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Welcome back to our weekly roundup of happenings from XR and AI realms. Let’s dive in…
The Lede
Meta Tests Always-On AI Glasses. Meta is testing an experimental “Super Sensing” mode for its AI glasses that continuously captures audio and periodic images to give its assistant persistent awareness of a user’s surroundings. Rather than responding only when prompted, the system maintains context throughout the day, allowing follow-up questions without requiring users to repeat information. The feature represents another step toward ambient computing, where AI remains continuously available through wearable devices. The approach also raises new privacy questions about recording, consent, and battery life as smart glasses evolve from voice assistants into always-aware personal companions.
Feeling Spatial
Even Realities Becomes a Unicorn, Raising $150M. AI eyewear startup Even Realities has reportedly raised $150 million in new funding at a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Unlike companies pursuing fully immersive augmented reality, Even focuses on lightweight everyday glasses that provide discreet notifications, translation, navigation, and AI assistance through minimal in-lens displays.
XPANCEO Pushes Smart Contact Lenses Forward. Smart contact lens developer XPANCEO has expanded its partnership with microdisplay manufacturer JBD as it works toward commercializing augmented reality contact lenses. The companies will collaborate on integrating ultra-small displays into lenses designed to provide digital information directly within the user’s field of view. While significant technical hurdles remain—including power delivery, optics, comfort, and safety—the partnership represents continued investment in one of spatial computing’s most ambitious long-term goals. Smart contact lenses remain years from broad adoption but could eventually replace many functions currently performed by smart glasses.
HTC Bets on AI Glasses. HTC says AI-powered smart glasses and enterprise XR will drive its next phase of growth as the company continues shifting away from the consumer VR market it helped pioneer. Recent financial results show revenue stabilizing after several difficult years, with management emphasizing lightweight AI wearables, business applications, and industrial deployments rather than consumer virtual reality. The strategy reflects a broader industry trend as hardware companies increasingly position AI-enabled glasses as the successor to today’s smartphones while enterprise customers continue adopting XR for training, visualization, and remote collaboration.
IDC: Smart Glasses Shipments Surge 167%. The smart glasses market continues to accelerate, according to new IDC data showing non-display AI glasses shipments grew 167% year over year during the first quarter of 2026, reaching roughly 2.25 million units. That nearly matches the entire category’s shipments during all of 2024. IDC projects 13.6 million units will ship this year as companies including Meta, Xiaomi, Baidu, Alibaba, Rokid, and others expand their offerings. Meanwhile, display-equipped AR and XR headsets also posted strong growth, rising 86% year over year.
Matthew Ball Arrives as Xbox Restructures. Industry analyst Matthew Ball has joined Microsoft as Chief Strategy Officer for Xbox just weeks before the company announced one of the largest restructurings in its gaming business. Microsoft this week confirmed thousands of layoffs across the company, with Xbox absorbing a substantial portion of the cuts alongside studio closures, project cancellations, and organizational changes. While Ball was not linked to the decisions, his arrival places one of gaming’s most influential strategic thinkers at the center of Xbox’s biggest reset in years, as Microsoft repositions the division around AI, cloud infrastructure, subscriptions, and long-term platform strategy.
The AI Desk
Meta Improves Brain-to-Text Interface. Meta researchers have unveiled improvements to a non-invasive brain-computer interface capable of decoding what users intend to type by measuring neural activity outside the skull. The updated system significantly improves accuracy over previous versions, translating brain signals into text without requiring implanted electrodes. Although the technology remains confined to laboratory settings and requires large, specialized equipment, the research advances efforts to develop practical communication tools for people with neurological disorders. Longer term, brain-computer interfaces could become another input method for spatial computing and wearable devices.
ByteDance Prepares Seedance 2.5. ByteDance is reportedly preparing to release Seedance 2.5, the next version of its AI video generation model, with support for creating videos up to three minutes long. The update would substantially extend output length beyond current text-to-video systems while improving consistency across longer scenes. ByteDance has rapidly emerged as one of the leading developers of generative video models through its Seed family, competing with offerings from OpenAI, Google, Runway, and others. Longer, more coherent clips continue pushing AI video toward professional production workflows and commercial filmmaking applications.
AI Actress Tilly Norwood Makes Feature Film Debut. An AI-generated actor named Tilly Norwood will make her feature film debut in Misaligned, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Created by the Australian startup Fable Studio, the digital performer appears alongside human actors in the independent production. Rather than replacing performers wholesale, the project explores how AI-generated characters can be integrated into conventional filmmaking workflows. The release marks another milestone in the entertainment industry’s experimentation with synthetic performers, as studios continue evaluating how generative AI can expand storytelling while navigating ongoing legal, ethical, and labor questions surrounding digital actors.
This column has a companion, The AIXR Podcast, hosted by its author, Charlie Fink, and Ted Schilowitz, former studio executive and futurist for Paramount and Fox, and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap and Synthbee AI. Our guest this week is Justin Barad, founder of OssoVR, a surgical simulation platform widely used in medical schools today. We can be found on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.
Spatial Audio
This column has a companion, the AI/XR Podcast, hosted by its author, Charlie Fink; Ted Schilowitz, former studio executive and futurist for Paramount and Fox; and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap and Synthbee AI.
Last week’s guest was Eline van der Velden, founder and CEO of Particle 6, an AI production company that introduced an AI actress, Tilly Norwood (see episode below). Our guest this week is Justin Barad, founder of OssoVR, a surgical simulation platform widely used in medical schools today.
Episodes drop on Tuesdays, and you can find them on podcasting platforms Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.
Charlie Fink
AR Insider Contributor