There’s been a near-constant stream of backlash against Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses in recent months, but that hasn’t stopped people from buying them, as a new report reveals that shipments have grown by over 250%.
Smart glasses are such a logical, futuristic step in mobile tech, and it’s one we’re on the cusp of being able to embrace. Yet, there’s a huge hurdle to overcome. For as useful and enjoyable as it is, the camera on smart glasses has become a massive problem, and it’s basically ruined existing smart glasses for me personally.
9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.
While we’re still waiting on Samsung’s first Android XR glasses to arrive, an update on the first pair with a color display has found its way online, hinting at a launch sometime towards the end of next year.
I’ve always been a bit skeptical of smart glasses and mixed reality headsets. It’s not hard to find the utility of something like a Meta Quest in gaming, but Apple’s Vision Pro, for example, has never appealed to me in the slightest. Ahead of its first pair of Android XR glasses, though, I’ve spent some time with the XREAL One Pro and two things have become immediately clear – this is the hardware that could make Android XR shine, and XREAL will benefit greatly from Android XR.
XREAL Aura, the company’s first pair of Android XR-based glasses, are set to officially get a price point soon as the first sales figures have come in, and it’s pretty popular so far.
While announcing its first-ever loss in its mobile division, Samsung this week teased its Android XR glasses while also confirming the upcoming launches of Galaxy Tab S12 and Galaxy S26 FE later this year.
Following a partial unveiling at its Unpacked event last week, Samsung is teasing some further details of its upcoming Android XR glasses, including their “reasonable” price point.
Welcome back to Inbox, hope you’re enjoying your Thursday so far. Yesterday was a busy day for all of us and, mea culpa, I accidentally pressed send on a newsletter detailing the new Samsung foldables and wearables before it had been edited. As a pretty uncompromising editor myself, I can only believe this is the universe’s (or my former writers’) way of getting me back. Big L on my part.
As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter you should be able to read in around 95 seconds. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.
While new foldables were the focus of Samsung’s latest Galaxy Unpacked, this week’s event also served as a soft launch for its new smart glasses being launched with the help of Google, Warby Parker, and Gentle Monster. This includes some details on core features, as well as the camera privacy light.
We haven’t been graced with too many Galaxy Glasses leaks until today. Samsung’s Android XR Galaxy Glasses surfaced in a couple of leaks, leaving little doubt about their design.
XREAL Aura, the company’s first pair of Android XR glasses, are officially set to launch this Fall, but we don’t have a price just yet. All we know is that, according to XREAL, Aura will cost under $1,500.
At Augmented World Expo 2026, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon Reality Elite as its flagship chip for XR form factors. This includes the latest Android XR devices, like XREAL’s Project Aura.
Following a first look at Google I/O last month, XREAL has today confirmed that its Android XR glasses, Aura, will be launching this Fall with reservations open today, and a list of confirmed apps and games too.
Google demoed the first pair of Android XR glasses, and a new type of live demo slip-up resulted in some private conversations echoing across Mountain View. That, right there, is why the speakers on Google’s Android XR glasses won’t be audible to anyone but you.
Google says the first Android XR display glasses aren’t coming until 2027, which makes me all the more excited to check out XREAL’s upcoming Project Aura hardware and, at I/O, we’re getting more details about those glasses, including how they one-up Apple’s Vision Pro by turning the wired battery into the brains of the experience, and a controller too.
On-stage at Google I/O 2026, we’re getting a preview of the first Android XR glasses built as a collaboration between Google and Samsung and confirmation of multiple style offerings
Alongside other Android XR announcements at Google I/O 2026, XREAL has confirmed that its Project Aura glasses will be launching before the end of 2026, with a new program granting developers early access.
At I/O 2026, Google had a number of Android XR announcements, including a sneak peek at the first two audio-only Samsung glasses with designs from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.
According to a new report, Samsung is set to bring its first pair of Android XR-powered glasses, “Galaxy Glasses,” and a new Galaxy Watch 9 to its July 22 event that will also launch the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and other foldables.
An ongoing bug with Android XR has left Samsung’s Galaxy XR headsets in rough shape, with serious performance issues that Google is now rolling out a fix for.