CES 2026 is underway, and while the event covers many areas of consumer technology, extended reality (XR) device maker XREAL has managed to stand out with its announcements. Just a day after unveiling its latest pair of XR glasses, ROG XREAL R1, the company has shared news about its long-term plans with Google and Android XR. For those unaware, XREAL has already been working with Google on Android XR. This collaboration led to Project Aura, an Android XR device that was first shown last year.
Now, according to a newly released press statement, Google and XREAL have decided to extend their partnership for multiple years. This means the two companies will continue working closely together well beyond Project Aura, focusing on new devices.
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XREAL shared the following statement in the press release: “Google and XREAL today announced a multi-year extension of their strategic partnership, with XREAL as a lead hardware partner for the Android XR ecosystem.” “Building on the foundation of Project Aura, coming in 2026, this deepened collaboration aligns XREAL’s long-term hardware roadmap with the Android XR platform. The companies will collaborate on bringing Android XR to optical-see-through devices, like wired XR glasses, and work to expand support for Android XR development.”
This announcement highlights several important developments. One major takeaway is XREAL’s new role as a “lead hardware partner” for Android XR. This suggests that Google will rely heavily on XREAL when it comes to building and shaping XR devices that run on the Android XR platform.
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Another key detail is that the partnership goes beyond Project Aura, which is planned to be released in 2026. The statement also mentions plans for optical see-through devices, including wired XR glasses. The announcement shows that Google and XREAL are committed to building Android XR for the long term.
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