Technologies

XR Is Going Mainstream. Does That Mean We’ll All Be Glasses Wearers Now?

“The time is now” for XR, says Google’s Rick Osterloh. Are you ready to buy in?

I’m standing in the lobby of a hotel in Hawaii, gazing into the glaring sun through the lens of Snap AR Spectacles and wondering if this is my future.

The glasses are an updated version of the ones I tried out last year at the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. Rather than playing with Moo Deng — a fun little novelty — I’m using them for things I do every day on my phone: Browsing the internet and scrolling through social videos.

Right here is evidence of Snap bringing productivity and genuinely useful features to its glasses, which are still a clunky developer version for now, before it eventually turns Spectacles into a bona fide consumer device. Like my colleague Scott Stein, who tried the Spectacles out several weeks ago, I’m most impressed with the AI-powered live translation feature. It allows me to see my conversation partner’s words translated into French subtitles in real time just below her face, making it easy for us to converse naturally without breaking eye contact.

To me, the progression is clear: The Spectacles seem to be growing up, taking themselves more seriously and finding their true purpose. This is part of a wider trend of XR devices (mixed reality), which feel as though they’re on the cusp of having a major mainstream breakthrough.

Trace the idea of XR back to its earliest days, and you will find clunky virtual reality headsets that were groundbreaking in their time and showed us a vision of wearable screens that ultimately didn’t lead to mainstream adoption. Even Apple’s much-hyped mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, has struggled to establish broad appeal beyond the pros and rich bros.

But many people in tech think we’re about to hit a watershed moment for XR.

“The time [for XR] is now,” said Rick Osterloh, SVP of devices and services at Google, speaking at the Snapdragon Summit. “The technology’s ready and a bunch of products are going to really change the user experience.”

Google has been working on XR products for a long time, said Osterloh, but the combination of underlying silicon, such as Qualcomm’s chips, and AI breakthroughs means the tech “is now ready to be able to create a new, brand new computing experience that’s really powerful.”

The concept of a breakthrough moment for XR doesn’t appear to be just wishful thinking either. Sales volumes of Meta’s Rayban glasses, also powered by Qualcomm, have increased more than 12x from the end of last year to now, Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm’s group general manager for mobile, compute and XR told me.

“It’s like massive amounts… the traction on it is really good,” he said. “And then the China customers are coming out with glasses, after glasses, after glasses. Xiaomi is doing a really good job.”

AI supercharging XR

Other than Snapdragon chips, there’s one technology that seems to be igniting the XR product category. “AI is breathing life into it,” said Katouzian.

As I discovered in my Snap Spectacles demo, AI can elevate an XR experience to make it feel truly immersive and seamless. The combination of sensors that could pick up my conversation partner’s speech and visualize where she was standing, along with the AI that could translate her speech, made me understand, perhaps for the first time in all my years of demoing this technology, why I might choose to wear smart glasses even though I’m not a glasses wearer.

Live translation has almost become a litmus test for consumer AI applications over the past year, including earlier this month, as Apple launched the AirPods Pro 3. It tackles an obvious communication challenge and is practical enough that people can easily take advantage of, said Dino Bekis, Qualcomm’s VP of wearables, in an interview.

XR and glasses, in particular, feel like a natural lens through which people can interact with AI, said Bekis. “It’s the same way we interface with the world,” he said. “It sees what you see. It can hear what you hear.”

For Bekis, XR’s breakthrough moment is due to a combination of factors — the quality of AI agent capability, connectivity and the ability to make very small power-sensitive devices.

“We’re just now getting to a point where embedded displays and all these things are starting to happen in a way that actually can translate into real, meaningful, personal devices,” he said. “It’s the beginning.”

But what if you’re like me: Hesitant about wearing glasses for comfort reasons? Bekis told me that we’re actually similar in this respect. It might feel unnatural for some people, he acknowledged, in which case they might opt out but choose to have other wearables instead that can still provide crucial sensor data that can contribute to an immersive AI experience.

People should choose the form factors that feel natural to them, he added. From there, it’s the job of the tech companies to make everything work together, regardless of which choices people make.

“It’s not just really about the glasses as much as [it’s] also about this collection of devices that you’re carrying around on your person on a regular basis — the ability for these different devices to interact, share some of this sensory information and then be able to then pull that together in an interesting way for you to digest,” he said.

The jury’s still out for me on whether I’d be willing to embrace XR by adopting glasses as so many people around the world seem to be doing. But in the meantime, I like the idea that XR could be something I dabble in for specific experiences, while I let my watch, my earbuds, my phone and whatever other wearable devices might emerge in the near future do the heavy lifting.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”