Meta isn’t only rumored to unveil its next-gen mixed reality headset next week, but also a photorealistic “hologram-like” call function using its latest avatars.
Images of Meta’s upcoming Project Phoenix headset have already leaked ahead of Meta’s Connect developer conference next week, which strongly suggests we’ll be getting an unveiling there, taking place September 23-24.
Now, The Information reports that Meta is preparing a major demo of Project Phoenix which includes “hologram-like video calls.”
The demo is expected to use an advanced version of its photorealistic Codec Avatars, which the company has been working on since 2015.
Citing a person familiar with the matter, the report maintains Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew Bosworth are expected to unveil the avatar call experience live during the keynote speech at Connect.
It’s uncertain whether the unveiling will mean to a full commercial launch of Codec Avatars, or simply a peek at in-progress research like in years prior.
When it does though, Codec Avatars have a good chance at putting Meta more on equal footing with Apple’s own Personas avatars, which are considered some of the most accurate and immersive.
For years, the company’s avatars have been decidedly cartoony, which was largely in service of its metaverse ambitions, which the company has since deemphasized in a pivot towards AI and smart wearables.
Project Phoenix ostensibly marks the next phase for Meta’s XR ambitions, serving up a slim and light mixed reality headset that tethers to a pocketable compute puck, effectively offloading a large portion of the weight from the user’s head and increasing long-term comfort.
We’ll be at Connect 2026 next week, so check back soon for all things VR and AR to come from one of the industry’s most important conferences.
