Pico Developing Lightweight Mixed Reality ‘Goggles’ to Compete with Next-Gen Meta Headset

Alright, so there’s this buzz about Pico, you know, the company under the gigantic umbrella of ByteDance, which folks might know better as TikTok’s parent. They’re rumored to be cooking up something pretty intriguing—an XR gizmo that’s aiming to go toe-to-toe with whatever Meta’s next XR magic will be. Or so they say.

The whispers in the tech corridors say Pico’s working on something codenamed ‘Swan.’ Why a swan? Beats me. Anyway, they’re these mixed reality “goggles” that supposedly weigh next to nothing—like around 100 grams. Does that even compute for a tech gadget? Who knows.

Some insiders, or maybe just folks who heard things at the coffee machine, claim that these Swan goggles are all about being thin and lightweight, thanks to what they call a hybrid design. Basically, all the heavy computing bits are shoved into something called a tethered compute puck. Yeah, a puck. Like in hockey, I guess? For some reason, this means the goggles themselves don’t weigh as much as, say, the Quest 3 or the current Pico models.

And here’s a kicker: they seem to be ditching those physical controllers. Instead, it’s more about just gazing and waving your hands around—sounds a bit like futuristic wizardry, right? They’re even crafting special chips to make sure there’s practically no lag while you’re immersed. Nobody likes delayed reactions, after all.

Now, comparing swans to other birds (or beasts of tech), there’s this gossip about Meta’s upcoming device named ‘Phoenix’—or maybe it’s ‘Loma’ or ‘Puffin’, depending on who you ask. The name game is strong here. Apparently, this Meta gizmo might pop up by 2026 or maybe it’s 2027. And it could be priced below a grand. But hey, that’s probably as solid as quicksand for now.

As for the Swan’s price or where you can snag one—total mystery. Historically, Pico’s headsets have worn a slightly steeper price tag than Meta’s, and if you’re not hanging out in East Asia, Southeast Asia, or Europe, tough luck finding them. North America? Might feel a bit left out.

There you have it. A jumbled basket of what might be about these sleek swans. Or not. Who knows?