What’s New in Android XR: Tooling, Engine Support, and Ecosystem Updates
The latest development in Android XR signals a significant push towards making augmented reality a mainstream technology. As Google continues to expand its ecosystem, it's clear that the company is committed to making it easier for developers to build and scale AR experiences. The updates announced today, including new tooling and engine support, are crucial steps in achieving this goal.
The implications of these updates are far-reaching, with the potential to unlock new use cases and applications for AR technology. What to watch next is how quickly developers adapt to these changes and what kind of innovative experiences emerge as a result. Specifically, the Android XR Developer Catalyst Program holds significant promise for fostering innovation and growth in the AR ecosystem.
Key Takeaways
Developers can now use the Android XR SDK to design and build immersive and augmented experiences directly from their laptops.
The Android XR Engine Hub is a desktop tool for Windows that enables real-time testing of AR experiences within game engines like Unity.
The Android XR Developer Catalyst Program provides developers with access to pre-release hardware and support to prepare their apps for Google Play.
About the Source
This analysis is based on reporting by Android Developers. Here is a short excerpt for context:
Posted by Stevan Silva, Group Product Manager, and Vinny DaSilva, Developer Relations Engineer, Android XR From augmented overlays to fully immersive environments, the Android XR ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with the Samsung Galaxy XR already available today. Alongside the latest updates from Google I/O and this week's Augmented World Expo (AWE), we are rolling out new tooling, broader engine support, and ecosystem resources to help you build and scale experiences for Android XR. To get a quick look at what’s new, check out our video recap! Ready to dive deeper? Let’s jump into the major updates that will streamline your XR development workflow. Build, Prototype, and Iterate with Developer Preview 4 Developer Preview 4 of the Android XR SDK delivers the APIs and tools you need to design and build right from your laptop. This update includes the specific libraries required to target both immersive and augmented experiences. Check out the video below for a comprehensive breakdown of the latest in Android XR: To test all of these interactions without needing physical hardware, you can emulate and iterate on your code entirely within Android Studio. Check out our tooling deep dive to see how you can use XR emulator today: Extending your mobile apps for intelligent eyewear Building for audio and display glasses doesn't mean starting from scratch. With the Jetpack Projected library, you can take your existing mobile app to create a complementary augmented experience. The new release includes a Device Availability API that hooks into standard Android Lifecycle states, allowing your app to natively adapt its behavior based on whether the glasses are being worn. To accelerate your development journey, use Android CLI and the display glasses skill to extend your mobile app into an augmented experience. The skill is packed with specialized knowledge of Jetpack Compose Glimmer, enabling it to build your UI using our recommended design patterns. We’ve also updated Jetpack Compose Glimmer to optimize text legibility on optical see-through displays and provide touchpad-optimized navigation components. See how it looks in action: Developers at NAVER Papago are already exploring how to seamlessly bring their mobile experience directly to display glasses. To learn how to leverage these tools, watch this session on extending mobile apps for AI glasses: Building global, location-based immersive experiences For developers focused on immersive experiences, Developer Preview 4 brings modern, Kotlin-first architectural upgrades across our core perception libraries. We have also introduced an early preview of the Geospatial API for wired XR glasses. By combining ARCore for Jetpack XR with Google's Visual Positioning System (VPS), you can anchor digital content to high-precision real-world locations. Leverage the Platforms You Know with Expanded Engine Support We want you to build using the ecosystems and workflows you already know best. To make it easier to bring your existing XR experiences over to Android XR, we are thrilled to introduce official support for Unreal Engine and Godot alongside our Unity's support for wired glasses. With this expansion, we are introducing the Android XR Engine Hub, a desktop tool for Windows that shortens iteration cycles by bringing real-time testing directly into your engines viewport. Catch the full breakdown of our engine updates here: Apply Today for the Android XR Developer Catalyst Program In addition to providing the platform, we want to fuel your innovation directly through ecosystem resources. The Android XR Developer Catalyst Program is designed to support developers with access to pre-release hardware, including display glasses, and wired XR glasses. Accepted developers will receive resources, support forums, and launch guidance to prepare their apps for Google Play. Applications are open right now, so don't wait to submit your project ideas. Start Building! The ecosystem is growing rapidly, and the tools are ready for you to explore. Samsung Galaxy XR is available now, and you can dive in today with Developer Preview 4 of the Android XR SDK. If you don’t have hardware yet, check out the tools and to get started with the XR Emulator in Android Studio. For a complete look at all of our technical sessions, browse the full Android XR Playlist on YouTube to see what else is possible. We can’t wait to see what you build!Read the original at Android Developers
