Apple’s world of an augmented reality computer isn’t the only game in town, as Google readies something worked on with Samsung and chip-maker Qualcomm.
Ever since Apple launched its Vision Pro headset, we’ve seen rekindled interest in the idea that both virtual reality and augmented reality could make working a little more interesting. Not just working, either, but entertainment.
VR has always had entertainment in mind, but the technology has never leant itself all that well for working until Covid became a thing, and workers needed to meet in the virtual world when they couldn’t do it in real life. We should know: we definitely tried well before the year we were all at home.
Apple wasn’t the first to try this space, but it seems to have one of the better iterations, and certainly one of the more game-changing versions, though it does come with a cost.
Priced at over $5,000 in Australia, the Vision Pro is not cheap. Not at all. And that makes it more difficult for anyone but the most ardent of supporters to get into.
But Apple’s idea could be expanding to more devices, even if Apple may not be the only one doing it.
Google is working on a version of augmented and virtual reality for headsets and glasses, and while we don’t have a look at the hardware, the concept is definitely being previewed in software form.
The idea is called “Android XR”, and as the name suggests, it’s a take on Android made for extended reality, blending both virtual and augmented, while bringing some of the AI capability Google has launched across Gemini for Android and Chromebook recently.
As it is now, the concept is software designed for what will start with a piece of hardware being made by Samsung currently called “Project Moohan”, which will let you both see a virtual world and switch between the real world.
Chipmaker Qualcomm will also be working on the technology, and righty now, that’s the trio primarily building the technology, though it will support apps you already know, as well as AI-enhanced featured launched this year.
For instance, you’ll be able to drag in multiple Chrome windows and work inside the headset, or even check out Google Photos and YouTube in 3D at times, as well.
Google’s “Circle to Search” functionality launched this year will be included, available with a gesture of your real-life finger, and apps made for mobile and tablet on Android will be compatible with Android XR, too.
While much of this will be the sort of thing you use inside a space, Google notes Android XR will be useful outside, as well, with supported glasses allowing you to get notifications and GPS assistance as you walk.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to turn Google Lens and Google Translate into a real-life AI assisted approach, simply glancing at a menu in another language and having it translated in real time to see what you should order.
Android XR is very much in development and testing, though Google notes it will begin “real-world testing of prototype glasses” soon, suggesting this hardware could be a real thing very soon. Given Google’s tendency to show off cool ideas during its mid-year Google I/O conferences, our guess is we’ll see something by then in 2025.
