Your Phone Won't Be Enough to Power the First Real Pair of Android XR Glasses
The first pair of commercial augmented reality glasses to sport Google's newfangled Android XR aren't merely a wearable computer you can slip on and off with ease. Xreal's Project Aura glasses still aren't available, but the bare details about the device's specs offer a better idea of what the first pair of true AR glasses may look like—when and if you can actually buy them. While we all hoped we could simply tether our AR glasses to an Android device, you can expect that today's phones won't be enough to handle all the 3D and AI goodness packed inside.
At Augmented World Expo (AWE) on Tuesday, Xreal revealed a few scant details about its device that was already lacking much in the way of specifics. The company isn't showing off any more images of the device, nor is it offering regular folk the chance to try it. Instead, the AR glasses maker finally revealed that Aura won't be processing data on the glasses itself. It will instead use a separate, tethered, puck-like device that sits in your pocket. Like Xreal's other products, such as its recent One Pro, the glasses have the in-built wire, though you'll be able to disconnect from the processing device if you want to store the glasses and puck separately.
Additionally, Xreal finally offered some insight into what's powering its new device. Aura is working with two chipsets, one for the glasses and another for the compute device. The glasses frame will house a modified version of the X1 chip found in the Xreal One glasses, called X1S. The company has claimed it's a more powerful processor than the one found in the company's streaming glasses, but even that's not enough for its 'optical-see-through' device. The puck will house a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. The company didn't specify if it's the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 that's powering the only other fully revealed Android XR device, Samsung's Project Moohan.
Simply put, your phone isn't built for handling the same tasks, according to Xreal. Meta's Project Orion was the first AR prototype device announced so far that requires a similar 'compute puck.' The need for an extra processing puck leaves me questioning whether these devices will have the battery capacity necessary for heavy use for more than a few hours. Xreal didn't offer details about battery life, though at least it confirmed the glasses will have front-facing sensors with added hand tracking, akin to the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro.
Xreal offered more about the displays it's using in Aura. The glasses sport a new flat prism lens, rather than the larger 'birdbath' lenses of older devices. This 'flat prism' is a triangular-shaped pane of glass that's around 44% smaller than before, yet it should offer a larger field of view (FOV) of up to 70 degrees. That's a relatively wide FOV for a pair of AR glasses, far more than the 57-degree FOV of the Xreal One Pro, and it should offer something much closer to the experience of wearing a full VR headset, at least on the horizontal axis.
These glasses are built with many of the same apps as Project Moohan in mind. We've only seen a few short demos with Samsung's XR device and how it works in concert with Google's Gemini AI. Moohan should be able to operate most Android apps, but it can also add 3D functionality to apps like Google Maps. Gizmodo had the opportunity to try a different pair of Android XR glasses at last month's Google I/O, though that truncated demo paled in comparison to the navigation and memory capabilities Google has previously shown to the public.
Xreal hasn't offered any indication of a release date or price, but we can only assume it will be a while, and it will be very expensive. That processor will be pricey; reports suggest Moohan also will be a costly device. Aura's wired connection means you'll never truly be inconspicuous wearing the glasses unless you somehow try to finagle the wire to run down the inside of your shirt. A pair of $300 Ray-Ban Meta or similar smart glasses will still be far slimmer without the need for wired connections. Those devices aren't exactly cheap, but we'll have to see if consumers are truly ready for a device that costs closer to $1,000 just for the sake of having a tiny heads-up display on their spectacles.
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