Google Unveils New Preview of Android XR Development Tools

Hey, so Google dropped another batch of updates for their Android XR SDK. I don’t know if you remember, but they started messing around with this fancy tech last year. Anyway, this new stuff includes cool things like better video, UI tweaks, and even hand-tracking for ARCore with Jetpack. Yeah, I know — a mouthful, right? They announced this at Google I/O, which is like a geek paradise.

So, now they’ve got support for 180° and 360° video using MV-HEVC. Honestly, half this jargon flies over my head, but apparently, it makes the video quality pretty slick.

Oh, and Jetpack Compose is in there too. A lot of techie words, but basically, it should help developers make their apps work better across different devices — from phones to those sci-fi headsets. Google keeps pushing for stuff that fits just right, like a glove… except it’s software.

And this is interesting — they’re beefing up hand-tracking. Imagine, 26 joints in your hand doing things in virtual reality. It makes me think of that weird time I waved at those motion sensors, just to see what would happen. Spoiler: not much.

Material Design for XR is getting an upgrade too. Now, people have even less of an excuse for their apps looking like relics. But seriously, it’s about making apps adjust to this XR space without a hitch. Neat, huh?

Here’s a twist though. A lot of developers don’t even have the hardware yet. Google says their Android XR Emulator should help — think of it like a practice arena for testing XR apps until those fancy headsets are out, like Samsung’s Project Moohan and XREAL’s Project Aura.

Speaking of emulators, they’re improving with better AMD GPU support, more stability, and tighter Android Studio integration. Very “techies will rejoice” kind of thing.

And, Unity’s shaking things up too, offering these awesome new features like Dynamic Refresh Rate and SpaceWarp with their OpenXR Pre-Release. Ugh, those names! Makes me want to see it just for the heck of it. Developers can also play around with hand and face tracking samples now. Plenty to keep them busy.

Even if it wasn’t the star of the show at Google I/O, Android XR’s chugging along. Soon it’ll be on more gadgets from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, making those Ray-Ban Meta Glasses look like old news. Imagine just glancing through glasses for directions or checking messages.

Curious? Dive into the Android XR Developer Preview for all the nitty-gritty details. Trust me, there’s a lot more than I could mumble through here.

Anyway, I’m off. Got sidetracked just thinking about all these new toys.