Google LLC today debuted Android XR, a new operating system for virtual reality and augmented devices.

The software will initially ship with headsets. Down the road, Google will also enable hardware partners to integrate Android XR into smart glasses. The search giant has already developed several prototype glasses internally as part of an initiative called Project Astra.

“Android XR is designed to be an open, unified platform for XR headsets and glasses,” Shahram Izadi, Google’s vice president and general manager of XR, wrote in a blog post. “For users, this means more choice of devices and access to apps they already know and love. For developers, it’s a unified platform with opportunities to build experiences for a wide range of devices using familiar Android tools and frameworks.”

Android XR ships with Gemini, Google’s flagship large language model lineup. The integration will allow consumers to look at an object and have Gemini explain it. A user could, for example, ask the LLM for pointers on how to assemble a piece of furniture.

Gemini also lends itself to other tasks. An Android XR device can use the AI to fetch information such as weather updates, as well as overlay turn-by-turn navigation instructions on the user’s field of view. The latter feature is powered by an integration with Google Maps. 

Alongside the mapping service, Android XR can run all the mobile apps in Google’s Play Store. It also supports several popular development tools. That means software teams won’t have to replace their existing toolchains to build apps for the operating system. Android Studio, Google’s flagship desktop application for building mobile apps, is among the supported applications. 

The first device that will ship with Android XR is a headset from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, which helped develop the operating system. The device (pictured) is codenamed Project Moohan. It’s reportedly similar in design to Apple’s Vision Pro, but lighter and more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time.

The headset runs on Qualcomm Inc.’s XR2 Gen 2 system-on-chip, which is specifically designed to power AR and VR devices. The chip’s central processing unit and graphics processing units have higher clock speeds than the chipmaker’s previous-generation silicon. As a result, the XR2 Gen 2 can support headsets featuring up to a dozen external cameras and internal displays with a resolution of 4,300 pixels by 4,00 pixels.

According to Samsung, users can double-tap the side of the headset to switch between VR and AR modes. In the latter configuration, the wearer sees not only rendered content but also the outside world. 

Samsung’s headset draws power from a standalone battery pack that attaches via a USB-C cable. According to Bloomberg, the company could offer multiple packs with different levels of battery life.

Samsung plans to launch Project Moohan next year. Android XR will later become available with headsets from other companies and, down the line, in smart glasses. Google has not yet shared a time frame for when the latter devices will become available. 

As part of an internal initiative dubbed Project Astra, Google has developed several prototype smart glasses. The use a display technology called microLED that can provide higher resolutions than many current screens. It’s also less susceptible to certain times of malfunctions and uses less power.

Image: Samsung