Google and Samsung Reply To Apple Vision Pro
Google today introduced Android XR. This is a dedicated version of the mobile operating system for virtual and mixed reality headsets & glasses. Samsung unveiled the first XR headset from its production, developed together with Google.
Google is fully committed to ‘Extended Reality’ (XR) again
Google and its hardware partners want to re-enter the virtual, augmented and mixed reality device market on a large scale in the coming years. Google has been working with Samsung on new hardware and Android XR for several years, after largely abandoning all previous VR efforts. Android XR is specifically intended to be used on both headsets and glasses.
The operating system is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), but has been heavily customized to enable the various XR experiences. At its core, the platform was built around the use of the family of AI chatbots and Large Language Models (LLMs) called Google Gemini. It is the first Android platform “created for the era of Gemini AI”.
Qualcomm as a platform supplier
In addition to Samsung, support in terms of hardware is primarily provided by the US chip giant Qualcomm, whose Snapdragon XR2 chips also form the platform for Samsung’s first XR headset, currently known as “Project Moohan”. Samsung revealed the latter today for the first time in an official marketing image after several announcements in recent years. Samsung will not remain the only provider of hardware for Android XR, as Sony, XREAL and Lynx are also said to be working on corresponding hardware in the form of headsets or glasses. You will probably hear a whole series of hardware announcements from Google’s partners during CES 2025 in early January.
Thanks to Gemini AI, XR should finally work
Google is of course not a blank slate when it comes to augmented reality, but has always given up on corresponding projects and products sooner or later. Thanks to Android As with other virtual reality headsets, Android XR should also allow Google Photos, Google TV, YouTube and various other apps to be displayed on a kind of virtual workspace. If necessary, the apps can also be placed in floating windows over a camera feed of the environment or “displayed” in front of the user’s eyes using appropriate glasses.
Operation with the virtual buttons, gestures & language
The individual app windows always have a kind of header bar and often also a bar at the bottom in which controls are displayed. Operation takes place either via voice input, but depending on the device it is also possible using hand gestures. In order for the whole thing to work, the Gemini AI should always “see what the user sees, hear what the user hears” and be able to react to gestures and voice input.
Among other things, Google showed a version of the Android Photos app optimized for Android XR. The interface is similar to the design of the app used on Android tablets, but there is a button that allows the app to be displayed in an “immersive” form. The respective photo is then displayed without a border. If you tap another button, a photo carousel will appear that you should be able to navigate through effortlessly.
Adapted YouTube & other Google apps
The other demos that Google has published so far for Android XR look similar and show, among other things, Google TV or YouTube in versions for VR/AR devices. In the case of YouTube, among other things, they want to make available a catalog of special content that can be viewed in a 180° or 360° view.
The user can ask Gemini questions and, thanks to a YouTube integration of the AI, should also receive corresponding answers. Google Maps and the Chrome browser should also support Android XR, which, among other things, allows you to display cities and their sights in a virtual environment. In Chrome, however, it should be possible to surf in several browser windows that are visible at the same time.
‘Circle To Search’ in everything the user sees
Even Google’s “Circle To Search” will be supported, so the user can theoretically draw a circle with his finger around all objects or texts in his field of vision and then start a search query. If desired, 3D objects can also be placed in the room. Of course, with appropriate support from various developers, numerous other scenarios are also conceivable. Games were also announced today. For now, Google and Samsung are not concentrating on bringing glasses with Android XR onto the market. Instead, it’s “Project Moohan,” the VR headset from Samsung shown above, that will be introduced first.
This is based on a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 SoC from Qualcomm, which is closely related to the current high-end SoCs of modern smartphones. Only later will glasses actually come onto the market, most of which have built-in displays. Perhaps Samsung wants to give an outlook as early as the beginning of 2025, after all, in addition to the large VR headset, they are also working on the first AR glasses, the form factor of which is much more similar to normal glasses.
Because these devices can accommodate less hardware, they will initially always be used in conjunction with a smartphone. The smartphone streams data to the glasses and probably also takes over the Internet connection for technical reasons – after all, a powerful mobile phone modem is needed when you’re on the go. In addition, of course, Google also wants to have some of the computing work behind Android XR and its user experiences done in the cloud.
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