YouTuber SadlyItsBradley claims to have seen actual photos of the production model of Meta’s next-gen mixed reality headset, Project Cambria. Though they aren’t sharing the source photos, they worked with a 3D modeler to create a detailed rendering of what the photos showed.

SadlyItsBradley is an XR hardware analyst who has spent considerable time digging deep to track down rumors and info relating to upcoming VR hardware. Recently they claimed that Meta’s upcoming mixed reality headset, currently known as Project Cambria, reached its ‘DVT’ phase which means that it’s nearly ready for production.

SadlyItsBradley also claims to have seen actual photos of the production-ready Project Cambria, and while they couldn’t share the photos themselves, they worked with a 3D modeler Marcus Kane to recreate what was seen in detail. Below are the renders that resulted.

Project Cambria Unofficial Renders
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Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley
Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley

In the video accompanying the renders, Bradley talked about the array of cameras on the headset, including a pod of four sensors hidden underneath the front cover. According to them, the pod contains two cameras and two non-camera sensors which are theorized to be some kind of depth-sensor:

What’s especially notable about the renders is how compact the optics and display housing is compared to current VR headsets. If the renders are fairly accurate, this affirms that Project Cambria is likely moving to a new optics system compared to past headsets (likely a ‘pancake’-style optic).

Image courtesy SadlyItsBradley

Some of this info and speculation—and even much of the look of the device—was teased by Meta itself last year. At the time the company said Project Cambria would include “high-res color mixed reality passthrough,” new optics, eye & face tracking, and controllers which do away with the tracking rings (likely moving to on-board inside-out tracking). The company also confirmed that Project Cambria would launch in 2022, though no further details on a release date or price have been announced.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Arturs Gerskovics

    This will not be below usd1000

    • Erilis

      I believe that the headset will be 500$, but focused on hand tracking, and sold without controllers. Because controllers have charger, their own cpu and tracking, I think they will be sold for 350$. So, everyone’s guess is correct. Vive cosmos didn’t decide on their prices until like, a week or two before release

      • xyzs

        Hum, that’s quite an interesting guess, and I think you may be right.

        That would explain why they put so many various front sensors.

        • Erilis

          I mean, I think cambria has a huge focus on social aspect, with eye and facetracking, I think hand tracking is a lot more useful for expression than controllers and I believe they may be pushing them as such. I’m really not that excited about their avatars… yet

      • Bob

        It will be sold for most likely a price between $799 – $999.

  • Merzcat

    This looks like light bleeding into your view would become a problem.

    • dk

      search for lynx facial interface

    • Bob

      That’s because Cambria isn’t a VR focused gaming device; it’s productivity focused ergo there isn’t a need to “immerse” the user.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Uhm, even if it’s productivity focused you don’t want any light/visible surrounding. If surrounding is needed, the passthrough is what it’s there for. The only way it wouldn’t be a problem for productivity is if the display and your actual surrounding would completely integrate with each other with only the wide of a regular thick glasses rim visible.

        • Bob

          Obviously it’s clear that a facial interface will be provided but it’s very likely that it will be extremely thin and designed specifically for comfort and nothing else. There will be plenty of light bleed and I’d wager that Facebook aren’t concerned with this at all because the device isn’t meant for gaming.

          Optional facial interfaces (where more of the user’s peripheral vision is surrounded) or those that wish to minimise light bleed will be provided either as a separate item or packaged in.

      • dk

        facial interface is the simplest thing in the world …..it’s not a just “productivity” device ….that was just a guess people had …..it’s just an expensive quest2 + better passthrough + better display + eye tracking + smaller form factor……it’s not a different class of thing it’s a better q2 just how q2 was a better q1…..the only way it won’t be gaming focus is of was an enterprise headset

        • Bob

          No it’s not “gaming” focused. It’s “gaming” capable but it will not be marketed as a gaming device.

          Wait until the reveal and you will see :)

          • dk

            it will do everything the q2 can do but better that will be the marketing…. better passthrough better display better form factor better infinite office u will see

          • Bob

            If you’re looking for a next-gen “gaming” focused headset; the Quest 3, which Facebook themselves have indirectly announced, is perfectly fit for that purpose which is due next year 2023. Meanwhile the Quest 2 exists for those who cannot wait.

            In the interim you have Project Cambria which, as I’ve said many times, is a headset placing productivity first with a focus on its MR and social interfacing capabilities (high resolution color passthrough, eye + face tracking). It’s a different tier of product with different objectives hence the vastly higher price.

            Infinite Office is just the start of Facebook/Meta’s push into a new era of computing (Metaverse). Existing Oculus headsets simply lack the technical capability to facilitate this.

          • dk

            it will do exactly the same things as q2……it’s just a different price point

          • Bob

            Not just exactly the same but things the Q2 isn’t capable of which puts it firmly into a different tier. I think you’re conflating tier with something else.

          • dk

            u r confusing better passthrough with different class of device …..it will do everything Q2 does but better including gaming …it will be better for gaming than Q2 and it will be better for infinite office than Q2

          • Bob

            And you’re skimping on your reading skills – “high resolution color passthrough, eye + face tracking“.

          • dk

            and again it will be better for gaming than Q2 ….and eventually the cheap line will get that too…..and eye/face tracking helps with rendering games and everything else and it’s great for social games

          • Bob

            It’s a different tier of product. Why? Re-read everything else above this comment. If you’re still failing to understand then I’m afraid there’s not much more to discuss especially from someone who is continuously making a strawman argument.

          • Cl

            Where do you get this info? I never read that this is productivity focused or that quest 3 is coming out next year.

            All the features you mention will be useful for games so i hope thats not your only reasoning. Yea facial tracking would be useful for social apps, but that doesnt automatically make it for things other than gaming. This supposedly has better cooling which could get it clocked higher, better res, lighter, more comfortable, eye and face tracking. All which is useful for gaming.

    • brandon9271

      Yeah from the looks of this UNOFFICIAL render you can tell Jack squat about the final product. Thanks for you pure speculation

  • Ragbone

    What’s the point in getting this when there will be a new one out a few years after this one?

    • Jistuce

      You can say that about anything. Technology continues to move forward, and today’s “state of the art” is tomorrow’s “midrange” and the day after’s “hopelessly obsolete”.

      For such a young market, I’m actually surprised how slow VR is moving in this regard.

      • Ragbone

        I refuse to buy any technology till im 80, and even then i’ll use a plastic cup with cellotape for a hearing aid. I’m typing this using carrier pigeons, which are faster than half the internet provider speeds currently as well.

        • Jistuce

          Understandable attitude.

          IP over Avian Carrier is an actual standard, incidentally, albeit a poorly-supported one. RFC1149

        • Bob

          Protein shakes are pretty obsolete too. You could use those pigeons for that much needed protein too :)

    • xyzs

      Wait a few years then. In 2032, the VR headsets will be so much more incredible than this one.

      • Ragbone

        I’m going to wait till 2033 just incase.

        • Bob

          Forget 2033. It’s all about 2069. That’s YOUR year :)

    • Andrew Jakobs

      What’s the point of getting a PC or console now if you know there will be a new one out next year, and the year next and the year next…

    • Octo

      What’s the point of getting the one released in a few years when something newer will get released a few years after that?
      With that mindset you will never get anything.

  • xyzs

    It looks sexy and may be the start of what could be called “comfortable headset”.
    The LCD & only 2k screens are a big disappointment if Bradley’s right though.

    However with the low transparency of the pancake lenses, maybe the black level of the LCD will be lowered enough to feel dark enough…?

    Curious to see the final specs and price to see if it’s a yes.

    • Bob

      The Cambria will come integrated with LEDs behind the display for localized dimming purposes. And yes, this means better blacks and some form of HDR capability. How much better? Depends on the number of LEDs employed.

      • xyzs

        Mini Led LCD are still LCDs (even if the marketing often call them “Mini LED” only, so that non-nerd people get fooled).
        and the dimming zones create bad artifacts on contrasted detailed elements (like text). So far, it’s very far from being a great solution and OLED/MicroLED are way superior.

        • Bob

          Existing headsets don’t use LEDs as a source of light for transmissive displays such as LCDs therefore the original comment stands; black levels are superior to the CCFLs i.e. Quest, Valve Index etc.

          Those headsets do not have any form of localized dimming so there’s no question that black levels will objectively be better depending on the dimming algorithm. Obviously it’s not the perfect solution but it’s an improvement over what currently exists.

          Take it or leave it.

  • blue5peed

    Isn’t it crazy to think this model was made in VR. I wonder what headset he uses.

    • Erilis

      yeah, gravity sketch is amazing. it even works on quest 2 really well. Although to get the final render as well as this, I think it’s staged in something like Vray, Marmosett, or something like that. I can’t tell if it has textures, maybe it’s not necessary

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      • M

        Hey, this was done on a quest 2 standalone mode, as designing with passthrough is amazing. Then the GS model was imported directly to rhino to extract the SUB-D as a usable element, as well as to make some quick design detailing ( things you just cant do in VR atm) Like the microphone hole etc. Then It was put into keyshot for the renders, and sketchfab for a downloadable model. While I would love to do detailing and render work within VR, there just arent apps avalible for it atm, to my knowledge. But seriously, go try passthrough on GS, you wont look back for concept modelling.

  • MeowMix

    but he was wrong about the Vive Flow.

    • kontis

      He was trying to be sarcastic and mock Brad, because the render looks nice, but the product is not from Apple, so he is angry and feels that his religion is threatened.

    • Rosko

      what has he been right about?

      • Corellianrogue

        He was basically right about Project Cambria before they announced it. Although he thought there were going to be 2 models announced, one of them with a higher resolution MicroOLED screen. He still thinks there may be a possibility of them releasing a MicroOLED version later. He was also right about Pimax announcing a standalone HMD. He sort of got the resolution wrong, I say sort of because in standalone mode he wasn’t wrong, so maybe his source only told him the specs in standalone mode. He’s also probably right about Deckard (Valve’s codename for the Index 2, if he is right) but we won’t know unless/until it’s announced. Although he’s not sure whether it will still have varifocal lenses now since Meta bought Imagine Optix, who were the company supposedly working on the lenses with Valve.

        • Bob

          “Although he’s not sure whether it will still have varifocal lenses”

          Interesting. Varifocal is a desperately needed feature in newer generation headset provided it works perfectly. I’m in the camp that if eye tracking of the fovea is 99.9% solved then the hard part is done. It should become standard within two to three years.

  • kool

    I’m surprised they went with a halo design, if it had a better chip I’d might give it a try.

    • brandon9271

      I immediately ditched the stock quest 2 strap and got a halo. Best investment i made. Also got an aftermarket face interface.

  • guest

    Yes, and their shareholders will someday abandon them for eating the cost of the $501.

  • dk

    I say anywhere between 600-800

    • Corellianrogue

      I think the full bundle will cost the same price as the Valve Index bundle that doesn’t include the lighthouses. I think Erilis could be right that they might also sell an HMD-only version for less. Probably $500 – $600.

      • dk

        yep definitely a possibility

      • Bob

        I don’t think that will be the case here. There will only be one SKU (headset and controllers) at launch. As time goes forward, they may consider going in this direction by allowing users who own Quest Touch controllers to opt-in but this wouldn’t be anywhere near a high priority.

  • Well, not to underestimate his work, but this render is identical to what was visible in the teasing video and in the 3D models found by Basti564

    • kontis

      The one in teaser video was different, especially sensors.

  • silvaring

    Cant wait for that eye tracking discount. Should save at least 70 dollars off SRP. I mean who cares if all my pupil movements are harvested by Facebook, not like its useful information anyway my eyes just point at things i like or dont like. Wheres the harm in that /s.

    • kontis

      You seem to naively assume that Sony won’t collect eye tracking data, but actually everyone wants to collect it, even Valve. The excuse is usually machine learning, but the ToS always is ambiguous enough they can do anything with it.

      We live in an era when the most ex-privacy-bragging company, Apple, that mocked advertising, now has plans for insane next gen privacy destroying technologies, that will be abused by governments around the world and puts google and facebook to shame with its perversion. Snowden was their fan and now attacks them all the time.

      Sony is now part of that silicon valley rhetoric (“we run the world with tech and we set the rules. Democracy what? LOL.”), because their original core market (Japan) is no longer that relevant for their business.

      • silvaring

        tRUTH bOMBS. We need more! I’ve been calling out Sony ever since it was rumoured the headset would have eye surveillance and manipulation (really lets call it that, because the tracking part is just a nice buzzword that hides it’s real intention).

        Also notably absent voices of VR in opposition to the rollout of this tech… how tragic.

        • Corellianrogue

          The tech itself shoudln’t be opposed. You can’t have dynamic foveated rendering without it, for example. It’s just the companies that should be called out if they’re doing anything with the tech beyond what the customers want to do with it. Otherwise you’d have to call out all technology because it can be abused. You could call out the printing press.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Don’t count on Cambria being $500, it’ll probably be more towards $700-$900, it was said it would be more expensive as the Quest 2. But if it can deliver and is standalone, it might be a good price.

  • Eh, is Bradley a “they” or a “he”? If he’s a “he” then why are you referring to him as “they” in your article?

    • Stephen Gower

      I didn’t noticed this, but good point. Wokeness alert!

    • Juan Ritz

      I’m truly curious as to why this kind of thing triggers people. I do believe that we’ve become overly enamored with PC culture, in each direction, but just simply don’t partake when it’s something this innocuous. Why expend the energy to point out something that should have zero affect on you? It just all feels so whiny and inconsequential.

      • Similarly, the writer doesn’t need to partake and just use normal English language, and not make all the readers read some weird version of English that makes no sense–unless someone has specifically said to use such language. Hence my question: Was this actually needed, as in asked for by the person, or is this someone else forcing their random world view on me.

      • Cl

        Its like, “why care if gay people get married it doesnt affect you”. Sure it doesnt, but then the goalpost is being moved and now language is changing for something stupid among other things, but i dont want to turn this into an argument or anything. First its tolerance now forced acceptance. Personally i dont care what other people do if it doesnt affect me.

        Or like “were only censoring hate speech”. Then they start defining everything as hate speech and everything gets censored.

        Having different pronouns for a loud minority of people is stupid and political. Keep politics out of sites like this.

    • benz145

      These comments are for discussions about XR, let’s stay on topic.

  • S Ander

    Mark Zuckerberg said that Project Cambria will be expensive. Not many would said that we will make expensive products.

    How expensive compared to Quest 2 we can only speculate but i think when he said expensive he meant like 800-1500 dollars instead just 200 price premium of Quest 2. But if it will be just 499 i will very likely buy it even if i have Quest 2 :D

    I remember that it should come with same soc as Quest 2(Snapdragon xr2 maybe with higher clocks if they can get better cooling) but i probably will just wait for Quest 3 which hopeful will come late 2023 with Snapdragon xr3(not announced yet) and some of the features as Project Cambria.

    I think it is smart to release more premium vr headset with more features for enthusiast and get info what people like about it and then try to get some of the features to more cheaper product for mainstream.

  • Erilis

    I think it’s all about the pass through camera, I’ve never seen passthrough of cambria quality. The form factor is interesting, a big step closer to regular glasses. By the sounds of things, your games will look pretty much the same

  • GunnyNinja

    If is doesn’t fit, I must not give a shit. Make IPD adjustable for all…

  • Andrew Jakobs

    I do hope it comes with rubber optional light blockers, or at least hope some aliexpress shop will sell some aftermarket ones.

    But I certainly hope it will be released very soon, but I think it will be released around the same time the Quest 2 was released, so somewhere in september. Man, it’s already been almost 2 years since the release of the Quest 2, there really need to be some new headsets out this year.

    • dk

      it will be annoying if it’s sold separately

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Yeah, I also think it should come with it as I really hate being able to see my room when I have such a headset on and look left right up or down.

  • ZeePee

    It’s a stunning looking headset. No doubt about it.

    Can’t wait to hear more. I just wish it was at least 2.5k x 2.5k per eye instead of 2.1k x 2.1k.

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  • eadVrim

    I wish it capable of scanning room and good colored passthrough image, that would open new ira of internet communication, between mixing VR and AR.

    • dk

      the assumption at the moment is it can do that ….especially if that is indeed 2 lidar sensors …..but as usual with scanning rooms it’s hard to get a great scan whatever u use

  • Bob

    Ben, are you aware that there has been influx of bot accounts (with female names and faces) on Disqus randomly upvoting users? Not sure if you’re able to do anything about it.

  • wowgivemeabreak

    Please don’t refer to males or females as “they” and support that mental illness and yes, anyone that wants to be called they/them is suffering from some form of mental illness and should be encouraged to get help rather than be pandered to. One should only use “they” if one has no idea if the person is a male or female (where in this case it’s clear the guy is a male from that video) and don’t want to type he/she instead.

    And to those that will disagree with this and try and claim it is “inclusive” to pander to clearly mentally ill people and/or people looking for attention, many of the same people that support the “they” crap also try and argue that 2+2 does not have to equal 4, along with many other things they try and deny regarding reality. We’ve already gone far enough into the idiocracy and clown world…we don’t need to go further.

    • KD’s Burner ✔️

      Why do you care so much, just keep it pushing!

    • Cragheart

      Pronouns ‘he’ and ‘she’ were invented for a reason, not to be replaced by ‘they’ which means something else (multiple people).

    • benz145

      These comments are for discussions about XR, please stay on topic.

  • ShaneMcGrath

    Hopefully more FOV or I am not that interested.
    Resolution is already not bad on most of the new headsets, But FOV is still terrible.
    Breaks immersion for me with less FOV, Where as the resolution screen door effect goes away and you don’t notice.

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  • Rupert Jung

    Looks nice, but looks also like audio will suck again. Hope they will provide an off-ear speaker solution (like HP / Valve)

  • Cragheart

    Still narrow field of view.

  • KingArt

    It’s not about image quality. It’s about the content quality and variety.