Chinese augmented reality (AR) firm Xreal is back in the spotlight via a partnership with Google to create the first eyewear powered by Google's Android XR operating system, intensifying competition in the nascent market for spectacles supported by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The Google-Xreal venture, dubbed Project Aura, was among the key announcements at the opening of Google's annual I/O developer conference. Project Aura – with the tagline “what if AI had eyes” – features a pair of lightweight, tethered Xreal AR glasses powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor. The smart glasses will offer a dual-mode augmented reality experience; optical see-through, which is a direct overlay of digital content onto a real-world view; and virtual see-through, which blends camera-captured images with digital elements, according to Google and Xreal.
Without providing more details, Xreal Founder and Chief Executive Xu Chi said the new AR glasses are expected to hit the consumer market later in 2025 or early next year. The Project Aura eyewear is expected to compete with AR spectacles from Meta Platforms, Orion and Artemis. More details about Project Aura and its competition are likely to be announced at the annual Augmented World Expo, to be held from June 10 to 12 in Long Beach, California. Project Aura’s teaser at the I/O conference followed the launch of Android XR – standing for extended reality – in December, when the strategic partnership between Google and Xreal was announced. Years after its much-hyped but failed Google Glass initiative, Google has adopted a strategy similar to the one it used in smartphones by providing an Android software platform equivalent for smart glasses. For Xreal, Project Aura provides a big boost to the Chinese firm’s credentials in the smart glasses arena, while widening its reach in the international market. Recent advances in AR and the adoption of AI have helped move the smart glasses segment away from the bulkiness of virtual reality headsets, as tech firms in this field move towards products that resemble classic sunglasses.
Xreal, previously known as Nreal, was founded in 2017 by Xu, who received his bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Zhejiang University in 2007 and earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 2014. Xreal attracted notable investors and secured USD333.7 million across 11 funding rounds. Alibaba Group Holding in 2022 led a USD60 million funding round for Xreal, the South China Morning Post reports.
