morning of May 21. At the Google I/O Developers Conference, Google announced that it is in-depth strategic cooperation with Chinese AR technology company XREAL and jointly released a new generation of AR glasses – Project Aura. As the world’s first flagship AR glasses specifically built for the Android XR platform, Project Aura is based on the OST (Optical See through) technology route, marking that the AR industry has officially entered the Android era.

Project Aura not only represents a key step in Google’s XR platform ecosystem strategy but also marks another leap in XREAL’s leading position in the global AR track. It integrates lightweight design, ultra-wide field of view, cinema-level immersive experience, and Gemini AI, setting a new technical benchmark for a new generation of AR glasses in the Android XR ecosystem.

According to the introduction, this joint release brings together the technical strengths of Google, XREAL, and Qualcomm, forming a golden triangle covering “platform – hardware – chip”: Google’s full-stack layout in the operating system and XR ecosystem, XREAL’s continuously leading R&D capabilities of lightweight AR glasses, and the powerful performance of Qualcomm Snapdragon® XR chips in spatial computing scenarios, jointly building a solid foundation for the Android XR ecosystem.

Shahram Izadi, Vice President of Google and Head of Android XR, said: “We are very glad that XREAL has joined the Android XR family and jointly created an excellent XR experience on Project Aura. Android XR is the first Android platform specifically built for the Gemini era, which will support diversified immersive devices including VST (Video See Through) and OST (Optic See Through). By combining the openness of the platform with XREAL’s leading capabilities in lightweight and portable XR hardware, we are promoting the spatial experience into a more intuitive and accessible OST era, which is an important moment in the development history of our ecosystem.”

Xu Chi, Founder and CEO of XREAL, said: “XREAL has always been breaking the boundaries of AR hardware, pursuing the ultimate integration of performance, comfort, and design aesthetics, and creating truly lightweight glasses products suitable for daily wear. This joint effort with Google to build the Android XR ecosystem has pushed our vision to a new height. Project Aura is the crystallization of our cooperation, integrating an open system platform, flagship-level chips, and our deep accumulation in optical innovation. We believe that this will be another important breakthrough in the AR industry.”