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Google Unveils Android XR Roadmap With Smart Glasses, Travel Mode and Likeness

The plan pivots away from bulky headsets toward phone‑integrated glasses built around a pocket computing puck with mandatory camera indicators.

Overview

  • Google detailed an Android XR roadmap for 2026–2027 that leans on a phone‑centric, zero‑barrier software model to bring existing Android notifications and controls to glasses without app rewrites.
  • Project Aura, developed with XREAL, adopts a wired split design that tethers lightweight glasses to a pocket computing puck using Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2, with a full launch slated for 2026.
  • A new Travel Mode for Samsung Galaxy XR stabilizes on‑device windows during motion on planes and trains to counter UI drift and improve comfort in transit.
  • The Likeness feature enters beta on Galaxy XR, creating a photoreal digital avatar from a smartphone scan for more natural video calls.
  • The first wave targets 2026 with camera‑equipped audio glasses and a single‑eye microdisplay model that relies on phone compute, followed by dual‑eye XR glasses expected in 2027, alongside hardware privacy cues including red camera LEDs and physical switches.