Android XR: Google announces first smart glasses for 2026

Today's "Android Show" is dedicated to Android XR. After the market launch of the mixed reality headset Samsung Galaxy XR in October, Google is introducing three new features for the device.

The "PC Connect" application now allows the device to be connected to Windows PCs. Users can then bring their desktop or individual windows into their environment and place them alongside apps from the Google Play Store that run natively on the headset. Multitasking with windows floating in the room, as well as connecting to a laptop or desktop computer, are already known from Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest. "PC Connect" is available immediately but is still in beta.

Also new is the travel mode, which allows the Samsung Galaxy XR to be used as a home cinema or immersive workspace on an airplane. A feature that the other mentioned headsets also offer.

With "Likeness," Android XR gets realistic avatars for the first time, which reproduce the headset user's facial expressions and hand gestures. The digital alter ego is created using an Android smartphone and is then available for video calls. Apple Vision Pro offers similar technology with "Personas," which was significantly improved with visionOS 26. "Likeness" is still in beta.

Samsung Galaxy XR was launched in the USA and South Korea in October. Whether and when the device will appear elsewhere is still unclear.

Developers can now develop apps for AI glasses

The mixed reality headset is the first device based on Android XR. The new operating system is intended to support different form factors in the future, from headsets and display glasses to everyday AI glasses.

After Google has repeatedly shown prototypes of its own smart glasses and developed them with eyewear manufacturers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, as well as hardware partner Samsung, the data company is announcing the first commercial AI glasses for 2026.

Work is underway on two types of AI glasses: a wearable that only contains a camera, speakers, and microphones, similar to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and a wearable that also offers a mini-display, comparable to the Meta Ray-Ban Display.

There is also news about "Project Aura," the first Android XR device from Chinese manufacturer Xreal. This wearable belongs to its device class: display glasses, which are connected via cable to a source device (smartphone, PC, handheld), have a form factor close to sunglasses, and display digital screens in the field of vision. Display glasses form an intermediate step between fully immersive mixed reality headsets and everyday AI glasses. A special feature of Project Aura is that it achieves an unusually wide field of view of 70 degrees for display glasses. When Project Aura will be launched is not yet known.

Finally, Google is releasing the Developer Preview 3 of the Android XR SDK. With this update, developers gain access to tools and interfaces for the first time to develop their own apps for upcoming AI glasses. Additionally, there are new features to help create richer and more immersive applications for headsets and display glasses.

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