22 Jan 2026
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Mike Boland
AWE Talks: Insights from XR Influencers
Welcome back to AWE Talks, our series that revisits the best AWE conference sessions. With AWE EU 2025 concluded, we have a fresh batch of session footage to sink our teeth into for weeks to come.
We continue the action this week with a deep dive into a range of topics and burning questions looming over the XR world. A group of XR influencers, writers and reviewers weighs in on these weighty topics.
See the summarized takeaways below, along with the full session video. Stay tuned for more video highlights each week and check out the full library of conference sessions on AWE’s YouTube Channel.
Speakers
Pieter Siekerman: DNA.inc
Gabriele Romagnoli: XR AI Spotlight
Antony Vitilo: The Ghost Howls
Casandra Vuong: Cas and Chary XR
David Heaney: UploadVR
Key Takeaways & Analysis
– XR isn't one industry but a series of device classes that comprise the spatial spectrum.
– It also reaches into and overlaps with several adjacent areas like AI, IoT, robotics.
– As such, there are several orbiting factors that are defining the pace of XR today.
– These include the rise of smart glasses, fall of mixed reality, and ecosystem moves.
– Taking these one at a time, smart glasses continue to grow in consumer traction.
– They've finally achieved the right balance of style and XR tech on one's face.
– Though this isn't the optimal endpoint for XR, it aligns with today's consumer demand.
– That formula/balance took years to pinpoint and was accelerated by Ray-Ban Metas.
– But that formula isn't a silver bullet in the sliding scale of the spatial spectrum.
– For example, stepping up the visual scale, Meta Ray Ban Displays have simple visuals.
– And video display glasses from the likes of VITURE and Xreal feature screen mirroring.
– And though it hasn't been as popular as hoped, mixed reality offers much greater immersion.
– The point is that there's a swim lane for each of these approaches as XR matures.
– It doesn't have to be a one-sized-fits-all approach, which defined previous XR hardware.
– Meanwhile, AndroidXR has emerged at the right time to support this multi-factor environment.
– It's out of the gate first with Samsung Galaxy XR but it will power a range of devices.
– This could accelerate the above trend towards purpose built endpoints and lower barriers.
– For example, device manufacturers can tap into Android XR and focus on what they do best.
– In that sense, the platform could do for XR what Android did for smartphones.
– But what about VR? Will it turn around some of its recent declines? Are we too early for MR?
– Many of these questions still loom, and our panel of XR thought leaders weighs in...
For more color and depth, see the full session below...
Want more XR insights and multimedia? ARtillery Intelligence offers an indexed and searchable library of XR intelligence known as ARtillery Pro. See more here.
