Google has been working on Android XR for quite some time now, a new software platform aimed at XR and VR headsets. But what does that actually entail? And when will we see Android XR in action? We’ll catch you up.
This is what you need to know about Google’s Android XR
Do you remember Google Glass? That futuristic pair of glasses was way ahead of its time in 2012. So much so that it became a commercial flop. Augmented reality (AR) was still in its infancy and AI was a term that was far removed from our bed.
That has changed in the meantime. The search giant has also never stopped developing AR and virtual reality (VR). In the background, Google has been working on Android XR for years, a new operating system where XR stands for ‘extended reality’: an extension of our normal reality. This includes both augmented reality, a combination of the digital and the real world, and virtual reality. In this, the user disappears completely into another universe.
Does this sound familiar? It might, because the Apple Vision Pro is already such a ‘mixed reality headset’ that is suitable for both AR and VR. It runs on the operating system visionOS. In short, Android XR is Google’s version of visionOS: the software that makes these kinds of glasses work.
Google and Samsung join forces
Google hopes that other companies will develop their own headsets once Android XR is available. The company has been successfully using the same recipe for years in the smartphone market. Other manufacturers can use Android and possibly put their own shell on top of it.
However, Google itself is also working on such a mixed reality headset, in collaboration with Samsung. It was supposed to come on the market this year, but the release has been postponed to 2025. Both partners are not yet satisfied with the glasses and fear that potential customers would be disappointed with the current possibilities. A so-called developer version may be released in October, so that software companies can already create apps for the system.
Furthermore, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the headset from Samsung and Google. For example, we do not know whether it will be as technically advanced (and therefore expensive) as the Apple Vision Pro. It may well be a cheaper (and somewhat simpler) alternative.
Android XR in AI
It is no coincidence that Google is working hard on AR and VR right now. We are in the middle of the AI revolution and these types of headsets are, in theory at least, very suitable for applications in the field of artificial intelligence. Augmented reality in particular lends itself well to this. For example, you could ask AI a question about something you see and get an immediate answer in the form of images or text projected onto the glasses.
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Source: www.androidplanet.nl
