Jetpack XR SDK core libraries reach beta: The next milestone for Android XR
Today Google announced that three foundational Jetpack XR components have graduated to beta status. The update bundles version 1.0.0‑beta02 of SceneCore, ARCore for XR, and the XR Runtime, while the Compose for XR UI layer sits in alpha 1.0.0‑alpha17 and is slated for beta soon. The libraries now expose a more stable API surface: Session.create is a suspendable coroutine, the entity hierarchy has been streamlined by renaming AnchorEntity to AnchorSpace and introducing a shared SpaceEntity base, and testing hooks for spatial audio and device sessions have been added. By publishing the Maven coordinates and sample Gradle snippets, Google is urging developers to integrate these modules into real‑world projects rather than treat them as experimental.
This beta launch arrives as the Android XR ecosystem widens beyond Google’s own Pixel devices to include Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset and a growing set of wired XR glasses. Competitors such as Meta’s Quest platform and Apple’s Vision Pro have already delivered mature SDKs, so Google’s move aims to lower the friction for Android developers who want to reuse familiar Jetpack and Compose tooling for mixed‑reality experiences. The emphasis on Kotlin coroutines and the entity‑component system mirrors trends in mainstream Android development, positioning Android XR as a first‑class target rather than a niche off‑shoot. Moreover, the inclusion of ARCore‑style perception features—depth estimation, persistent anchors, and plane detection—means developers can build both fully immersive and augmented reality apps with a single codebase.
Looking ahead, the beta status invites early adopters to stress‑test the runtime on real hardware and the emulator, exposing any latency or lifecycle bugs before a full release. The renaming of core classes suggests Google is still iterating on the spatial abstraction model, so developers should design with future refactoring in mind. Watch for the upcoming Compose for XR beta, which will likely cement a declarative UI paradigm for spatial interfaces, and monitor how quickly device manufacturers adopt the runtime APIs to ensure a broad hardware base. Success will hinge on the stability of session management and the performance of spatial audio pipelines, especially as developers push toward high‑fidelity, multi‑user XR experiences.
Key Takeaways
Google’s core XR libraries have reached beta, offering a stable API set for production Android XR apps.
The beta adds coroutine‑friendly session creation and a unified SpaceEntity hierarchy, simplifying spatial programming.
Expanded testing support now lets developers validate spatial audio and device sessions on both hardware and emulators.
The upcoming Compose for XR beta will extend the declarative UI model to spatial layouts, a key step for mainstream XR app development.
About the Source
This analysis is based on reporting by Android Developers. Here is a short excerpt for context:
Posted by Amy Zeppenfeld, Developer Relations Engineer, Greg Underwood, Software Engineering Manager, Yasmine Evjen, Senior Product Manager, Android XR Since introducing the Android XR SDK, developers have transformed their ideas into innovative, immersive experiences for XR headsets and wired XR glasses. As the ecosystem expands, you can more easily take those experiences from preview to production and reach users wherever they are. Today, we're excited to announce that Jetpack SceneCore, ARCore for Jetpack XR, and XR Runtime have reached beta with Jetpack Compose for XR to follow soon! This means the APIs are stabilizing, making it a great time to start integrating them into your production workflows and creating for Android XR. Why the Jetpack XR SDK? The Jetpack XR SDK includes all the tools and libraries you need to build immersive and augmented experiences for Android XR. Whether you're porting an existing 2D app or creating a new 3D XR app from scratch, you can do so using the familiar Android development tools you already know and love. To support your development, this release focuses on providing the fundamental building blocks across the SDK: Jetpack SceneCore: Build and manipulate the Android XR scene graph with 3D content. You can arrange 3D models, play spatial audio, and use the robust entity-component system to create, control, and manage entities. ARCore for Jetpack XR: Bring digital content into the real world with perception capabilities. This library powers depth estimation, persistent anchors, hit testing, and plane identification. XR Runtime: Provides the essential runtime foundation of the SDK, handling device lifecycles, session creation, and system configurations that enable the API surface. Jetpack Compose for XR: Create spatial UI layouts that take advantage of Android XR’s spatial capabilities. This library lets you use familiar Compose concepts to create spatial UIs and will be reaching Beta soon. What's new in Beta? Direct feedback from the developer previews helped shape these beta releases, introducing several important API refinements to ensure these libraries are ready for production. Expanded testing support: New capabilities are now available across the immersive XR libraries, including testing for spatial audio, XR devices, and session configuration. See the release notes for each library for details. Kotlin coroutines support: To better align with Kotlin coroutines, Session.create is now a suspend function. Terminology and class updates: AnchorEntity has been renamed to AnchorSpace, and both ActivitySpace and AnchorSpace now extend a common SpaceEntity class for more consistent spatial management across scenes. See the full release notes for each library to check out specific details on naming and API changes. Get started and provide feedback To add these dependencies, include the Google Maven repository in your project and add the newest XR libraries to your build.gradle files. dependencies { implementation("androidx.xr.scenecore:scenecore:1.0.0-beta02") implementation("androidx.xr.arcore:arcore:1.0.0-beta02") implementation("androidx.xr.runtime:runtime:1.0.0-beta02") implementation("androidx.xr.compose:compose:1.0.0-alpha17") } The ecosystem of Android XR devices that power immersive experiences is expanding, ranging from XR headsets to wired XR glasses. There’s never been a better time to start building immersive experiences with the Jetpack XR SDK Beta. Dive in and start building and testing on Samsung Galaxy XR or Android XR Emulator today.Read the original at Android Developers
