Extended Reality (XR) is rapidly moving from a futuristic concept to a tangible part of daily life, with new devices targeting highly specific uses. Recent announcements from Samsung, Meta, and Amazon highlight a major trend: XR is no longer a one-size-fits-all technology. Instead, it is branching into distinct categories, from high-end immersive entertainment to practical, hands-free tools for industry.
Samsung Galaxy XR: A New Frontier for Immersive AI
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© Samsung
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy XR on October 22, 2025 , introducing it as a new category of AI-native device. It is the first product built on the new Android XR platform, which was co-developed by Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm Technologies.
At the heart of the device is multimodal AI. Google’s Gemini is embedded at the system level , allowing the headset to function as an “AI companion” that understands its surroundings by seeing what the user sees and hearing what they hear. This enables natural interactions through voice, vision, and gesture.
The Galaxy XR is designed for discovery, play, and work , integrating familiar Google apps like Maps, YouTube, and Circle to Search in an optimized XR format. It can even auto-spatialize existing 2D photos and videos into 3D immersive experiences. For gamers, Gemini can provide real-time coaching and tips during gameplay.
Key hardware specifications include:
Display: A 4K Micro-OLED screen with a resolution of 3,552 x 3,840.
Processor: Snapdragon® XR2+ Gen 2 Platform.
Memory: 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage.
Camera: Supports 3D Photo & video capture
Design: The headset is designed for long-term comfort with an ergonomically balanced frame. It uses a separate battery pack, which makes the headset itself lighter and more compact. The headset weighs 545g (with forehead cushion), while the battery weighs 302g.
Battery Life: The battery provides up to 2.5 hours of video watching.
Meta’s Lifestyle Focus: Ray-Ban and Oakley Collaborations
Meta has firmly targeted the lifestyle and consumer market through its partnership with Essilor Luxottica, releasing smart glasses under both the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands.
Ray-Ban Meta: The Everyday AI Companion
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© Meta
The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are designed to blend technology into everyday life, packaged in the classic Wayfarer and Headliner styles. Unlike immersive headsets, their primary function is to act as a hands-free AI companion. Users can say “Hey Meta” to make calls, send messages, and get information without pulling out a phone.
They also feature a 12-MP ultrawide camera for capturing photos and videos from a first-person perspective. The open-ear speakers are designed for listening to music or taking calls while remaining aware of your surroundings. A key advantage for everyday users is that, unlike their sporty Oakley counterparts, the Ray-Ban Meta frames can be fitted with prescription lenses. Read a full breakdown of the Ray-Ban Meta features here.
Oakley Meta Vanguard: The High-Performance Action Cam
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© Meta
On the lifestyle and fitness front, Meta has released the Oakley Meta Vanguard, its second collaboration with the eyewear brand. These smart glasses are aimed directly at people who engage in outdoor sports and fitness influencers.
A WIRED review highlights their primary appeal: they successfully combine sunglasses, workout headphones, and an action camera into a single, convenient device.
Key features of the Vanguard include:
Audio: The open-ear speakers are 6 decibels louder than the previous Meta Wayfarers and “sound amazing,” according to the review. This design allows athletes to listen to music while remaining aware of ambient noise.
Camera: The 12-MP camera is positioned on the bridge of the nose, which avoids the “weird fisheye effect” that the reviewer noted on the side-camera of the earlier Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers.
Fitness Integration: The glasses feature integration with Garmin and Strava. This allows users to trigger auto-capture at key moments in a workout and later overlay performance stats onto the video clips.
Convenience: Users can use voice commands like, “Hey Meta, start taking video,” to easily capture clips, though recording is limited to a maximum of 5 minutes.
Battery: The glasses themselves hold nine hours of battery life, with the charging case providing an additional 36 hours.
While the camera’s 12-MP sensor and 32 GB of memory aren’t as powerful as a high-end action camera , the Vanguard’s strength lies in its all-in-one convenience for capturing moments on the go.
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© Adrienne So / WIRED
Industry in Focus: Amazon’s Smart Glasses for Delivery
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© Amazon
Beyond consumer entertainment and lifestyle, XR technology is being developed for dedicated enterprise solutions. Amazon is introducing smart delivery glasses designed specifically for its Delivery Associates (DAs).
The primary goal of this wearable technology is to improve safety and make the delivery process more seamless. The glasses create a hands-free experience, allowing drivers to rely less on their phones and more on their surroundings.
The system was designed with input from hundreds of DAs. Here’s how it works:
Heads-Up Display: The glasses use AI-powered sensing and computer vision to project a heads-up display into the driver’s field of view.
Hands-Free Workflow: DAs can scan packages, follow turn-by-turn walking directions, and capture proof of delivery all without using their phone.
Safety: One DA who tested the glasses, Kaleb M., reported, “I felt safer the whole time because the glasses have the info right in my field of view”. He noted that by not having to look down at a phone, he could “always stay focused on what’s ahead”.
The glasses support prescription and transitional lenses and are powered by a swappable battery housed in a small controller worn on the delivery vest. Amazon anticipates future versions will be able to detect hazards, such as a pet in the yard, or notify a driver if they are about to drop a package at the wrong address.
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© Amazon
The Engine Behind the Scenes: 3D Digital Asset Management
Powering these diverse XR experiences is a critical, unseen infrastructure: 3D digital asset management (3D DAM). As companies create more immersive content, they face the challenge of organizing, storing, and delivering massive libraries of 3D models and scans.
This is where platforms like echo3D have emerged as leaders. echo3D provides a cloud-based 3D-first digital asset management platform that helps companies manage, update, and stream 3D, AR, and VR content. Its platform is designed to solve key problems in the XR pipeline:
Optimization: It provides powerful compression and conversion tools to automatically optimize 3D models, reducing their file size to ensure they load quickly on any device, from a headset to a mobile phone.
Centralized Control: It offers a central repository for all 3D assets. This allows teams to manage versions, collaborate, and share models securely across an organization.
Cross-Platform Delivery: The platform is built to stream 3D content to any device or platform, allowing companies to update content in real-time without needing to re-deploy their entire application.
For the AR/VR/XR industry, this backend infrastructure is essential. It allows companies like Samsung, Meta, and Amazon to create lightweight, dynamic applications that can be updated instantly, rather than building static apps where all the heavy 3D data is stored locally.
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3D Asset Repository © echo3D
The Future is Specialized and Streamed
From the all-in, immersive Android XR ecosystem of the Samsung Galaxy XR to the focused, athletic design of the Oakley Meta Vanguard and the task-specific utility of Amazon’s delivery glasses, the XR market is clearly specializing. This evolution is only possible because of the robust backend infrastructure provided by 3D asset management leaders like echo3D, which handles the complex work of storing, optimizing, and streaming content.
This trend is set to continue, as Samsung has also announced it is developing AI glasses in partnership with lifestyle brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling that the next evolution of computing will be a seamless fusion of high-tech AI, everyday eyewear, and a powerful 3D cloud.
echo3D is a 3D digital asset management (DAM) platform that allows your team to store, secure, optimize, and share 3D models and scans across your organization and beyond. Set up a call with our team today!
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