Google has been working in the areas of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality for many years, but has only had limited success so far. Now the next attack starts, because you have the new operating system Android XR presented, which is intended to serve as a platform for smart displays and smart glasses. Gemini has been identified as the killer application and is therefore proclaiming the Gemini era for smart glasses.
Google has already launched new platforms related to virtual reality several times and, despite its great ambitions, it has repeatedly failed. Starting with Google Glass, continuing through the Daydream platform, the acquisition of Magic Leap and North as well as multiple discontinued apps and 3D platforms. They admit this openly in the announcement and are of the opinion that now the time has come and the technology is ready for the planned applications.
You finally have the start of Android XR Announced that should actually have started at the end of 2023. Android XR is a new platform for the mix of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. It should be a platform or operating system for smart displays and smart glasses – based on the well-known open approach of Android. The platform is launched in collaboration with Samsung and Qualcomm.
With Android A lively ecosystem of app developers, hardware partners and, in the medium term, of course, a large number of users will be created. To achieve this, Android XR builds on the foundation of Android, which is used on billions of devices.
They are now starting the developer preview and are already providing the first partner hardware from Samsung with which they can start development. Tools such as the existing ARCore, Android Studio as well as Jetpack Compose, Unity and OpenXR are supported from the start. Qualcomm partners such as Lync, Sony and XREAL include appropriate tools to connect their products to the new Android XR ecosystem. Work with Magic on XR technology will also continue.
The ecosystem should not be restarted from scratch, but rather bring the strengths of Android and the popular Google apps. Special apps from YouTube and Google TV, Google Photos and Google Maps have already been announced that can be used directly on these devices. It's not a coincidence that this all reminds us of the Apple Vision Pro environment, after which Google had, by the way, wordlessly postponed the launch of Android XR until today.
Paired with the power of Gemini, which is seen as the urgently needed killer application for this area, the XR/VR/AR should finally take off this time. The same question arises as with Apple: Do users actually want that?
[Google-Blog]
Last updated on December 1st, 2024 / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API / Affiliate links, thank you for your support!
