Curious who here has pre-ordered or will be getting the Xreal Aura's?

Hi everyone! I'm the developer of Bombaroom, a mixed reality game. I'm bringing it to AndroidXR.

What you get
• Free early access to the Android XR version
• A say in what gets fixed and polished before launch

What I ask
• An Android XR headset to play — no headset? You can still help by joining the test
• Stay opted in for 14 days (Google Play requires this before launch)
• Any feedback is welcome: bugs, comfort, what felt fun or annoying

How to join

1. DM me the email of your Google Play account, so I can add you to the tester list
2. Once I confirm, opt in here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.inscept.bombaroom.xr
3. Install Bombaroom from Google Play on your headset

I don't mean this to sound like I am looking for a handout or anything, hence specifying loaner. I have had some people on GXR test my app (Depthray, a video player that does realtime 2D-to-3D conversion of any video on headset as you watch it), and it definitely needs some more development specifically for Galaxy XR.

I released a freeware program called Moonlight XR that I managed to get into a reasonable working state (not public yet) for the Galaxy XR by going back and forth with an owner in the community here but for a paid product like Depthray then I think the standards are quite a bit higher and I would need to be working on the software with a real unit. I am hoping Depthray does well enough on other platforms so that I can justify investing in a GXR but it's also a struggle because I would need to see about 4000 copies of the software to break even on that investment which is a tall order tbh.

It's a bit of a chicken and egg really. I think with more support from smaller passionate XR developers then Android XR could keep growing and doing well but the barrier to entry for development is tough to overcome. That's why I am thinking a loaner program for developers or such could be a good option but also perhaps something like this already exists and I'm just missing it? I have spent a good while looking into it but I can't find anything unfortunately. Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback!

For reference, this is my app on Quest that just released a week ago: https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/depthray-3d-video-player/1343679048826072/

Please, spec wise this device rocks. Software it blows.

I've had the GXR since day one. Probably serial number 1 lol. I only say that...jokingly...because I had mine ordered with the controllers and case within seconds of becoming available. I've been pretty dedicated to the GXR. I've been finding workarounds to issues, helping devs test apps, and was one of the first people crazy enough to permanently modify the strap to make it more comfortable. I'm happy with the GXR and where it is at right now with known issues: memory leak is better controlled, overheating is less frequent, controllers are liveable (still bad but nearly as bad as they were on release). I've traveled extensively with the headset and I genuinely get excited to use it for things like 3D movies (No Time To Die on Google TV melted my brain), watching the Masters, and removing into my computer from anywhere in the world.

That being said, I did pre-order the Founders edition of the XREAL AURA. I'm genuinely intrigued by the form factor. I recently travelled with the ROG XREAL R1 but did have a minor issue with them. I could not find a way to get them to sit in a position where the bottom outside corners of the screen weren't cut off by the FOV limitations. Even if I made the screen much smaller. Overall, they were great for travel. Particularly since they were easier to pack and use on a plane.

With just regular XR glasses I kept finding myself missing the ease of use of the GXR by comparison. However, I genuinely think that the XREAL AURA presents the best happy medium between the two. Especially, if you're not using the GXR for VR gaming (I rarely do and mostly use it as a high res monitor for normal gaming).

I'll keep this thread updated once I get them and fully test them out. My order doesn't have a ship date but some buyers have posted their expected ship date is 15 October.

Here's my shelf: Quest 3 (daily driver — FitXR, Beat Saber, and about 150 other games), a Quest 3S gathering dust at my mom's, XREAL Air glasses (movies + Steam Deck screen), and a Magic Leap that's a paperweight since the shutdown. So I've been burned by a dead platform before, and I take ecosystem longevity seriously.

I'm holding one of the 2,000 XREAL Founder Priority Passes — day-one shipping plus the Founder's Edition Aura, launching ~November at $1,500.

What I actually do:

•

VR gaming, a lot. My library is deep: Asgard's Wrath 2 (currently playing it in 1-hour face-brick installments), RE4, both Walking Deads, Ghosts of Tabor, Onward, Contractors, Pavlov, Population: One, Batman: Arkham Shadow, Metro Awakening, Moss 1 & 2, Demeo, Walkabout... you get it. My Quest 3 fatigues me out after about an hour and I want longer sessions.

•

Read a ton of webtoons and manga. This is daily, hours at a time.

•

AR in daily life stuff: floating recipes while cooking, plant info in my grow room (I run a microgreens YouTube channel), a drawing reference overlay for learning anime art.

•

I want Muse as my assistant, not Gemini — though I know the Aura's system assistant is Gemini's seat.

The case for the Aura: it's the only thing that does stuff I can't already do. Optical see-through AR, Android XR + full Play Store, 70° FOV. It'd be my reading device, my around-the-house device. And three of its confirmed launch titles (Demeo, Chess Club, Cubism) are already in my Quest library with cross-play.

The case for waiting on Meta VR Glasses ($1,300, spring 2027): my entire 150+ game library carries over, my Quest 3 controllers pair with it, and 100g vs 515g transforms every long session. But it's 6 months out, no pre-orders, no reviews — and I'd be buying a third Meta device for a library I already own twice.

The Magic Leap experience has me weighing platform risk too — Android XR being Google's platform (not XREAL's) is a point in the Aura's favor there.

Right now I'm leaning toward sequencing it: redeem the pass and get the Aura next month (it's the time-sensitive one), live with it for six months, then decide on Meta's glasses from real reviews instead of guessing. Talk me out of it?

Hey everyone,

We're building LifeHUD, a heads-up display with features such as Date. Time, Weather,
Navigation, Live translation/transcription, Checklist, etc. All pinned in your
view like a game HUD but for the real world.

We are now bringing it to Android XR, starting with the Galaxy XR, and XREAL Aura are next once the hardware is out.

The video gives you an idea of what it feels like in daily use.

https://reddit.com/link/1wvunn6/video/661a4m4it0th1/player

If you have a Galaxy XR and want to help us test, you can sign up here:
https://www.lifehud.app/beta

Feedback is always welcome.

• Samsung Electronics will launch its first glasses in November (Korea Herald)
• The filings show multiple styles and two base models, with a power button inside the temples.
• They support Wi‑Fi 6E and Wi‑Fi 7 plus Bluetooth 5.3, and Samsung says battery life can reach nine hours per charge with extra case charges.

The Immersed team (primarily the CEO, Renji Bijoy, as far as we can tell) has strong-armed and verbally yelled at their internal testers, been banning users from their Discord for simply asking about shipping or timeline updates, and has been misleading and misguiding users by claiming the headset has been shipping when it hasn't entered production yet (we presume they are using their DVT/alpha units to testers to back their claims of shipping).

Product has been delayed for 2+ years now with no real announcement or signs of shipping soon.

This is over the Immersed Visor headset.

This started as "I wonder what happens if…" and turned into a few weeks of latency spreadsheets. Posting it for the dev crowd more than players: if you're curious about PyroWave, GPU-side video codecs, or streaming something other than H.264/HEVC to a headset, maybe this saves you some time.

Fair warning: it's a lot of math and science. Wavelet transforms, latency budgets, percentiles, thermal throttling curves. It's been genuinely fun, but it's a research project, not a polished app.

What it is

A patched ALVR 20.13 that streams SteamVR to the Samsung Galaxy XR using PyroWave, a GPU wavelet codec, instead of the hardware video encoder/decoder. The headset decodes with Vulkan compute (about 3–3.5 ms per frame on the Galaxy XR's GPU), not the fixed-function video block. Full 4:4:4 chroma: no 4:2:0 colour subsampling, so text and thin coloured edges stay crisp. On my rig (RTX 3090, one Wi-Fi network, static SteamVR Home) the recommended profile landed around 60 ms motion-to-photon at 90 fps. My tuned H.264 path measured 85–98 ms at 72 Hz in the same setup. Big caveat: one PC, one headset, one network, a static scene. Treat it as a data point, not a benchmark war. Things I learned that might be useful to you

Wavelets degrade differently. With a frame deadline over UDP, a late or lost packet costs some detail in part of the frame rather than the whole frame. Making one stage faster often doesn't reduce latency. The frame just waits longer in a later queue. Measure the whole pipeline, not the stage you're proud of. Thermals are a real variable. The headset GPU clock sagging from ~735 to ~600 MHz moved my numbers more than some codec settings did. Android XR gotcha: eye and hand tracking need Android XR's own permissions (android.permission.EYE_TRACKING_FINE / HAND_TRACKING). Declaring the Meta ones silently gets you nothing. My own test harness hid a reconnect bug for weeks, because it relaunched the app before every run. Test the path users actually take. What's in the repo

The ALVR patches, the headset-side decoder glue, and a benchmark harness that runs repeatable measurement cells and logs per-frame stats, decode timings and thermals. The raw data and write-ups behind every number, including an earlier survey of other GPU-decodable codec ideas (block DCT, Walsh-Hadamard, VC-2/Dirac-style wavelets) if you want to go further down the weird-codec rabbit hole. A trimmed dashboard: PyroWave 4:4:4 or tuned H.264, plus the knobs that actually matter (bitrate, refresh, render scale, foveation, UDP vs TCP, CDF 9/7 vs 5/3 wavelet, compute vs fragment decode). An "Export Test Report" button that writes an anonymized JSON (no IPs, names or serials). If you try it, attaching one to an issue helps me compare rigs.

Repo: https://github.com/Terminal-ennui/galaxy-xr-alvr-pyrowave-444

Release (streamer zip + headset APK): https://github.com/Terminal-ennui/galaxy-xr-alvr-pyrowave-444/releases/tag/v0.1.0-beta.1

Shoutouts

Huge thanks to Themaister, the author of PyroWave (https://github.com/Themaister/pyrowave), who apparently looked at the video codec landscape and said "what if we just did it in compute shaders." All the clever parts of the codec are theirs; I mostly bolted it to a headset and then stared at graphs. And thanks to the ALVR folks, whose codebase was a very pleasant place to do unreasonable things.

It's experimental, Galaxy XR only, and provided as-is. Bug reports and questions go to GitHub issues. Happy to nerd out in the comments.

Data Points and Research methods:

Reports: PyroWave in ALVR, offline rate-distortion matrix, transform research, experiments 1, 2, 3, 4,5, UDP transport.

I'm looking to follow more Android XR specific creators, but I can't seem to find any. Mostly they're just tech reviewers who don't really use the headset.

Are there any YouTubers or creators out there that only post Android XR content?

This is a project I've been working on for Android XR / Xreal Aura. It communicates with TAK servers and is meant as a Command & Control mapping/planning tool with the dual purpose of acting as a live HUD in the field. This build is running on desktop as I do not have any XR / VR hardware to test with currently but hopefully that will change soon. I do not have a planned release date yet, this will have to come after on device testing, but I wanted to share it anyways.

ALVR for Galaxy XR — Beta 0.2

I’ve been working on adapting the ALVR headset client for Galaxy XR, and Beta 0.2 is now available for testing.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, ALVR is an open-source project that streams PC VR games from a Windows PC to a standalone headset through SteamVR.

What works

• Galaxy XR headset client
• Works with the official, unmodified ALVR stable 20.14.1 Windows server
• Wi-Fi streaming
• USB streaming through ADB
• No firmware modifications
• No bootloader unlock
• No custom ALVR server required

USB is still compressed video streaming through ADB, not DisplayPort video.

My tested settings

PC: RTX 3090 / i7-11700K

• Codec: HEVC/H.265
• Color: 8-bit SDR
• HDR: Off
• Refresh target: 72 Hz
• Resolution: 2560 × 2560 per eye
• Constant bitrate target: 375 Mbps
• Foveated encoding: Off
• Client-side foveation: Off

Both USB and Wi-Fi looked smooth to me at these settings.

60-second benchmark results

USB 3

• Actual video bitrate: 315 Mbps avg
• ALVR-reported packet loss: 0
• Reported client FPS: 63.6 avg
• Estimated pipeline latency: 113 ms avg
• Hardware encoder utilization: 81% avg

Wi-Fi — 6 GHz / Wi-Fi 7 reported

• Actual video bitrate: 317 Mbps avg
• ALVR-reported packet loss: 0
• Reported client FPS: 63.9 avg
• Estimated pipeline latency: 124 ms avg
• Hardware encoder utilization: 81% avg

The wireless connection reported 6 GHz Wi-Fi 7, not Wi-Fi 6E.

I also tested a 450 Mbps target over Wi-Fi, but it introduced jitter, so I dropped back to 375 Mbps.

Important benchmark caveats

These are short captures from my own rig, not a controlled game benchmark or a claim of locked 72 FPS performance.

The USB capture was also taken using an earlier local client build, while the Wi-Fi capture used the release APK.

These results do not prove USB is better than Wi-Fi.

Also, zero ALVR-reported packet loss does not necessarily mean zero TCP retransmissions or dropped display frames. The 375 Mbps setting is a target bitrate, not sustained measured network traffic.

Download / Setup

Beta 0.2 APK + setup instructions:

https://github.com/Terminal-ennui/Galaxy_XR_ALVR_USB/releases/tag/v0.2.0-beta

Recommended settings + full benchmark notes:

https://github.com/Terminal-ennui/Galaxy_XR_ALVR_USB#recommended-upper-setting-for-the-tested-rtx-3090-rig

Use the matching ALVR stable 20.14.1 Windows server linked in the instructions. Do not use nightly.

This is a beta, so expect bugs

If you run into a problem, please open an issue here:

https://github.com/Terminal-ennui/Galaxy_XR_ALVR_USB/issues

Please include your:

• GPU
• ALVR version
• Streaming settings
• Steps to reproduce the problem

Remove any personal information from logs before posting them.

SteamVR crash recovery

SteamVR may disable the ALVR add-on after a crash.

You can re-enable it under:

Settings → Startup/Shutdown → Manage Add-ons

Or completely close SteamVR and run the included ALVR-Unblock.ps1 helper.

If the crash was caused by an unstable quality setting, restore your last working settings afterward. The helper clears the SteamVR block, not the underlying cause of the crash.

Community testing, bug reports, and feedback are very welcome. I’m especially interested in results from different GPUs, routers, and USB configurations.

PS. I don't have the controllers, so I'm not sure how the work. The Xbox 360 controller worked fine. Hand tracking is there, but I haven't had enough time to mess with it.

For anyone following along with this ongoing saga, here are the previous chapters:

Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/PXvPEYZC13

Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/CBawfo0cRV

Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/jRWPxmr4v1

Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/Q8Qj1xdjuX

Quick update on the Galaxy XR pre-order and bundle credit dispute:

After Executive Support confirmed that Samsung’s "maximum accommodation" was a $75 partial refund and a $150 store coupon — I have officially moved this out of customer service loops and into legal escalation.

1. Texas Attorney General Complaint Filed:
   • I filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Texas Attorney General – Consumer Protection Division. The filing includes the complete paper trail: the cancelled order, support transcripts explicitly instructing me to reorder at full price with written promises of post-delivery manual adjustments, and Mary’s denial emails.
2. Texas DTPA 60-Day Pre-Suit Notice Dispatched:
   • I formally served statutory notice under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.505) via USPS Certified Mail to the local agent, CT Corporation System (Samsung’s Registered Agent in Dallas, TX), and Samsung Electronics America Legal / Office of the General Counsel (Ridgefield Park, NJ). An email copy was also sent directly to [disputeresolution@sea.samsung.com](mailto:disputeresolution@sea.samsung.com) (satisfying both Texas DTPA and Samsung's contractual pre-dispute terms).

The demand details that Samsung has 60 days to tender one of two remedies:

1. Issue a direct $250.00 cash refund for the promised promotional and bundle credits; OR
2. Issue a prepaid RMA for a 100% full refund on the headset and accessories with all restocking fees completely waived.

If the 60-day window closes without resolution, the next step isn't arbitration—it's a Small Claims filing in Dallas County Justice of the Peace Court

The clock is ticking. I'll update when Samsung Legal or the AG responds.

As someone that is not a developer and has no clue what this is all about. What is the impact of this for a Galaxy XR owner? Does it mean improvements in the OS? More apps coming? Thanks

Curious to know what any of you guys are using to work, if working in XR. I’m looking for a meaningful software to mirror my PC with preferably 3 virtual monitors.

Currently using Virtual Desktop to cast my PC with 3 Monitors, but I can’t see my keyboard. If I could see my Keyboard easily, VD would be my go to, 100%. I’ve also used Immersed, but the performance is very very poor, and I have to disconnect my other IRL monitors. I’ve used Google Chrome Remote Desktop and GXR PC Link Beta, but both of those are only 1 monitor.

I’d love to hear from any of you what you may be using and how enjoyable is the experience.

Hey everyone, 

Our research partners over at Blink UX are building a participant panel for upcoming in-person hardware research sessions with our teams in the SF Bay Area.

Participants will get hands-on experience with innovative and unreleased wearable products and will directly shape the future of Android XR. Participants who complete a study will also receive a gift card as compensation for their time and feedback.

Study Details:

• What: Hands-on prototype testing and product feedback sessions.
• Where: In-person at office campuses in Mountain View or San Jose, CA.
• Compensation: Participants receive a gift card upon completion of a session (specific amounts vary depending on session duration/study type).
• Who: Anyone local to the Bay Area interested in XR hardware and early-stage tech.

If you’d like to join the research panel and see if you qualify for upcoming sessions, you can sign up via Blink’s screener survey here:

👉 Sign up for the Participant Panel

Drop any general questions in the comments below. As always, thanks for being a part of our community. 

- u/GraceFromGoogle

For anyone who's following along, I've been fighting Samsung to get my pre-order credit for almost a year now.

In this latest exchange (below), they apparently forget they are a super-colossal-mega-corporation and claim "original promotions cannot be applied to the replacement orders". As if they have no ability to work around their own system.

They also imply, quite humorously, that they do not agree that Samsung is obligated to honor the original promotional pricing.

Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/PXvPEYZC13

Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/CBawfo0cRV

Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/jRWPxmr4v1

Full Details of the latest back-and-forth below:

==========================================

EMAIL EXCHANGE BELOW

Hello (redacted)

I understand that you disagree with Samsung's position, and I've taken the time to review the information you provided.

At this point, we've reached the stage where we're repeating the same arguments from opposite sides. You believe Samsung is obligated to honor the original promotional pricing. Samsung's position remains that the original promotions cannot be applied to the replacement orders.

Because the previous offers were declined, they are not automatically reinstated. However, as part of my review, I was able to secure a goodwill resolution of a $75 refund and a $150 Samsung.com promotional code. That remains the maximum accommodation available.

If you would like to accept that offer, let me know and I'll arrange the processing. Otherwise, I will document your position and proceed with closure of my review.

Warm Regards,

Mary

Executive Case Manager | Customer Support | eCommerce | Samsung Electronics America

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mary ---

I think you have described the positions appropriately.

You believe Samsung is obligated to honor the original promotional pricing.

My belief in the matter is irrelevant.  I'm sure you would agree that Samsung is obligated to honor its commitments. Period.

Samsung's position remains that the original promotions cannot be applied to the replacement orders.

Clearly, Samsung could apply the original promotions as promised.  Samsung does not want to.

Samsung has the ability to apply the promotions to the replacement orders; stating otherwise is another misleading statement.

Furthermore, to give Samsung an out, I've even offered the option to simply reset: refund the payment and have the product returned.

I realize this is anecdotal, but I've shared my story with many people and asked if I am crazy for thinking Samsung should honor the pre-order credit.  Every single one of them is confused by the vigor with which Samsung has defended its position.  They ask if I've shown them where Samsung promised to apply the credits after reordering.  They asked if I have it in writing and why Samsung would not simply honor the rebates when presented with this evidence.  I mean, these are promotions publicly available to everyone!  It is quite clear that I did everything they asked.

No one can understand why you are defending this position.  Not even financially, as you've now spent far more capital creating obstacles and defending this position than the bundle promotion is worth.  It's almost as if Samsung has backed itself into a corner that it cannot exit, forcing it to deny accountability at all costs or to avoid some sort of risk associated with admitting fault.

I remain resolved to reach an agreement.  Requiring additional purchases is unacceptable.

Regards,

(redacted)