Google and Xreal's 'Project Aura' XR Smart Glasses: A Revolutionary Step Forward or a Misstep?
I recently had the opportunity to try out Google and Xreal's 'Project Aura' XR smart glasses at Google I/O 2026. As an avid tech enthusiast, I was eager to see what all the hype was about. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.
Project Aura is a pair of XR smart glasses that run on Google's Android XR spatial platform. While neither company shared details on pricing or a specific release date, I was able to get a demo and form my own opinion. And let me tell you, it was a fascinating experience.
The glasses felt no different than Xreal's One Pro AR glasses. They were super light and not at all uncomfortable, which is exactly what we want in a pair of smart glasses. The only difference was the three cameras, which were used for hand tracking, photos, and videos.
The spatial view was the widest I've seen on a pair of smart glasses, and it made a huge difference when you anchor a screen or multiple apps in front of your vision. At 70 degrees, the FOV is wide enough to comfortably see three app windows open next to each other. I'm told that up to five app windows can be open at once.
The screens were also pretty bright and sharp, with visuals and text that didn't look pixelated or hard to make out. Unfortunately, I don't have info on display type, resolution, or refresh rate, but Xreal has only ever shipped smart glasses with a 1080p resolution and its premium devices have micro OLED panels.
The hand tracking was fairly straightforward, but it wasn't perfect. There were a few times where I tried grabbing app windows only for the smart glasses to not recognize my hands. For the most part, I could quickly and easily pinch windows and toss them around in my field of view.
My favorite demo was for gaming. We loaded up the role-play game Demeo, and I could make a fist with both hands to grab the whole level and rotate it around or enlarge or shrink it. The pinch gesture was used to grab my character and move them around the board. Opening my right palm brought up a bunch of cards that I could then select with my left hand and then drop onto my character to perform an attack or spell. It was really cool!
However, the demo where Project Aura was used as an external monitor for a laptop was the jankiest. I wasn't able to move apps between the physical and virtual screens at all, even though I was told I could.
Overall, I left my demo optimistic. With Apple supposedly designing itself into a corner with the Vision Pro, I have to wonder whether we actually need that level of immersion for spatial computing. How many people are pining for a computing experience that’s more isolating? Not me.
At the very least, I can say that the compactness of Project Aura is promising for the XR smart glasses category. Maybe less is more for XR smart glasses and size and comfort will ultimately matter more than visual fidelity. Price will matter too. Few people paid $3,500 for Vision Pro, and few people will pony up for Project Aura if they’re too expensive.
In my opinion, Project Aura is a revolutionary step forward for XR smart glasses. It's a halfway point between displayless smart glasses and more immersive headsets, offering a compact and comfortable experience with a wide spatial view. While there are still some bugs to work out, I'm optimistic about its future and its potential to change the way we interact with technology.
Personally, I think that Project Aura has the potential to be a game-changer for the XR smart glasses category. It's a step in the right direction, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for this exciting technology.
