Xreal and Google debut Aura AR glasses to rival Meta’s Orion plan

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has entered the glasses race by partnering with Xreal Inc. on the first spectacles to run an augmented-reality version of its operating system. 

At the Google I/O conference on Tuesday, the search giant and Chinese smart glasses maker showed developers what they call Project Aura, the first eyewear that will run Android XR. The new operating system was announced in December with the goal of mimicking the Android experience on a range of devices. That includes enclosed mixed-reality headsets; glasses with augmented reality, or AR; and spectacles with cameras but no ability to view content. That month, Google and Samsung Electronics Co. teased a headset known as Project Moohan.

Besides the Xreal glasses, Google also said it’s working with Samsung on glasses and will roll out a reference hardware platform for the device later this year. The development confirms an earlier Bloomberg News report. Google is also working on glasses without AR in tandem with brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.

In an interview, Xreal co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Chi Xu said the Samsung device is Google’s response to Apple Inc.’s Vision Pro, while his company’s upcoming Android XR eyewear is meant to compete with augmented-reality glasses that Meta Platforms Inc. is working on. Last year, Meta showed off prototype glasses codenamed “Orion,” and it plans to bring a consumer version to market dubbed “Artemis” by 2027, Bloomberg News has reported. In the meantime, it will roll out updated smart glasses this year with a small display, a step toward full AR.

The Aura glasses are expected to launch for consumers between the end of this year and early next year, Xu said. Samsung and Meta haven’t announced pricing for their upcoming devices, but they’re likely to cost multiple thousands of dollars. Project Aura should be considerably cheaper, Xu said. The company’s current AR glasses, which plug into a phone through a cable, range from $200 to $600.

Separately, Meta has had success selling non-AR smart glasses co-branded with Ray-Ban. A version with a built-in display is likely to be priced in the $1,000 to $1,400 range when they launch this year. 

“We can easily build more advanced and more affordable hardware than Orion,” Xu said. “This is something we’re really good at. What we’re missing is the content.”

Project Aura will be “a lightweight, optical-see-through device that gives users access to their favorite Android apps,” said Shahram Izadi, general manager and vice president of XR at Google, who added that it will be available for developers first so they “can begin creating experiences overlaid in the real world with the familiar tools they use to build Android apps.”

Like Meta’s Orion prototype, the Xreal Android XR glasses will be powered by a separate puck that houses the main processor, which is made by Qualcomm Inc. They’ll have another chip inside the head unit itself for processing tasks that require low latency, such as images. Xu said the long-term vision is to shift the computational load from a puck to a connected phone. But for now, the puck serves an important priority of AR device makers: to make their products as light and cheap as possible. 

Android XR is key to Google’s future as it looks to new bets to augment its Android business for smartphones. The company has also expanded its operating systems to TVs, cars and smart home devices, with plans to adapt the underlying technology for robots as well. Google is a laggard in the mixed-reality space, which melds AR with virtual reality, but a demo of its Moohan prototype with Samsung last year showed promise.

Google is taking the same approach it has with phones in the past, looking to partner with key hardware brands rather than starting off with in-house devices. In a similar arrangement to the tie-up with Samsung, Google is providing the AR operating system while Xreal is developing the Aura glasses hardware on its own.

Apple, on the other hand, has stuck to its typical formula and developed both its Vision Pro headset and the accompanying visionOS operating system. Apple is working to launch its own augmented-reality eyewear in the future. It’s also planning a stepping-stone product for around 2027 that would rival Meta’s screenless smart Ray-Bans, Bloomberg News has reported. Samsung is working on glasses as well. 

“If you look at the iPhone, when it was first introduced, it had the best hardware and a stunning operating system,” Xu said, adding that he believes early adopters will use the upcoming glasses for both entertainment and productivity purposes. “Right now, we have both at this moment by working with Google. This is the best marriage you can get for AR and AI.”