and a pair of glasses-style nose pads in place of a big foam cushion. Sensors are located on the undersides and sides of the frame, and a leaked image reveals a wire attached to the left side of the headset, indicating that some of the processing hardware may be located outside, reports DigitalTrends.

Considering how slender Project Phoenix appears, that would make sense. Meta may be able to reduce the headset's weight and size by removing some of the computational technology, which could make it more pleasant to wear for extended periods of time.

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The photos also show the prescription lens system of the headset, which would be positioned in front of the screens and appear to be set up by a QR code. Prescription inserts are already supported by Meta's Quest headsets, so this doesn't seem to be a significant change from its current strategy.

Project Phoenix's ultimate name, specifications, pricing, and release date are all unclear because Meta has not yet made an official announcement about it.