Meta's annual consumer show for 2026 finally has a date. This year's edition is set to take place September 23 and 24, 2026.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta Connect 2026 on his Instagram page. There are several slides, which tease what we could see in September.
One of the slides shows a sunglasses emoji above "demos, special guests, AI updates, better wifi." There's also a poorly blurred word, which appears to be "performance."
The next slide shows Zuckerberg holding what are clearly glasses, colored over with a blue pen. Other devices on a table in front of him appear to be more glasses, and maybe a puck of some kind.
Based on a map slide, it looks like Meta Connect 2026 will take place in the same building that last year's edition was held in, in San Francisco.
The final slide reveals that the Keynote should kick off at 4 pm Pacific on Wednesday, September 23.
What we expect to see
Obviously, based on Zuckerberg's teaser, something with smart glasses will debut at Meta Connect. One rumor from March hinted at Ray-Ban Meta glasses finally designed for prescription lenses that could launch this year.
But what else could we see, especially with that barely blurred "performance"?
Early rumors this year suggest that Meta is looking to challenge Apple with its own smartwatch this year. That could be what performance refers to. The watch, reportedly code-named Malibu 2, will offer many of the same features found on the best smartwatches, plus a Meta AI assistant.
Additionally, Meta has insisted that the Quest 4 headset is still coming. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth confirmed the rumored headset will launch at some point in February.
A render leaked earlier this year, appearing to show a mock-up of prototype models of a lightweight VR HMD, though that device isn't supposed to launch until 2027. Since Bosworth's announcement, it's been pretty quiet even on the rumor front.
We'll know more about Meta's plans by September.
