Google announces 'Project Aura' smart glasses for Android XR, jointly developed with XREAL, and the Android XR development kit will also evolve and the number of compatible devices will increase



At the annual developer event 'Google I/O 2025,' Google announced the Android XR compatible smart glasses ' Project Aura .' Project Aura is a lightweight smart glass jointly developed with XREAL, a developer of AR glasses, and is equipped with display projection and Google's AI chatbot Gemini.

Google I/O 2025: Gemini on Android XR coming to glasses, headsets

https://blog.google/products/android/android-xr-gemini-glasses-headsets/

Google announced the XR OS 'Android XR' in December 2024. This Android XR is an OS developed in collaboration with Samsung, and the development kit Android XR SDK announced at the same time is characterized by being built on the existing Android app development environment.

Google announces 'Android XR', an OS for XR devices, allowing Android to be used on AR/VR headsets and smart glasses - GIGAZINE



At Google I/O, it was also announced that XREAL will be manufacturing Android XR-compatible smart glasses called 'Project Aura.'

Project Aura is lightweight, wired, and features a display method called optical see-through (OST). Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR chipset, digital content is projected onto the transparent display using special optical elements. It also has Gemini AI integrated into it to provide intelligent assistant functions.



Google says that the functionality of its Android XR-enabled smart glasses will 'work in conjunction with your smartphone, letting you access apps without having to put your hands in your pocket.'

At Google I/O, an example of what Android XR-compatible smart glasses can do was show a feature that would display real-time translations when people are speaking different languages.


You can also get information and send messages on the go.


You can also use the navigation feature to get directions to nearby locations.


Reviews of prototype smart glasses compatible with Android XR have already been published by overseas media. Android Central commented , 'The prototype only has a display on the right lens, but it doesn't feel out of place. It's comfortable to wear, and not much different from my Ray-Ban glasses, so in theory I could wear them all day without complaint.'



'We are working with brands and partners to make this technology a reality,' said Google, announcing partnerships with two fashion brands, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Warby Parker is a direct sales brand that offers affordable and trendy designs, while Gentle Monster is a Korean brand that features edgy designs. As part of its partnership with Warby Parker, Google has revealed that it will invest up to $150 million (about 22 billion yen) in the manufacturing, development and commercialization of smart glasses.



Google also noted that it is expanding its partnership with Samsung 'beyond headsets' to glasses. Samsung plans to release an Android XR-compatible headset called 'Project Moohan' sometime in 2025, but it also appears that Samsung will develop smart glasses that are compatible with Android XR.

Samsung to release Google's Android XR compatible headset 'Project Moohan' in 2025 - GIGAZINE



In addition, in parallel with the important developments in hardware, the development ecosystem of developers is also being built. Google provides various resources for developers to promote the development of applications for Android XR. At Google I/O, 'Android XR SDK Developer Preview 2' was announced, which includes enhanced stereoscopic video playback, improvements to Jetpack Compose for XR , Material Design for XR , and ARCore for Jetpack XR , enhanced Unity integration, and integration of Firebase AI Logic . Developers of Android XR-compatible apps can easily migrate their apps to Project Aura.

'Google is excited to welcome XREAL to the Android XR family and to build amazing XR experiences with Project Aura,' said Shahram Izadi, vice president and general manager of XR at Google. 'Android XR is the first Android platform built in the Gemini era to support a rich ecosystem of immersive devices. Combining our platform with XREAL's leadership in portable XR hardware expands spatial experiences to truly intuitive and accessible OST form factors, representing an important moment in the ecosystem.'



'XREAL has always pushed the boundaries of XR hardware to create products that combine performance, comfort and design that people can wear every day. Our partnership with Google on Android XR takes this vision to the next level. Project Aura reflects the power of this collaboration, combining a solid platform, advanced chipsets and our expertise in optical systems. We believe this is a breakthrough moment for real-world XR,' said Qi Hu, co-founder and CEO of XREAL.

The Verge, an IT news site, points out that 'Google appears to be taking inspiration from the strategy of Ray-Ban Meta glasses .' Meta has sold 2 million Ray-Ban smart glasses as of February 2023, and 'the success of Ray-Ban Meta glasses convincingly demonstrated that smart glasses have to look cool to go mainstream,' The Verge argued.

The price and release date of Project Aura have not been announced at the time of writing. Details will be announced at AWE USA 2025 , the world's largest XR-related event to be held in June 2025, and additional information will be released within 2025.

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in Software,   Hardware,   Video, Posted by log1i_yk