- Magic Leap and Google have new hardware to show off
- The prototype’s smart specs are similar to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses
- There’s no word yet on a potential launch date
There’s a bit of buzz around Android XR (Extended Reality) right now: the Samsung Galaxy XR headset has just had its official unveiling, and now Google and Magic Leap have shown off a prototype pair of smart glasses running Android XR.
Yes, this is the same Magic Leap that released an augmented reality headset several years ago that arrived with a lot of hype but ultimately didn’t turn out to be a hit. Now the company is trying again, also with Google on board.
The smart glasses were shown off at the Future Investment Initiative exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as reported by Android Authority and others. This is the first time we’ve seen hardware from the Google and Magic Leap partnership announced last year.
According to the press release, the device combines Magic Leap’s waveguides and optics with Google’s Raxium microLED light engine, resulting in images that can be placed in front of the user’s line of sight.
With added AI
Look at
“The prototypes worn on stage illustrate how comfortable, stylish smart glasses are possible, and the video showed the potential for users to remain present in the real world while leveraging the knowledge and functionality of multimodal AI,” Magic Leap said.
As you might have guessed, Gemini AI is involved. One of the examples shown on stage was buying carpets: the smart specs were able to analyze the carpets in view and answer questions about them.
With cameras, microphones and speakers built into the glasses, it’s all pretty similar to what we’ve seen before from Google’s Project Astra and Ray-Ban Meta glasses, but it’s interesting to see new hardware being shown off.
However, there’s no indication of when we’ll actually see these Android XR glasses launch – these specs are very much at the prototype stage. Samsung has its own smart specs on the way, which should be expected in 2026.
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