The Android Show is returning and the focus is on Android XR.
The teaser video mentions glasses, with one of the Android characters wearing smart specs.
The Android Show is returning on 8 December and this time the focus will be on XR.
The Android Show XR Edition is going to talk about glasses, headsets and "everything in between", raising the expectation for announcements about new Android-powered smart glasses.
The show is a regular fixture on the Android Developers YouTube channel, designed to bring app makers up to speed on what's happening in the Android space. In the past, we've seen this used for a complete introduction to Android 16 prior to the Google I/O and we're hoping that this latest version is going to have some meat to it.
Samsung announced the first Android XR device – the Samsung Galaxy XR – in October, but there's been little news on the progress of XR's other dimension, smart glasses.
There have been no shortage of rumours about them, with Samsung expected to launch Galaxy Glass, but there's also the suggestion that Google will have its own device, too.
There's talk of glasses with a display and those without, as the Android ecosystem gears up to put a serious challenge to Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses.
Thankfully, with the trailer for this next iteration of The Android Show, we not only have the mention of "glasses" in the description, but a little dancing Android wearing glasses too. There's no avoiding that there is going to be some definitive glasses chat here, at last.
It's unlikely that this will see a major product announcement, but there's likely to be enough information to paint a good picture of what XR looks like in the near future for Android. As we roll through the Christmas period, it's likely that some launches will pause, but with the annual CES – Consumer Electronics Show – in Las Vegas in January, followed by Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, there are plenty of opportunities for more hardware to see the light of day.
We do know that this instalment of The Android Show will talk about Gemini. With Google expanding the reach of Gemini over the past weeks, we're expecting Gemini to be front and centre in display-free glasses, offering that advanced understanding and audio feedback that we all know from Android phones already.
Meta has dominated smart glasses for so long – it really is time that there's opposition from a major player, as well the boutique options from the likes of Even Realties.
The question is whether Android XR has the brand appeal that Ray-Ban has put behind Meta's glasses to make them so popular.
