Magic Leap is back.
Technology company now owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabiatoday unveiled a prototype pair of Android XR smart glasses, created as a “reference design for Android XR ecosystem” and announced an expanded partnership with Google. The AR glasses have thicker frames than usual, but it's not that ridiculous, and they appear to have a camera in them. But that's all we know: there's no word on availability or what the glasses actually do.
While Magic Leap didn't reveal a ton of specific details about its new shades, it did say that they combine “Magic Leap's waveguides and optics with Google's Raxium microLED light engine” to create an all-day wearable AR device.
“Magic Leap and Google's collaboration is focused on developing AR glasses prototypes that combine image quality, comfort and technology,” the company said. the company said in a statement.
Magic Leap and Google's controversial history in AR
This all sounds good, but both companies have dabbled in augmented reality in the past and released products that fell far short of expectations. Back in 2018, there was a lot of excitement among tech execs about the Magic Leap One, but the $2,295 AR and VR headset flopped, selling approximately 6,000 units in six months. Magic jump left Magic Leap One back in 2024but he's obviously ready to get back to something new.
What are your thoughts so far?
Google has an even deeper history in augmented reality that hasn't caught on: It released Google Glass in 2014 to much fanfare and essentially abandoned the product in 2015 after privacy concerns and limited functionality led to disappointing sales.
To be fair, both Google Glass and Magic Leap One had potential, but were arguably ahead of their time—mid-2010s hardware couldn't deliver those capabilities at a reasonable price. The world will change in 2025, when everyone from Apple to Meta and dozens of smaller players hope to release amazing AR glasses.
The AR smart glasses space is getting very crowded, but the goal isn't really this generation of smart glasses, it's the next. The challenge for tech companies is to create a pair of smart glasses that are functional and flexible enough to completely replace your phone. In a sense we tantalizingly close up to a pair of glasses that can replace all other screens – displays in glasses, such as XReal One amazing. But other technical limitations, such as a battery that lasts long enough and an intuitive control system, are still around the corner. For now.
