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.
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