AWE USA 2025, one of the XR industry’s largest annual conferences, kicks off next week. We got a preview of what four interesting companies attending the event will be showing.
We’ll be on site at the event, reporting on the most important developments. Ahead of AWE though we asked four interesting companies for a preview of what they’re bringing to the show.
CREAL
At AWE 2025, CREAL will showcase its Clarity light-field display. Released at the beginning of the year, CREAL has, since then, continuously improved the image quality by innovating on the spatial light modulator. Visitors will be able to experience the new display technology through a headset as well as a tabletop pair of glasses
Both prototypes feature CREAL’s Clarity display, which includes the light field optical engine and holographic lenses. Beyond the display, the headset prototype integrates off-the-shelf components to enable full-scale demonstrations of our technology, while the glasses prototype is designed with custom components to showcase our ultimate form factor. | Image courtesy CREAL
XREAL
At AWE, XREAL will be demoing the ultra-popular XREAL One Series AR glasses with spatial computing capabilities. Also available for demo will be the XREAL EYE, a modular camera attachment for the One Series. XREAL will also be unveiling an exciting new accessory and showing it off in person for the very first time.
Image courtesy XREAL
ForgeFX
At AWE 2025, ForgeFX Simulations will unveil VORTEX, a next-generation XR training platform engineered for high-risk, high-consequence environments where traditional training methods fall short. Built on the proprietary ForgeSIM framework, VORTEX delivers immersive, AI-enhanced, scenario-based mission rehearsal through photorealistic LiDAR environments, GIS-enabled sand tables, voice-activated SMEs, and real-time performance analytics—already piloted by JPEO-CBRND for CBRN response. ForgeFX is also debuting an enhanced Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) Simulator for the Meta Quest 3 PCVR, co-developed with Vermeer Corporation, featuring authentic drill controls and a new Auto Rod Exchange module that trains on a previously unsimulated, safety-critical task. At Booth #346, attendees can experience six interactive demos, including the JLG Access Ready XR trainer, Somero S-22EZ Laser Screed simulator, CBRND HoloTrainer, Trumpf Laser Cutting simulator, ForgeFX Excavator trainer, and Ocuweld welding VR simulator, each showcasing ForgeFX’s leadership in immersive, equipment-integrated training solutions.
Image courtesy ForgeFX
PICO
At AWE USA 2025, PICO will showcase the PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise, its latest all-in-one mixed reality headset designed for enterprise applications. Equipped with advanced MR capabilities and the PICOMotion Tracker for full-body and object tracking, the headset empowers industries to deliver highly immersive, practical solutions. PICO has successfully expanded into education, training and location-based entertainment (LBE), and visitors to the booth will have the opportunity to experience a selection of these real-world use cases firsthand. A private meeting space will also be available for deeper conversations about how PICO’s solutions can accelerate business strategies. PICO will also host two featured speaking sessions: ‘Unlocking the Potential of LBE: Scaling with PICO’s XR Solutions’ and ‘Superpowers for Spatial Developers: WebSpatial and SpatialML.’
Image courtesy PICO
What are you hoping to see from AWE 2025? Let us know in the comments below.
According to a Wall Street Journalreport, Meta may be looking to some of Hollywood’s top brands to produce exclusive content for its next XR headset, which is expected to feature a completely new thin and light design when it reportedly ships next year.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Meta has recently been in talks with a number of entertainment brands, including Disney, A24, and smaller production companies to create both episodic and standalone immersive video tied to well-known IP.
Additionally, WSJ reports that talks include the possibility of timed exclusivity, allowing producers to later sell on other platforms after a specified period.
It’s said Meta hopes to use the videos to attract users to the company’s next XR headset, which is expected to compete with Apple Vision Pro when it launches next year.
Codenamed ‘Loma,’ the headset is said to feature a design similar to a pair of eyeglasses that connects to a pocketable compute puck, which is described as more powerful than its Quest 3 series of headsets. WSJ reports Meta is looking to price the device less than $1,000.
Provided the report is true, this would mark a sharp departure from the company’s current line of Quest headsets, which pack all components into a single standalone unit. Outside of Quest Pro, which was largely seen as a commercial failure, the company has also increasingly focused on sub-$650 hardware. Quest 3S, its most recent, is currently priced as low as $300.
Meta Quest 3S side profile | Image courtesy Meta
Speaking to WSJ, Meta says it develops multiple headset prototypes at all times—a non-committal answer if we’ve ever heard one. Whatever the case, shopping around for exclusive content deals suggests something substantial is coming down the line.
A separate report from UploadVRadditionally claims Meta’s top Quest 4 contenders, codenamed ‘Pismo Low’ and ‘Pismo High’, have been canceled. Quest 4 was reportedly expected to land next year; rumors echoed by respected VR leaker Luna recently suggested Quest 4 is however now coming in 2027 in favor of the new design mentioned above.
Notably, Meta CTO and Reality Labs chief Andrew Bosworth said last December that wireless puck units for mixed reality headsets like Quest aren’t “a magic bullet,” suggesting the separate compute unit may be tethered to the headset in question.
Orion Puck Computer | Image courtesy Meta
“We have looked at this a bunch of times. Wireless compute pucks just really don’t solve the problem. If you’re wireless, they still have a battery on the headset, which is a major driver of weight. And, sure, you’re gaining some thermal space so your performance could potentially be better, although you’re somewhat limited now by bandwidth because you’re using a radio,” Bosworth said.
In the meantime, the XR landscape is invariably moving towards thin and light hardware of all types, encompassing everything from PC VR headsets like Bigscreen Beyond 2, to smart glasses that offer built-in heads-up displays, such as the upcoming Android XR-powered glasses from Google—set to be released by Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Widely reported rumors of Meta’s next-gen smart glasses and Apple’s upcoming smart glasses also persist.
At least in the case of bulky XR headsets though, the hope is that removing weight will also reduce user friction, and drastically increase long-term engagement.
Earlier this year, Meta unveiled Aria Gen 2, the next iteration of its research glasses. At the time, Meta was pretty sparse with details, however now the company is gearing up to release the device to third-party researchers sometime next year, and in the process, showing what might come to AR glasses in the future.
Meta revealed more about Aria Gen 2 in recent blog post, filling in some details about the research glasses’ form factor, audio, cameras, sensors, and on-device compute.
Although Aria Gen 2 can’t do the full range of augmented reality tasks since it lacks any sort of display, much of what goes into Meta’s latest high-tech specs are leading the way for AR glasses of the future.
Better Computer Vision Capabilities
One of the biggest features all-day-wearable AR glasses of the future will undoubtedly need is robust computer vision (CV), such as mapping an indoor space and recognizing objects.
In terms of computer vision, Meta says Aria Gen 2 doubles the number of CV cameras (now four) over Gen 1, features a 120 dB HDR global shutter, an expanded field of view, and 80° stereo overlap—dramatically enhancing 3D tracking and depth perception.
To boot, Meta showed off the glasses in action inside of a room as it performed simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM):
New Sensors & Smarter Compute
Other features include sensor upgrades, such as a calibrated ambient light sensor, a contact microphone embedded in the nosepad for clearer audio in noisy environments, and a heart rate sensor (PPG) for physiological data.
Additionally, Meta says Aria Gen 2’s on-device compute has also seen a leap over Gen 1, with real-time machine perception running on Meta’s custom coprocessor, including:
Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO) for 6DOF spatial tracking
3D hand tracking for precise motion data and annotation
New SubGHz radio tech enables sub-millisecond time alignment between devices, crucial for multi-device setups.
And It’s Light
Aria Gen 2 may contain the latest advancements in computer vision, machine learning, and sensor technology, but they’re also remarkably light at just 74-76g. For reference, a pair of typical eyeglasses can weigh anywhere from 20-50g, depending on materials used and lens thickness.
Aria Gen 2 | Image courtesy Meta
The device’s 2g weight variation is due to Meta offering eight size variants, which the company says will help users get the right fit for head and nose bridge size. And like regular glasses, they also fold for easy storage and transport.
Notably, the company hasn’t openly spoken about battery life, although it does feature a UBS-C port on the glasses’ right arm, which could possibly be used to tether to a battery pack.
Human Perception Meets Machine Vision
Essentially, Aria Gen 2 not only tracks and analyses the user’s environment, but also the user’s physical perception of that environment, like the user preparing a coffee in the image below.
Image courtesy Meta
While the device tracks a user’s eye gaze and heart rate—both of which could indicate reaction to stimulus—it also captures the relative position and movement through the environment, which is informed by its CV cameras, magnetometer, two inertial measurement units (IMUs) and barometer.
That makes for a mountain of useful data for human-centric research projects, but also the sort of info AR glasses will need (and likely collect) in the future.
The Road to AR Glasses
According to Meta, Aria Gen 2 glasses will “pave the way for future innovations that will define the next computing platform,” which is undoubtedly set to be AR. That said, supplanting smartphones in any meaningful way is probably still years away.
Meta’s Orion AR Glasses Prototype | Image courtesy Meta
Despite some early consumer AR glasses out there already, such as XREAL One Pro, packing in thin displays, powerful processors, and enough battery to run it all-day isn’t a trivial feat—something Meta is trying to address both with Aria as well as its Orion AR prototype, which tethers to a wireless compute unit.
Still, Meta CTO and Reality Labs chief Andrew Bosworth says an AR device based on Orion is coming this decade, and will likely shoot for a price point somewhere north of a smartphone.
We’re likely to learn more about Aria Gen 2 soon. Meta says it’s showcasing the device at CVPR 2025 in Nashville, which will include interactive demos. We’ll have our eyes out for more to come from CVPR, which is taking place June 11th – 15th, 2025 at the Music City Center in Nashville TN.
In a twist that promises to make the inevitable Palmer Luckey documentary even more dramatic, Palmer Luckey’s military tech company Anduril has now officially partnered with Meta to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.”
Luckey founded Oculus in 2012, the company whose Rift headset was the spark that rebooted the modern era of VR. As a rapidly growing startup, Oculus attracted the attention of Meta (at the time Facebook), which acquired the company in 2014 for more than $2 billion. Luckey continued in VR under Meta’s roof for several years but was eventually pushed out of the company due to backlash over his politics. After leaving Meta, Luckey went on to found Anduril, a tech-defense startup which itself went on to achieve a multi-billion valuation.
“Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build, and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception and enable intuitive control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield,” the announcement reads. “The capabilities enabled by the partnership will draw on more than a decade of investment by both companies in advanced hardware, software, and artificial intelligence. The effort has been funded through private capital, without taxpayer support, and is designed to save the U.S. military billions of dollars by utilizing high-performance components and technology originally built for commercial use.”
“I am glad to be working with Meta once again.” says Luckey. “Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference for America, this is the one I am most excited about. My mission has long been to turn warfighters into technomancers, and the products we are building with Meta do just that.”
Both Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth—who were publicly at odds with Luckey following his prior ousting from Meta—both provided quotes as part of the announcement, further cementing a renewed relationship between Meta and Luckey.
Oculus & Anduril founder Palmer Luckey (left) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (right) pose for a new image demonstrating their renewed relationship | Image courtesy Palmer Luckey
Thus far it sounds like the work between the companies will largely be around the headset that’s being built for the IVAS project, a $20 billion program to build an AR helmet for ground soldiers. Initially headed by Microsoft, Anduril has purportedly taken a leading role over project, and has now tapped Meta to bring some of its technology to the battlefield.
Meta announced it’s now running a test in Quest’s latest Horizon OS release (v77) that overhauls the platform’s dock-based UI for a new launcher overlay. Additionally, Meta says some users will also see 3D Instagram photos in their feed on Quest too, which is neat.
First teased at Connect 2024, Meta is finally bringing Navigator to Quest, which serves as a new centralized hub for apps, quick actions, and system functions.
“As part of our work to develop a fully spatial operating system designed around people, Navigator gives you convenient access to your recently used applications, with the added ability to pin up to 10 items in your library for quick access and seamless task resumption. This makes it easier to multitask in-headset and connect with the people and things you care about most,” Meta says in the v77 patch notes.
Essentially, Navigator is supposed to make it easier to access system-level controls and then quickly return to what you were doing in-headset. More specifically, the new UI should feel pretty familiar to smartphone users thanks to its more traditional layout.
YouTuber ‘The Construct’ shows off Navigator, including a tutorial video and hands-on impressions:
“We designed Navigator based on everything we’ve learned over the last decade. It’s unobtrusive, intuitive, and built from the ground up for the unique needs of spatial computing,” Meta says.
The company says Navigator will begin rolling out as a limited test to some people on the Public Test Channel (PTC) v77, which is expected to roll out gradually to all users over the coming months.
Additionally, Instagram is getting a little love on Quest too, as Meta says it’s currently testing 3D-ified photos on the platform. For some users on PTC v77, Meta’s AI will automatically transform existing 2D photos not originally captured in 3D into an immersive format.
“And it’s an early look at our plans to continue bringing more social and entertainment experiences that are 2D today into a more immersive, 3D future,” Meta says.
Note: To enroll in Quest’s Public Test Channel (PTC), you need to use the Meta Horizon app on your phone and navigate to the ‘Devices’ section. Select your Quest headset and then go to ‘Headset settings’ and then ‘Advanced Settings’. Finally, toggle on ‘Public Test Channel’.
When it launches later this year, Android XR is coming first to Samsung’s mixed reality headset, Project Moohan. Now, Google has tapped AR glasses creator XREAL to be the second with its newly unveiled Project Aura.
Google announced at its I/O developer event that China-based XREAL will be the second device officially slated to run Android XR, the company’s forthcoming XR operating system currently in developer preview.
Codenamed Project Aura, the companies describe the optical see-through (OST) device as “a portable and tethered device that gives users access to their favorite Android apps, including those that have been built for XR.”
Information is still thin, however XREAL says Project Aura was created in collaboration with Google and chip-maker Qualcomm, and will be made available to developers “soon after” the launch of Project Moohan, which was recently affirmed to arrive later this year.
Image courtesy XREAL
XREAL hasn’t released specs, although the company has a track record of pairing micro-OLEDs with birdbath optics, which differs from the more expensive waveguide optics seen in devices such as Microsoft HoloLens, Magic Leap One, or Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype.
Birdbath optics use a curved mirror system for brighter, higher field-of-view (FOV) and lower-cost AR displays, although this typically results in bulkier designs. Waveguides are often thinner and more expensive to manufacture, but provide more wearable form factors with better transparency; waveguides also typically feature a lower FOV, although prototypes like Meta Orion are bucking that trend.
Like the Android XR glasses seen on stage at Google I/O, which are coming from eyewear companies Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, XREAL Project Aura is expected to feature built-in Gemini AI, allowing it do things like real-time translation, AI assistant chats, web searches, object recognition, and displaying contextual info.
Choosing XREAL as its next Android XR hardware partner makes a good deal of sense here. Founded in 2017, XREAL (previously Nreal) has developed a number of AR glasses generations over the years, including its own custom Android launcher, Nebula, to handle native AR experiences on Android devices.
Like previous XREAL devices, Project Aura is meant to be a tethered, and not standalone. It’s uncertain just what external device the device will run Android XR, be it a standard smartphone or dedicated ‘puck’ like XREAL Beam.
That said, XREAL says they’ll be talking more about Project Aura at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) next month, which takes place June 10th – 12th in Long Beach, California. We’re going to present at AWE this year, so check back soon for more on all things XR to come from the event.
Google today announced that it is working with eyewear makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to bring the first Android XR smartglasses to market. The move mirrors Meta’s early partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the dominant eyewear maker that’s behind Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses.
While no productized Android XR smartglasses have been announced, Google said today it is working with eyewear makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on the first generation of products. Android XR smartglasses will prominently feature Google’s Gemini AI, and some will include on-board displays for visual output.
Image courtesy Google
Warby Parker is a well known American eyewear brand, founded in 2010, which has pioneered a lower cost, direct-to-consumer glasses business. Gentle Monster, founded in 2011, is a well known South Korean eyewear brand, and has a similar approach as Warby Parker.
While influential, both eyewear makers pale in comparison to EssilorLuxottica, the massive eyewear and lens conglomerate behind brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley.
EssilorLuxottica and Meta partnered several years ago around their smartglasses ambitions. Things seem to be going well for the partnership as the duo has launched several iterations of the Meta Ray-Ban smartglasses featuring classic Ray-Ban designs.
Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, Image courtesy Meta, EssilorLuxottica
Google is now taking the same tact by partnering with two well known glasses-makers to ensure that it has strong brand and fashion credibility behind its upcoming Android XR smartglasses.
The company’s first pair of smartglasses, Google Glass, launched way back in 2012. Although they were impressively compact for their time (especially considering the inclusion of a display), the asymmetrical design of the bulky display optics was seen as socially off-putting—just a bit too weird to pass as regular glasses.
That sent Google (and others) back to the drawing board for years, waiting until the tech could advance enough to make smartglasses that looked more socially acceptable.
It’s unclear when the first Android XR smartglasses will launch, or what they might cost, but Google also said today that developers will be able to start developing for Android XR smartglasses later this year.
Today at its annual I/O developer conference, Google affirmed plans to bring its Project Starline immersive videoconferencing platform to market with HP. While this partnership was confirmed last year, the product is now officially called Google Beam, with more info promised soon.
Google’s Project Starline is a platform for immersive videoconferencing which was first introduced in 2021. But rather than using a headset, the platform is built around cameras and a light-field display. The light-field display shows natural 3D depth without the need for the viewer to wear a headset or glasses. The goal, the company says, is to create a system that feels like two people are talking to each other face-to-face in the same room, rather than feeling like they are separated by a screen and cameras.
Image courtesy Google
Google has been evolving the system over the years to improve usability and quality. Today the company showed a glimpse of the latest version of the system which it says is coming to market under the name Google Beam.
Image courtesy Google
As confirmed last year, Google is working with HP to bring Google Beam to market starting this year with an initial focus on enterprise customers seeking high-quality videoconferencing. While details are still light, Google says that “HP will have a lot more to share a few weeks from now.”
It appears Valve has been developing a standalone XR headset, codenamed ‘Deckard’, for some time. Now, an industry insider has apparently gotten a peek at the headset’s design, calling it “quite amazing,” further noting it’s potentially arriving sometime next year.
Stan Larroque, Founder of XR hardware company Lynx, confirmed in a recent X post the he’s actually seen the design for Valve’s next XR headset.
Larroque further confirmed that neither him nor his company Lynx, which released the Lynx R-1 mixed reality headset, is under any type of non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Larroque tells Road to VR that Valve Deckard won’t compete against Lynx’s upcoming hardware, as they separately “address two different markets [and] price points.”
Still, beating around the bush somewhat, Larroque tells us Valve and Lynx “might share suppliers for some components,” which definitely smells like a supply chain leak.
“I would be equally pissed if Lynx nextgen ID got leaked so I won’t share more,” Larroque says in an X post. “I’m just excited for good new XR HMDs. The HMD-making world is so small, we all share the same suppliers for some components.”
Valve Patent from 2022 | Image courtesy Brad Lynch
Furthermore, he tells Road to VR that he’s heard that mass production and eventual availability is slated for 2026, which differs slightly from a previous report wherein leaker and data miner ‘Gabe Follower’ alleged Deckard would arrive by the end of 2025, priced at $1,200.
While Valve hasn’t confirmed anything yet, the rumor mill has been drumming up its fair share of speculation even since the Deckard naming scheme was discovered by data miners in January 2021.
There have been leaked prototype designs (seen above) from 2022, as well as leaked 3D models hidden in a SteamVR update late last year (seen below), which appeared to show off a new VR motion controller, codenamed ‘Roy’.
Valve ‘Roy’ Model Leak | Image courtesy Brad Lynch
Then, last month, tech analyst and VR pundit Brad ‘SadlyItsBradley‘ Lynch reported Valve was gearing up production for the long-awaited device, evidenced by Valve’s recent importation of equipment to manufacture VR headset facial interfaces inside the USA.
Lynch alleges the equipment in question “is being provided by Teleray Group who also manufactured the gaskets for the Valve Index and HP G2 Omnicept.”
Exactly what and when are still relatively big question marks, although it appears Valve is moving forward with its standalone XR headset at an opportune time. Provided Larroque’s supply chain leaks are true, and it is indeed coming in 2026, a number of previous reports suggest there will be some healthy competition out there when it does.
In July 2024, The Information alleged Meta is planning to release two flagship consumer headsets sometime in 2026, codenamed ‘Pismo Low’ and ‘Pismo High’. Beyond that, a competitor to Apple Vision Pro, tentatively thought of as ‘Quest Pro 2’, is reported to arrive in 2027. Meanwhile, we’re waiting for any real shred of evidence to come from Apple of any forthcoming headset.
By then, Samsung’s Project Moohan should be in the wild, which when it launched in late 2025 will run Google’s upcoming Android XR operating system. The device is slated to bring the full-fat Android App Store to an XR device for the first time in addition to XR content.
While we’d expect Valve to skip the flashy keynotes and simply seed developers first with hardware in its usual lowkey manner, you never know when a random purchase link might just pop up on Steam, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled from now until whenever.
Google may be getting ready to unveil a pair of smart glasses at its Google I/O developer conference next week, ostensibly hoping to take on Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.
In a promo for Google I/O, Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat showed off what appears to be a pair of smart glasses.
While Samat didn’t speak directly about the device, when donning the glasses, he said Google I/O attendees will have a chance to see “a few more really cool Android demos.”
Using our CSI-style enhancement abilities (aka ‘crop a YouTube screenshot’), the distinctly Ray-Ban Wayfarer-style glasses appear to have a single camera sensor on the left temple.
Image courtesy Google
There also what appears to be an LED above the camera sensor, likely to inform others when video or pictures are being taken, which may indicate it’s going for feature parity with Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.
The glasses chunky arms are also likely packed with battery and onboard processors, which, owing to Samat’s tease, is probably running some version of its upcoming Android XR operating system. Notably, just under the left arm we can see a small slit close to Samat’s ear, possibly for integrated audio. Alternatively, it may not be a a slit at all, but rather a button of some sort.
In any case, we’re hoping to find out more at Google I/O, which is slated to kick off May 20th – 21st where the company will feature livestreamed keynotes, developer sessions, and more. Outside of the keynote, which may actually mention Android XR, the event is set to include two developer talks specifically dedicated to Android XR.
We’ll of course be tuning in, although you can watch the keynote live on YouTube starting on Tuesday, May 20th at 10 AM PT (local time here).
That sent Google (and others) back to the drawing board for years, waiting until the tech could advance enough to make smartglasses that looked more socially acceptable.
