Facebook teases ‘Project Cambria’ high-end VR / AR headset

Facebook is planning a high-end virtual and augmented reality headset codenamed “Project Cambria.” The device, which was teased briefly during Facebook’s Connect keynote, features cameras that pass high-resolution full-color video to the headset’s screens. It’s supposed to include cutting-edge features that Facebook can’t yet include in the Oculus Quest lineup, but there’s no price or exact release date yet — although Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says it’s a “completely new” product that will sit at the “high end of the price spectrum,” and we’ll apparently see the device released next year.

The device is focused on mixed reality applications and will include face and eye tracking, something Zuckerberg discussed earlier this year. It’s supposed to use optics that make it slimmer than existing headsets, as well as sensors and algorithms that help it reconstruct and augment the real world around you. The Connect keynote also offered a very brief glimpse of what it’s supposed to look like, seen above.

Project Cambria looks like the “Oculus Pro” headset that leaked earlier this week. It’s also conceptually similar to a rumored high-end Apple mixed reality headset. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also showed off a device with “retina resolution” in mid-October, although he described it as a prototype. The name follows earlier Oculus codename conventions that reference California locations — the original Oculus Quest, for instance, was announced as Santa Cruz.