Google has announced a new operating system called Android XR, which is designed specifically for devices like headsets and smart glasses. The company wants to be at the center of the growing market for extended reality (XR), which includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) devices.
By creating this new system, Google hopes to make Android the main operating system for these types of devices, just as it is for smartphones today.
What is Android XR?
Android XR is Google’s attempt to make headsets and smart glasses work in a way that feels natural and useful for everyday activities.
The operating system is focused on delivering immersive, XR experiences. This means that it’s designed to offer experiences that blend the digital world with the real world.
The idea is to allow devices to switch seamlessly between VR and AR, allowing users to engage with both virtual and real environments without feeling like they’re switching between two separate experiences.
Right now, the details about Android XR are still limited. However, Google has shared that it is working with Samsung and other hardware makers to develop XR headsets and smart glasses that will run on this new operating system.
Android XR will also support existing apps from the Google Play Store, which means many of the apps you already use on your phone will work on XR devices as well.
Google is developing special XR versions of popular apps like Maps, Photos, and YouTube, which will be designed to make the most of these new, immersive experiences.
There will also be a version of the Chrome browser that supports multitasking across multiple windows, which should be helpful for users who want to do more than one thing at a time.
AI at the Core One of the key features of Android XR is the integration of Google’s Gemini AI. Google believes that AI will be the key to making XR devices truly useful.
The company sees AI as the “killer app” for XR, similar to how texting or email became essential on smartphones.
By using AI in combination with XR devices, Google wants to offer a digital assistant that can help users in both the virtual and real worlds.
This could be something as simple as providing directions in Maps, or more complex tasks like creating content or interacting with the digital world.
As Gemini becomes better at understanding and responding to both audio and video, the possibilities for what XR devices can do will expand even further.
Why XR?
The term “XR” is used to describe a broad range of experiences, from virtual reality (VR), where you’re fully immersed in a computer-generated world, to augmented reality (AR), where digital information is overlaid on the real world.
XR can also include mixed reality (MR), which combines both VR and AR elements. Google chose the term XR because it covers all of these experiences, making it more flexible for the wide range of devices the company is working on.
Google imagines XR devices that can blend the virtual world with the real world, much like Apple’s Vision Pro headset. These devices could be smart glasses that are always on and give you information throughout the day, or they could be headsets that let you enter fully virtual worlds.
The company is also interested in creating devices like the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, which focus on audio experiences rather than visual ones.
What’s Next for Android XR?
Android XR is still in its early stages. Right now, developers are just starting to get the software and hardware they need to create apps and experiences for this new operating system. However, Google is moving quickly and plans to release an actual XR device next year.
One such device, codenamed Moohan, is being developed in partnership with Samsung and is expected to ship next year. Android XR represents the culmination of several bets Google has made on the future of AI, wearable technology, and the broader Android ecosystem.
But the real challenge will be whether people will actually want to wear these devices. For all of Google’s innovation, the question remains: Will users embrace XR headsets and smart glasses the way they embraced smartphones and wearables like smartwatches? Only time will tell if Android XR will be a success in the growing world of extended reality.
