XREAL’s Android XR glasses will launch before the end of 2026, early access for devs

Ben Schoon | May 19 2026 - 11:00 am PT

Alongside other Android XR announcements at Google I/O 2026, XREAL has confirmed that its Project Aura glasses will be launching before the end of 2026, with a new program granting developers early access.

XREAL Project Aura was announced a year ago as the first pair of wired Android XR glasses – effectively a lightweight headset compared to something like Galaxy XR, while also allowing for improved passthrough by means of being able to look through the physical display and out to the real world through glass instead of watching a video feed.

At I/O 2026, Project Aura is on display with attendees able to try out the hardware, and we’re also getting an availability update.

XREAL says that Project Aura will be launching for sale before the end of 2026, with the wired glasses available globally before the year is out. Google and XREAL are also working together on a program that will grant developers early access to Project Aura hardware, with the “Android XR Developer Catalyst Program” giving “select developers” early acccess to hardware and tools/resources for building Android XR apps. Developers can apply at g.co/dev/catalyst starting today.

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For those attending I/O 2026 in person, XREAL Project Aura demos will include immersive Google Maps, YouTube 180 and 360-degree experiences through Aura’s OLED displays and 70-degree field-of-view, a vibe coded painting app, and a demo that shows Project Aura connected to a laptop via DisplayPort which “[extends] the device’s multimodal AI capabilities onto the laptop in three-dimensional AR space, including integrated Gemini support and autospatialization.”

Pricing for XREAL Project Aura is still unknown, but the XREAL One Pro recently saw a price cut following the prior debut of XREAL 1S which costs $449. XREAL has also teased that Android XR will play a major role in the company’s future.