What you need to know
- Qualcomm is drawing our attention to its XR work, stating that “something new” is coming to that environment.
- The company teases a “smarter, more immersive” XR system, which is likely based on its upcoming Snapdragon chip.
- It leads us to wonder if something big is in the works for Meta Connect in September or the new Pico XR headphones.
Qualcomm is teasing what’s next in the world of XR, and our minds are wondering: Is Meta involved?
Qualcomm began teasing that “a new reality is coming soon” in a short X post this week. Of course, it seems like we should expect its Snapdragon chip to be part of this major reveal, whenever it’s needed. The company has been working to create a new chip that is being positioned as a game-changer for XR.
The teaser goes on to say, “Imagine #XR that’s smarter and more immersive than anything you’ve experienced before.” While Qualcomm’s post interests users, that’s not exactly what’s got everyone talking (us included). The post is accompanied by a short teaser video showing a Snapdragon chip inside an XR headset.
Users are wondering if Qualcomm is teasing another device from Samsung or Meta. Many users theorize that Qualcomm is using a Metasearch Pro in his video. For us, we think the company is gearing up for a big debut on Meta Connect later this year. The headphones involved certainly feel like a Quest product. Just compare it to the image at the top of this article. However, there’s always the chance that this isn’t a big tease for Meta, but rather a prelude to Pico.
XR continues to advance
Imagine #XR that’s smarter and more immersive than anything you’ve experienced before. Something new is coming 👀 pic.twitter.com/2Of6E0BS2RJune 9, 2026
If that last sentence confuses you, don’t worry. Pico is a headphone brand acquired by ByteDance, tiktok‘s parent company, in 2021. In a way, you might consider this TikTok’s rival for Meta Quest. The headphones we are referring to belong to Project Swan: a “high-end” XR device with custom silicon and a modified design. Pico announced earlier this year that it had plans to bring its new headphones to North America this year.
That brings us directly to our rival Meta Quest scenario. Returning to Meta, the company announced its Connect event is confirmed for September 23-24, 2026. We have AI and Search on our minds, and Meta confirmed it. The company’s evening keynote will include artificial intelligence, virtual reality, wearables and more. Meta has given us enough of a heads up for us to brainstorm for a while. What we are most curious about is whether or not it will give us anything News about the long-rumored Ultralight Quest.
Android Central’s opinion
Regardless of whether Qualcomm is teasing anything for Quest or not, Meta Connect is shaping up to be an interesting event. Meta has gone all-in on AI, and hopefully that means it’s putting the same effort into its next wave of XR headphones. The details are still clear, since we are only in June. We should expect to see more in the coming months leading up to the keynote.
