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Title: Xreal's Project Aura is the second official Android XR headset

Date: Tue, 20 May 2025 17:45:26 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/xreals-project...

Late last year Google announced its new extended reality ecosystem, Android
XR, designed to go up against Meta Quest and Apple's Vision Pro. Along with
that it introduced the first device, Samsung's Project Moohan, a virtual
reality-style headset.

Now as part of Google I/O, Xreal has unveiled Project Aura, the second
official Android XR device. Rather than being a full headset, it's a pair of
lightweight see-through "tethered" glasses powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon
processor. It incorporates Google's Gemini AI and will deliver both optical
see-through (OST) and virtual see-through (VST) cinematic experiences,
according to Google and Xreal.

The new XR glasses are a "call to action" for developers, the companies said.
They invited that community to "begin envisioning new applications and use
cases for this next generation of XR," adding that developers already
building for headsets on the platform will be able to easily bring their apps
to Project Aura.

Xreal and Google didn't release any other details. Previous Xreal headsets
like the Air 2 Ultra offer 6DoF (six degree of freedom) tracking so you can
physically walk around a virtual space, along with hand tracking for
interacting with objects virtually. The fact that the glasses are tethered
(despite having their own processor) means you'll likely need to carry an
Android device as well.

Google's past dalliances with VR and AR (Cardboard, Daydream and Google
Glass) all finished in the Google Graveyard. However, the company recently
said that the underlying technology is finally good enough to tap extended
reality's full potential. And while lightweight, see-through augmented
reality glasses have never lived up to their potential, Xreal has perhaps
made the best progress with models like the One Pro. Google and Xreal are set
to reveal more information about Project Aura at Augmented World Expo (AWE)
in June 2025.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-
vr/xreals-project-aura-is-the-second-official-android-xr-headset-
174526481.html?src=rss

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