Katarzyna Petru
After years of silence, Magic Leap is once again trying to establish itself in the augmented reality market. The company has presented a prototype of Android XR smart glasses, created as part of a broadened collaboration with Google. As emphasised, the project is intended to serve as a “reference design” for the entire Android XR ecosystem, which is a model on which other manufacturers can base their own designs.
What do we know about the new prototype?
The new Magic Leap glasses resemble other contemporary AR models — with thicker frames hiding the electronics and a camera on the left side. The detailed specifications have not yet been revealed, but the company confirmed that it has combined waveguides and optics from Magic Leap with the microLED light engine Raxium from Google. This setup aims to provide better brightness, energy efficiency, and a lighter weight, bringing us closer to the goal the industry has been working on for years — AR glasses that can be worn all day without discomfort.
Android XR — the new foundation of augmented reality
The prototype runs on Android XR, a new operating system from Google dedicated to mixed and augmented reality. It’s the same system that powers the Samsung Galaxy XR, which was presented just a week ago. Google is clearly aiming to create a coherent XR ecosystem that will bring together glasses, headsets, and other devices into one platform — similar to how Android dominated the smartphone world.
From Collapse to Recovery
Magic Leap has had a tumultuous history. The company's first model sold disastrously — only 6,000 units in six months, which practically ended the brand's consumer ambitions. Following this failure, the company shifted to the business market, launching Magic Leap 2 in 2022.
In the same year, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund became the majority shareholder of Magic Leap and invested over a billion dollars in the company's development. Since then, Magic Leap has focused on licensing its technology and collaborating with partners, rather than creating hardware independently. In 2024, the company underwent another restructuring — laying off 75 employees and concentrating on technological collaboration with other giants.
Google + Magic Leap = new beginning
The collaboration with Google began in earnest in 2024, when both companies announced a joint project for enhancing the potential of XR technology. According to reports, Google employed around 100 specialists from Magic Leap, who are now working on the development of Android XR. The new glasses are the first tangible result of this collaboration — and likely a sign of a bigger plan, where Magic Leap will become Google's key partner in the AR segment.
What's next for Magic Leap?
It's still unclear whether Magic Leap plans to return to the consumer market or focus on providing technology for other manufacturers. But one thing is for sure — Android XR is becoming a real ecosystem, and the competition with Apple VisionOS and Meta Horizon OS is just heating up. If these prototypes actually reach developers, 2026 could be a turning point for AR in the Google version.
Magic Leap, after years of failures, is returning with a project that could transform its image — not as a hardware manufacturer, but as a technology provider for the new generation of XR devices. Combined with Android XR and support from Google, the company has a chance to become one of the cornerstones of the upcoming era of augmented reality.
