Google finally unveiled Android XR today, and in the hopes of getting consumers interested in upcoming VR headsets and smart glasses running the OS, the company also shared some information about the software that’ll be available on the platform. It also released some tools and documentation to help developers get started on bringing their VR games and apps to Android XR ahead of the launch of Samsung’s VR headset next year.



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But in a prototype form


What apps will be available for Android XR?

During our briefing, Google highlighted some of its partners who are working on apps for Android XR. These partners include Adobe, Calm, MLB, Concepts, AmazeVR Concerts, Mirrorscape, Naver, Resolution Games, 30 Ninjas, Spline, Tripp, Owlchemy Labs, and Virtual Desktop. We know that 30 Ninjas is working on an immersive film app, and we also know that Owlchemy Labs and Resolution Games are porting some of their games over to the platform. Many of the other companies already offer XR apps or experiences on other platforms, but it remains to be seen exactly what they’ll release for the new Android XR platform.



Fortunately, Google says that all existing Android mobile apps will just work on Android XR. Apps built for large screen devices, which is the case for many of the best Android apps, will work especially well in mixed reality due to the wider viewing area. Most Android apps will automatically be made available through the Play Store on Android XR, but developers who want to polish their app a bit before it’s made available can use a manifest attribute to opt out. We sort of knew this would be the case when we saw news that the Google Play Store was getting ready for Android XR headsets, but what we still don’t know is whether you’ll be able to download Android apps without the Google Play Store.

The JetNews sample app is an Android large-screen app adapted for Android XR



Although most mobile apps will run just fine on Android XR, developers will want to update their apps to take advantage of the unique experiences that it offers. To assist with this, Google is launching a developer preview of the Android XR SDK today, which contains APIs to help developers spatialize their apps with “rich 3D elements, spatial panels, and spatial audio that bring a natural sense of depth, scale, and tangible realism.” It also helps developers add “natural, multimodal interaction capabilities” to their apps, such as support for hand and eye gestures.

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The Android XR SDK is built on familiar Android app development tools such as Material Design 3 and Jetpack Compose. Apps that use Material Design 3 and Jetpack Compose for adaptive layouts can even opt in to have these components be automatically spatialized.



Apps optimized for large screens take advantage of sizing capabilities in Android XR

The SDK also enables developers to take advantage of some of the most popular open standards for XR devices, including OpenXR 1.1 and WebXR. These standards, respectively, make it easier for developers to support multiple XR platforms as well as distribute XR experiences on the web. In the case of OpenXR, Google is also expanding upon it with its own vendor extensions to provide additional functionality like an AI-powered hand mesh feature.



Chrome on Android XR supports WebXR features including depth maps, allowing virtual objects to interact with real world surfaces

Developers who are interested in building or porting their apps to Android XR can get started by visiting its developer site. An Android XR Emulator is available in Android Studio that lets you visualize what your spatialized app will look like on real hardware. If you previously utilized Snapdragon Spaces to build XR applications, you’ll want to wait for Qualcomm to release its compatibility plugin for Android XR in the first quarter of 2025, as it’ll enable your app to “operate smoothly on both Android XR and devices with Snapdragon Spaces.”



If your app requires a lot of computing power, which is often the case for games, then you’ll need to test it out on real hardware. Google is inviting developers to sign up for its Android XR Developer Bootcamp next year to get access to prerelease hardware as well as direct support from the company. It’s also asking developers who are interested in porting their VR games to check out its getting started guide for Unity.


Yes, you can play VR games on Android XR

Gaming is and always has been one of the biggest reasons to own a VR headset, so Google couldn’t afford to ignore it. That’s why Google is partnering with Unity Technologies, the company behind one of the most popular cross-platform game engines, to bring support for the Android XR platform within Unity. This includes new, dedicated documentation on porting games to Android XR as well as optimizations to make games more comfortable and performant on the platform.



Developers who are interested in making games for Android XR can start building them now using the Public Experimental release with any version of Unity 6, including the Personal Edition. Some of the XR tools that are available in this release include tools for hand and eye tracking, occlusion, foveated rendering, and Composition Layers. With these tools, developers can either create “fully immersive apps” where “players can step into entirely new environments that feel real and engaging,” or they can go the simpler route and create “optimized apps” that involve incorporating some XR elements into existing Android mobile apps.

Vacation Simulator has been updated to Unity 6 and supports Android XR



Porting existing games from platforms that “embrace OpenXR standards” will be “especially easy,” says Unity in a press release. Qualcomm says the same thing, telling developers that existing Snapdragon Spaces Unity projects can be “seamlessly” migrated to Unity 6, which can then be used to build for Android XR. In its press release, Unity cites Owlchemy Labs and Resolution Games as examples of game studios that are already working to port their Made with Unity projects to Android XR with “minimal effort.” The company also said it was collaborating with 30 Ninjas, an immersive digital and interactive content studio, on a “new and innovative immersive film app that will combine AI and XR to redefine the cinematic experience.”

Many existing XR games are built around controller input, which, thankfully, Android XR will support. Google says there will be a “defined controller interface” in Android XR and that the platform will launch with support for a variety of controllers, so games and VR content that need them will work out of the box.



The success of Android XR rides largely on the quantity and quality of apps and games that are available for it. While it’s good to see Google release so many tools and embrace many open standards, it’s not going to help if the hardware running Android XR isn’t affordable or readily accessible. We won’t know what the cost of Android XR hardware will be like until next year, though, which is when Samsung will release the first device running the new OS, its VR headset code-named “Project Moohan.”