AC thVRsday
In his weekly column, Android Central Senior Content material Producer Nick Sutrich delves into all issues VR, from new {hardware} to new video games, upcoming applied sciences, and a lot extra.
Google introduced Android XR at a shock occasion in December 2024, unveiling the primary model of Android constructed for AR and VR units. Simply because the time period “smartphone” encompasses a number of completely different kind elements — slabs, folding telephones, and so forth. — XR is the mixture of AR and VR below one umbrella time period.
Whereas Android XR is a bit late to the sport, Google has the prospect to study from Meta and Apple. From every part we have seen to this point, Android XR appears to be the proper mixture between Meta’s Horizon OS, which powers Meta Quest headsets, and Apple’s Imaginative and prescient OS on the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional.
However whereas Google appears prefer it has discovered the working system facet of issues, we nonetheless have no correct product bulletins. That is going to alter in 2025, and I totally anticipate to see not less than one flagship VR/blended actuality headset and one pair of AR glasses make a business debut. We additionally find out about just a few different tasks within the works, so this is what you may anticipate from Android XR in 2025.
Xreal
The primary main Android XR product launch I anticipate in 2025 is from Xreal. The corporate has already confirmed itself because the market chief in good show glasses section and has launched two full-fledged standalone good glasses merchandise so far — Beam, and Beam Professional. Beam Professional redefined the corporate’s standalone answer in 2024, and I imagine Xreal will proceed to evolve this idea with its first Android XR product.
Xreal Beam Professional appears rather a lot like an Android smartphone with twin ports on the underside. I anticipate the primary pair of Android XR-powered good glasses from Xreal to interchange this design with a “compute puck” much like what Meta Orion is utilizing. I do not anticipate it to be wi-fi like Orion’s puck, as Xreal would probably prioritize battery life and luxury by placing the battery within the compute puck.
I additionally do not assume the compute puck will characteristic a show, as Android XR is constructed to show an XR consumer interface reasonably than a standard flat-screen Android UI. As such, the puck will solely perform when the glasses are connected, much like that one Xreal-powered laptop computer that obtained canceled.
I nonetheless anticipate the glasses to have a customized piece of silicon inside, much like Xreal One, the corporate’s lately up to date good show glasses. Xreal One has an non-compulsory digicam popping out quickly, however I anticipate Xreal’s first Android XR glasses to have cameras in-built for full spatial monitoring. I obtained a glimpse of this future at MWC 2024 once I went hands-on with Xreal Air 2 Extremely, which featured a really beta customized UI, full 6DoF monitoring, and rudimentary hand monitoring assist.
Xreal Android XR glasses will virtually actually use a compute puck that sits in your pocket or is clipped some place else in your physique.
With Android XR powering the expertise, hand monitoring might be flawless and the UI will look attractive. I am fairly assured in Xreal’s skill to ship wonderful {hardware} at this level, and totally anticipate Xreal’s Android XR glasses to problem Meta Orion in a critical approach.
Whereas the last word aim of Android XR good glasses will virtually actually be to interchange your cellphone, I believe preliminary variations from corporations like Xreal will primarily be targeted on offering a neck-saving expertise for leisure and productiveness on the go.
When will we see Xreal Android XR glasses? I imagine we’ll see them debut at Google I/O 2025, which is often held in Could. Google I/O is the corporate’s annual developer convention, and what higher approach to encourage growth for a brand new Android platform than to completely debut it and a brand new set of merchandise than at a developer convention? I am unable to consider one.
Samsung
In response to years of leaks, Samsung and Google had initially deliberate to launch its first blended actuality headset powered by Android XR someday within the latter half of 2024. That each one modified when Apple unveiled the Imaginative and prescient Professional in the summertime of 2023, which seemingly compelled Samsung to return to the drafting board to make a extra compelling system.
The result’s Challenge Moohan. We do not know the ultimate product identify for it simply but however we do know Samsung plans to launch it commercially someday later this 12 months. That is a full 12 months late, nevertheless it completely means we will get a greater product due to it.
Samsung goals to ship a cutting-edge product that appears like a melding of the Meta Quest Professional and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional right into a (hopefully) extra reasonably priced headset. It sports activities the identical ski goggles-like kind issue as these two merchandise and even makes use of an analogous magnetic gentle blocker system and halo-style strap because the Quest Professional, which I nonetheless discover to be essentially the most snug VR headset for long-term use.
As a result of Samsung waited a bit, it is capable of repair the largest issues with the Imaginative and prescient Professional and Quest Professional, specifically by delivering a great steadiness between value, efficiency, and long-term consolation. Furthermore, not like Apple, Samsung might be launching its headset with motion-tracked controllers as an alternative of relying fully readily available monitoring.
Google is utilizing the Job Simulator builders to assist in giving its headsets a singular persona that we’ll see later this 12 months.
Google has already tapped into its lengthy historical past with XR growth by getting Owlchemy Labs — creators of the infinitely standard Job Simulator VR sport — to create the onboarding expertise for Android XR. Owlchemy constructed this new expertise within the Job Simulator world and, appropriately, calls it Inside [JOB].
Google’s use of Owlchemy Labs for this venture feels just like the “good previous Google” that had enjoyable creating tasks and pouring numerous character into them. That, mixed with Samsung’s {hardware} experience and what we have seen of the extremely polished Android XR, offers me excessive hopes that we’ll lastly have standalone VR headset to compete with Meta’s seemingly unstoppable Quest 3 domination.
Whereas Challenge Moohan is only a prototype, hands-on demos from Google’s Android XR occasion give us a good suggestion of what we should always anticipate when the ultimate headset makes its debut, which I anticipate to occur later this Summer time on the second Samsung Unpacked of 2025. That is normally the place Samsung unveils its newest foldable telephones, smartwatches, and different wearables, which, this 12 months, ought to embody a wearable blended actuality headset.
Everybody else
Google has additionally partnered with Sony, Lynx, and Magic Leap to debut Android XR units within the close to future, however we all know subsequent to nothing about what any of those corporations are engaged on. As a minimum, I can surmise what every firm would possibly do based mostly on current merchandise.
Magic Leap will, undoubtedly, make a brand new pair of AR glasses that’ll be powered by Android XR as an alternative of the OS that powers current Magic Leap glasses. Magic Leap was the primary AR firm that partnered with Google final 12 months to assist construct Android XR. It is sensible, then, that Magic Leap will not less than tease a brand new pair of AR glasses this 12 months.
Sony is thought within the XR area primarily for PlayStation VR, however the firm additionally introduced a brand new blended actuality headset final January for enterprise prospects however has but to correctly launch it. That headset — now known as Sony XYN — is powered by the identical Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 chipset that powers Samsung’s Challenge Moohan (detailed above), so it will make sense for Sony to construct one other model of this headset utilizing Google’s new XR OS and provides it a wider viewers than who it is at the moment made for.
Three different main corporations, Lynx, Sony, and Magic Leap, are additionally anticipated to debut Android XR merchandise this 12 months, however these might not make retailer cabinets.
And that simply leaves Lynx. The corporate’s first headset, the Lynx R1, soft-launched within the spring of 2024 to a handful of early monetary backers. The headset featured cutting-edge “no latency” blended actuality imaginative and prescient and can be powered by a Snapdragon XR2 chipset, though the R1 by no means went into mass manufacturing.
It is fully probably that the corporate is working with Google to correctly launch a headset constructed upon related tech within the R1 however utilizing a more recent Snapdragon chipset and Android XR on the backend. That helps the corporate with the app assist it wants to make sure a wealthy expertise and assist Google to launch a wholesome Android XR product portfolio by the top of 2025.
Bridging the hole
Android XR appears like the start of Android again in 2008. A lot of Android’s unique public announcement talked about how fragmented the area was and the way one firm (Google) might carry all of them along with an OS that helps set requirements and outline the consumer expertise.
Meta is attempting the identical factor on the identical time, however Google has practically 2 a long time of expertise constructing a platform that works on 1000’s of units. The corporate completely can ship on the promise of an OS that bridges the hole between several types of {hardware} and delivers a stellar expertise for something you need it to do, and we will not wait to see what the primary actual product brings this 12 months.