ByteDance Steps Into the Mixed Reality Arena: What We Know About TikTok’s Parent and Its Newest Goggles
By futureTEKnow | Editorial Team
PICO 4 Ultra | Source: PicoXR.com
In a move set to shake up the extended reality (XR) space, ByteDance—the company behind TikTok—is reportedly hard at work developing its own mixed reality goggles. The project, led by ByteDance’s virtual reality arm, Pico, signals a bold new direction as the Chinese tech giant sets its sights on global competitors, especially Meta and its suite of next-gen immersive devices
Compact Form, Big Ambitions
Unlike traditional bulky VR headsets, these upcoming ByteDance goggles are designed to be remarkably lightweight and compact. Picture wearing something closer in size to the featherweight Bigscreen Beyond VR headset (weighing just 0.28 pounds), rather than strapping on a full-sized helmet.
This is achieved by offloading heavy processing work to an external “puck”—connected to the goggles by a wire—a clever design also explored by Meta’s demoed Orion AR glasses in late 2024.
A Clear AR Advantage
What truly sets ByteDance’s device apart is real-time augmentation: the goggles are engineered to seamlessly blend digital objects with the real world, putting them in direct competition with Meta’s next wave of mixed reality products. In pursuit of zero lag, Pico’s engineers are reportedly developing specialized chips to process sensor data swiftly, aiming to minimize latency so what you see in AR matches your physical movements as closely as possible.
Strategic Timing in the XR Race
ByteDance’s push comes at a time when the industry focus is shifting toward lighter, smarter eyewear rather than error-prone, heavy VR setups. Meta, after releasing the Quest 3S, has notably reprioritized its roadmap—delaying the Quest 4 to focus on similar lightweight MR devices. Their public rollout of AI-powered wearables like the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses signals a growing market for smarter, more discreet augmented reality tools, blurring the lines between glasses, AR, and wearables.
Global Hurdles Ahead
While the technological leap is promising, ByteDance faces regulatory headwinds, especially in markets like the US where data privacy concerns related to TikTok persist. At present, Pico headsets aren’t sold stateside, raising questions about where and when these new goggles might actually launch.
What This Means for the Future of XR
The prospect of ByteDance goggles—from the very people who revolutionized short-form video—jumpstarting fresh competition in mixed reality is exciting. As AR and MR move from niche to mainstream, expect this battle between tech heavyweights to accelerate innovation, create new content ecosystems, and potentially lower the barriers to entry for both developers and consumers.
Stay tuned as ByteDance and Meta clash on this new technological frontier. One thing is clear: the future of augmented and mixed reality is about to get a lot more interesting.
